The Chemical World This Week
PLENARY SESSION POPULAR AT ACS MEETING The nearly 7000 chemists and chemical engineers who gathered in Miami Beach last week for the American Chemical Society's 176th National Meeting were faced with the usual wide array of technical and social activities. These ranged from the unusually large number (2400) of technical presentations to the unique assembly of registrants at a plenary session. The presidential plenary session, organized and chaired by ACS president Anna J. Harrison, was the first such session in recent years at an ACS meeting, and it played to an overflow crowd. Speaking at the session on the protection of human health and the environment were Dr. Eula Bingham, head of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, and Douglas M. Costle, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. EPA's Costle (left) and OSHA's Bingham answer questions at plenary session Their talks were followed by remarks from a panel of eight distinguished national meetings to be held only in Bylaws, with the stipulation that it be chemists representing various fields those states that have ratified ERA. brought before the council again at of chemistry. On another controversial issue the the fall 1979 meeting in Washington, With its successful inauguration, council debated the validity of the D.C., would provide that voluntary the plenary session may be heading petition nominating Dr. Alan C. local section dues as well as division for a permanent niche in ACS na- Nixon as a candidate for director of dues, at the request of these bodies, tional meetings—at least at fall Region VI in this fall's ACS national be billed with annual ACS dues. The council eliminated the need to meetings. The ACS Council last week elections. The problem arose because voted to include such sessions at the the California Section's national act on a ninth petition in Miami next two fall meetings—in Washing- elections committee sought petition Beach simply by not granting it urton, D.C., next year, and in San signatures on stationery with the local gent action status—the only way it section letterhead, a possible viola- could have been acted on at this Francisco in 1980. Among a number of other things, tion of recently instituted ACS by- meeting. The petition would have the council also authorized formation laws on fair election procedures. In allowed a reduction in ACS dues for of two probationary ACS divi- fact, this problem seems to point up one or the other of a husband-wife sions—one on geochemistry and one confusion in the wording of those pair, if both are ACS members. The on small chemical businesses. And the bylaws. Ultimately, however, the proposed reduction would have been council gave its approval for estab- council voted to accept Nixon as a the amount of the dues allocation to petition candidate for Region VI di- C&EN, and would have eliminated lishing an Alaska local section. Relating to the controversial issue rector, despite the alleged irregulari- one of the subscriptions to C&EN.D of the Equal Rights Amendment to ties in the nominating petition, thus the U.S. Constitution, the ACS overriding the action of the ComCouncil went on record as supporting mittee on Nominations & Elections, Soviets to let Levich "the achievement and protection of which had voted unanimously to equal rights and opportunities for all disallow the nomination. go after six-year fight persons and believes ACS should enThe council also acted on nine courage its members to personally petitions to amend the ACS consti- After a six-and-a-half year struggle support all efforts which will accom- tution and/or bylaws, adopting seven supported by protests and pressure plish these goals as rapidly as possi- of them, recommitting one, and re- from U.S. and European scientists ble." And it agreed that it is not "ap- fusing to take urgent action on an- and political leaders, Dr. Veniamin G. propriate for ACS to determine the other. The seven that were adopted Levich finally will be allowed to leave location of national meetings on the aimed at such housekeeping proce- the Soviet Union. Permission for the basis of the status of ratification of dures as how to withdraw a petition eminent physical chemist and his [ERA] by the states." Considering the from the council's agenda and how wife, and 17 other Soviet families, to council's action on this matter, the society committees should relate to emigrate will be issued shortly, acACS Women Chemists Committee the Council Policy Committee. cording to assurances received from decided not to seek council action on The petition that was recommitted Soviet president Brezhnev and other its resolution calling for future ACS to the Committee on Constitution & officials by Sen. Edward Kennedy
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C&EN Sept. 18, 1978
(D.-Mass.) during a visit earlier this month to the U.S.S.R. The Soviet action is seen by ob servers as an extraordinary political gesture to Kennedy, and perhaps, as a signal that the Soviets wish to lower tensions with the U.S. government and scientific community. U.S.-Soviet scientific relations have been strained severely in recent months as U.S. scientists have reacted with boycotts and strong protests to the trials and heavy sentences given Dr. Yuri Orlov and Dr. Anatoly Scharansky. Release of Levich, 61, culminates a campaign by scientists since February 1972, when the corresponding mem ber of the Soviet Academy of Sciences asked to emigrate—the highest ranking Soviet scientist to do so. He was stripped of his posts, ostracized by colleagues, and repeatedly ha rassed. He was refused an exit visa because of supposed knowledge of "state secrets" (Levich denies it). Levich's plight has drawn support and intervention from the Committee of Concerned Scientists (CCS), American Chemical Society, National Academy of Sciences, and others. Kennedy's role began last April at the request of CCS and Levich's son, Evgeny. Levich already holds positions in Israel, but he also has invitations from many U.S. universities. His first U.S. visit may be, appropriately, for an International Conference on Physicochemical Hydrodynamics, a field he pioneered. To be held Nov. 6-8 at NAS, the conference was originally to demonstrate worldwide scientific support for Levich, with sponsorship by many eminent scientists and groups. Now, as one observer puts it, it can celebrate Levich's return to free scientific activity. D
