The Chemical World This Week
PHYSICISTS FIND NEW SUBATOMIC PARTICLE A new subatomic particle has been discovered in independent experiments at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center and at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The new particle is electrically neutral and has a mass equivalent to three protons, but scientists aren't certain what the new particle's relationship is with other subatomic particles. On the West Coast, the experiments were performed jointly by physicists from the Stanford center and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory of the University of California. The particle was discovered during a series of experiments studying the annihilation reaction between electrons and positrons. For more than a year prior to the discovery, physicists had noticed that there was a slight excess in the cross section at one energy in the annihilation energy range between 2.4 and 4.8 beV. On Nov. 11, a detailed search in this range produced an unexpected resonance at 3.105 beV. Dr. Gerson Goldhaber, who headed the Berkeley group, tells C&EN that the analysis of the data left no doubt that a new particle had been discovered. As exciting as the discovery of a new particle may be, Goldhaber is equally excited over the prospect of finding a new quantum number, or selection rule, which is necessary to explain the phenomena associated with the new particle, such as why there is such a high resonance at this high energy level. The new particle had not been noticed in previous experiments simply because they had been performed in energy increments that happened to fall on either side of the resonance value of 3.105 beV. The Stanford portion of
the Stanford-Berkeley group was the Stanford and Brookhaven reled by Dr. Burton Richter. sults at the European Nuclear ReThree thousand miles away, a search Center and other European team of physicists from Massachu- laboratories. The results of these setts Institute of Technology and trials are not yet known. Brookhaven National Laboratory, Long Island, N.Y., were studying the bombardment of a stationary proton with another proton, a totally different reaction scheme from that used by the Stanford-Berkeley group. Among the profusion of par- Representatives of 16 countries met ticles from the bombardment was in Paris last week to formally the same one that had been found launch the International Energy with the Stanford accelerator. Al- Agency. IEA will operate as an authough neither group doubts that tonomous group within the Organithe independent experiments are zation for Economic Cooperation & conclusive, that each confirms the Development. An outgrowth of the results of the other is considered International Energy Conference proof that the new particle exists. held in Washington, D.C., earlier The particle is called the "j-par- this year, it will draw up continticle" by Dr. Samuel C. C. Ting, gency plans to counteract the efwho headed the MIT group, and fects of oil shortages similar to that the "psi-particle" by the Stanford- of October last year. In addition, Berkeley group. It has a lifetime of I the participating countries will unabout 10 19 second, compared with dertake long-term cooperative proan expected 10~ 24 second if no grams to examine more effective known quantum number would in- means for conserving energy and to hibit the particle's decay. The new study potential alternate sources particle spontaneously decays to of energy. produce an electron and a positron. The OECD countries directly It is still not clear just where the participating in IEA are Austria, new particle fits into the known Belgium, Canada, Denmark, West scheme of subatomic particles. The Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, physicists speculate at least three Luxembourg, the Netherlands, possibilities. The new particle may Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turbe the carrier of weak interactions, key, the U.K., and the U.S. the intermediate neutral vector Countries supporting the agency boson. Or it may be the "glue" that that, for various reasons, have not holds the quarks together. Or it joined as active members are Ausmay even be a composite of a new tralia, Iceland, Norway, Portugal, type of quark, referred to by physi- and New Zealand. But Finland, cists as a "charmed quark." What- France, and Greece, the remaining ever its place among the particles, OECD members, refuse to join. the new particle has caused a flurry Etienne Davignon, director-genof work in several labs. There al- eral of political affairs at Belgium's ready have been trials to duplicate Foreign Ministry, who is chairman of the IEA governing board, stressElectron-positron studies with Stanford accelerator yielded "psi-particle" es that although the group's main program will center on an oil-sharing scheme among the member countries, IEA wants to establish a cooperative program with the oilproducing countries. "Dialogue between the producer and consumer countries is absolutely essential if we want to find a long-term solution to the energy crisis," he says. Each participating country will maintain emergency oil reserves sufficient to sustain consumption for at least 60 days with no net oil imports. An oil-sharing plan would come into effect if imports of any member state were cut by at least
16 countries set up an energy agency
