News of the Week import fee, viewing it as potentially the biggest long-term threat to the industry. As he puts it, "Taxing oil to the chemical industry would be like taxing iron ore to the steel industry." CMA also strongly supports another of the report's recommendations calling for comprehensive legislation to deregulate natural gas. The report drew only faint praise from the American Petroleum Institute, which called it an "important addition to the dialogue on energy." The Independent Petroleum Association of America noted that it "would have liked to have seen stronger recommendations for solving our problems." And at least one Senator from an oil-producing state, Jeff Bingaman (D.-N.M.), expressed "regret that this highly publicized document is, at best, only an acknowledgment of a problem we all know exists." G
Bayer sued over AIDS link to hemophilia drag A tragic situation that was quietly developing among persons with the blood disorder hemophilia became headlines last week in connection with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Reports went out that West German chemical company Bayer and its American affiliate, Miles Laboratories, were sued by several hemophiliac patients claiming that they acquired AIDS from taking the antihemophilia drug Factor VIII, marketed by both firms. Cutter Laboratories, a branch of Miles, manufactures the drug in the U.S. Suits in fact have been filed both in West Germany and the U.S. Bud Moderbasch, a spokesman for Cutter, tells C&EN that Miles and other U.S. manufacturers are defendants in "fewer than 20" lawsuits brought by the affected hemophiliacs or their families. Cutter's position, Moderbasch says, is that it has not been negligent in its manufacture of the product. Except for instances of gross negligence, almost every state exempts companies from liability in connection with disorders sustained from defective blood products. 6
March 23, 1987 C&EN
Factor VIII, a protein missing in 85% of all hemophiliacs, has been on the market for at least 20 years. It is, however, derived from human blood, and some of that plasma was donated by persons who carried the AIDS virus. As soon as AIDS began turning up in hemophiliacs in 1983, companies and the government took quick preventive action. Bayer in its response says that when it realized that one medium of AIDS virus transfer was human blood plasma, it indeed took steps to stem any contamination. The company screened plasma donors, tested donated plasma for presence of the AIDS virus, and developed processes for deactivating the viruses. It says its products currently carry no AIDS risk. Bayer says it has sufficient insurance to cover any successful claims. Allan Brownstein, executive director of the National Hemophilia Foundation, says that about 300 hemophiliacs have been stricken with AIDS via defective Factor VIII since 1983. "We know of seven or eight specific suits but none were won by the plaintiffs," he says. "The foundation has not taken a position on these suits because early on we asked the Public Health Service and the companies to do something and we believe they have responded swiftly." He says he has not seen instances of true negligence since the blood donor problem became known. The foundation, however, has established an AIDS Litigation Task Force, which may soon issue a statement. Bayer stock took a steep dive on the Frankfurt Exchange last week in response to the bad publicity. D
President boosts fight against acid rain In a move to placate the Canadian government, President Reagan said last week that he will seek $2.5 billion over the next five years to develop clean-coal technologies to combat acid rain. His announcement affirms the commitment he made to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney last year, and comes just days after the Associated Press reported on an
internal, unreleased Environmental Protection Agency study predicting dire damage from acid rain to lakes in the Northeast in the next 50 years. The President's proposal simply revives the recommendations that special envoys Drew Lewis for the U.S. and William Davis for Canada made last year. In addition to the $2.5 billion program, President Reagan said he "will encourage industry to invest an equal or greater amount over this period/' He also has asked Vice President Bush to have the Task Force on Regulatory Relief review all economic and regulatory programs "to identify opportunities for addressing environmental concerns under existing laws." President Reagan is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Mulroney in Ottawa on April 5 and 6 on an issue that, along with trade imbalances, has been a thorn in U.S.Canada relations. Sen. George J. Mitchell (D.-Me.), a strong advocate for acid rain control legislation, said he is displeased with the mandate the President gave Bush. "The President has directed the Task Force on Regulatory Relief to focus solely on economic aspects of acid rain controls and to recommend changes to existing regulations. As I have stated repeatedly, we need a statutory program for significant reductions in air pollution, not another economic analysis." Mitchell notes that important health and environmental risks exist because the U.S. has failed to control acid rain. Referring to the EPA study leaked to the Associated Press last week, EPA spokesman Chris Rice says the results are undergoing review. He says they were based on surface water data of selected lakes in the East and West and on projected emissions of sulfur dioxide. These data were then fed into a computer model that takes into account the neutralizing capacity of watersheds. Rice says the unreleased study also predicts "decreasing pH levels in southeastern lakes. But these lakes in the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky mountains won't become acidic in the 50-year period." He says the study does not predict that any lakes in the West will become acid in this time frame. D