7% of its average daily rate during the previous year. To ensure effec- N.Y. ends three Ph.D. tive operation of various oil-sharing chemistry programs and demand restraint measures, an international advisory board from The number of U.S. doctoral degree the oil industries will be convened. programs in chemistry grew 58% from 1960 through 1967, according to American Chemical Society figures. From 1967 through 1973 EPA plans to ban growth slowed to just 14%. Now, two more pesticides the first signs of a retrenchment by universities in the face of rising Environmental Protection Agency costs have cropped up in New York. Administrator Russell E. Train inThe New York State Education tends to ban two related pesticides, Department has capped a sweeping heptachlor and chlordane, for their review of the state's Ph.D. programs major uses—on certain food crops in chemistry by terminating these and on lawns and gardens. Train programs at Adelphi University in says his decision is based on evi- Garden City and at St. Johns Unidence that the chemicals and their versity and Yeshiva University, both metabolite, heptachlor epoxide, in New York City. In addition, the produce malignant tumors in the department has conferred proviliver and endocrine glands of rats sional acceptance with three years and mice. In addition, he says, to make improvements on five other residues of the compounds have programs—City University of New been found in food, human milk York, Fordham University, and and human fatty tissues, and in the Polytechnic Institute of New York, heart, adrenal gland, and liver of 10 all in New York City, and the State stillborn infants. University of New York campuses The principal U.S. manufacturer at Albany and Binghamton. of these chlorinated hydrocarbons, The doctoral program review in Velsicol Chemical, a subsidiary of New York began two years ago, an Northwest Industries, tells C&EN education department spokesman it will request a hearing. Otherwise, says. Chemistry is one of the first the proposed cancellation would be- two disciplines to be cut. The other come effective Dec. 19 and would is history. The purpose of the reprohibit the sale of heptachlor and view, done by panels from outside chlordane in the U.S. for the can- the state, is to weed out weaker celed uses. There are about 350 doctoral programs, particularly manufacturers and formulators of those below a critical faculty size of the products. About 15 million lb of about 15. chlordane and about 3 million lb of Reactions to the actions are heptachlor were used in 1972, pri- varied. Both St. Johns and Yeshiva marily on corn and citrus crops, and are resigned at present to losing in lawn and garden applications. their doctoral programs in chemAccording to Train, there are istry. In fact, Yeshiva announced alternative pesticides registered for the end of its program publicly two virtually all the registered uses of months ago, Adelphi may apply both heptachlor and chlordane, for reinstatement of its program. A although he does not name them in school spokesman says that applyhis intent-to-cancel order. An EPA ing the New York state standards source tells C&EN that the alter- nationally would result in dropping natives include carbaryl, diazinon, 30% of U.S. doctoral programs in Lannate, and parathion for use on chemistry. The five universities corn, and Bidrin, dimethoate, with provisional acceptance all inDylox, and phosphamidon on gar- tend to make improvements necesden ornamentals. sary to pass a second evaluation. This is the third time that EPA The ACS Committee on Profeshas acted against pesticides in the sional Training was not involved in chlorinated hydrocarbon group, the moves in New York but it has and it might well signal a trend in followed the program review with the agency's regulatory decisions much interest. Committee chairconcerning compounds in this cate- man H. S. Gutowsky, of the gory. In December 1972, EPA im- University of Illinois, tells C&EN posed a near total ban on DDT. In that the ACS committee is looking the summer of 1973, it issued an at the question of accrediting graduintent to cancel the major uses of ate programs in chemistry and is aldrin and dieldrin, and this Sep- working on experiments with tember, it suspended the manu- regional accrediting agencies. Howfacture of them. Other compounds ever, the committee foresees much registered in this group are lindane, opposition to such efforts and is not endrin, and toxaphene. optimistic, he says.
Bioequivalency a factor in lower prices
HEW proposes ways to cut drug costs Some specifics of the Department of Health, Education & Welfare's plan to cut drug costs for medicare and medicaid programs and for consumers generally have been announced. The proposed three-part program would lower medicare and medicaid costs by $89 million per year and could save consumers an additional $20 million per year on prescription drugs, HEW estimates. Under the proposals, pharmacists filling medicare and medicaid prescriptions would be reimbursed on the basis of their acquisition price for drugs rather than the drug's list price, which is usually 15 to 18% higher, according to drug manufacturers' estimates. This would save the government about $40 million annually. But the major government savings, about $48 million per year, would come on drugs available from more than one manufacturer at greatly varying prices. For these drugs, if the Food & Drug Administration certifies different brands to be bioequivalent, HEW would limit medicare and medicaid reimbursement to the lowest price for which the drug is generally available. And for nongovernment drug purchases, use of lower-cost, bioequivalent drugs would be encouraged by providing physicians, pharmacists, and the public with price information on the most commonly prescribed drug products. A number of drug makers are critical of the vagueness that still exists about many aspects of the proposed program. Of particular concern, says Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association president C. Joseph Stetler, is the question of what quality assurance standards will be used for multiplesource drugs. Another important question is how much the administrative costs of the program will offset the expected savings. HEW intends to do a cost-effectiveness study of these proposals but this information is not yet available. Nov. 25, 1974 C&EN
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