EPA bans further sale of MMT octane booster The Environmental Protection Agency last week refused to allow Ethyl Corp. to continue selling the gasoline additive, methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT). MMT is now used as an oc tane booster in about half of all un leaded gasoline produced. EPA's re fusal was based on agency findings that MMT would interfere with the ability of automobiles to meet hy drocarbon emission standards man dated by the Clean Air Act. Under the Clean Air Act Amend ments of 1977, MMT would have been banned automatically as of Sept. 15 because it is not "substantially similar" to fuel additives used in certifying compliance with clean air
standards by 1975 or subsequent model year cars. Last March Ethyl requested a waiver of the ban for MMT at concentrations of 1/16 and 1/32 gram of manganese per gal of gasoline. Ethyl, the sole U.S. manu facturer of MMT, contended that MMT, based on the 1.5 gram-permile standard in effect through 1979, has no adverse effects on a vehicle's hydrocarbon emission. In denying the waiver, EPA said that Ethyl had failed to prove this point. In addition, the agency deter mined that MMT will cause or con tribute to the failure of vehicles de signed to meet the California 0.41 gram-per-mile hydrocarbon standard, which will apply nationwide for 1980 model year cars. According to EPA, oil companies will have to increase their refining operations to make up for the octane lost by the removal of MMT, a move that may well lead to an increase in gasoline prices. The MMT ban will not be enforced until Oct. 27, EPA says, to prevent dislocation in the marketing of gasoline that already contains MMT. D
HEW study links 2 0 % off cancer to jobs At a meeting of the AFL-CIO in Washington, D.C., last week, Health, Education & Welfare Secretary Jo seph A. Califano stunned industry leaders when he disclosed results of a soon-to-be released government study that finds, according to the HEW Secretary, "at least 20% of all cancer in the United States—and perhaps more—may be work relat ed." Califano's statement, based on an epidemiological study by scientists at the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, undercuts earlier, and widely accepted, estimates that only 1 to 5% of cancer cases were di rectly attributable to occupational exposure to carcinogens. "Yet most of the arguments against occupational and safety measures," Califano told assembled union members, "focus on costs . . . . It is, in my judgment, myopic to argue that programs to protect workers are inflationary if we do not count in our calculations what those programs buy: safety, health, and often greater productivity." Industry spokesmen were quick to denounce the Secretary's assertions. Ronald A. Lang, executive director of the American Industrial Health Council, an industry group, says that the figures quoted by Califano were based on asbestos exposure, which
accounted for 17% of the total cancer cases studied. "These conditions were cleaned up long ago," Lang insists. And since the government study has not yet been published, Lang ob serves, "All we have are arbitrary risk ratios multiplied by some equally arbitrary exposure levels." Ο
Capital spending to remain in doldrums With the prospect bright for favor able investment tax treatment from Congress, industry is pushing hard for a break for capital spending. Indeed, capital spending by U.S. industry is sluggish and is likely to remain sluggish for some time unless changes are made in government policies, ac cording to John K. McKinley, presi dent of Texaco. McKinley was speaking to the 10th annual Engi neering Construction Contracting Conference in San Antonio, Tex., last week. The conference is sponsored by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. The poor level of capital spending is caused by a number of factors, ac cording to McKinley, and many of the factors stem from governmental policies. For example, McKinley says, the costs of new processing and manufacturing equipment is esca lating even faster than the already high rate of inflation. Cash generation from existing facilities does not cover the inflated replacement costs of the facilities. This is compounded by high corporate income taxes. Profitability of both old and prospective new in vestments is inadequate with cash flows not meeting the need for new investments. McKinley cites a survey released by the Commerce Department earlier this month, that projects a 5.3% rise in real plant and equipment spending in 1978 compared with a 6.5% in crease last year over the year before. The same survey shows that capital spending by the chemical industry in the U.S. is expected to increase 7% this year; however, in real dollars, the figure for 1978 will remain about the same as for 1979. For the first half of 1978, the usu ally bullish Commerce Department figures show actual chemical capital spending up only 2.8% over the level of spending for the first six months of 1977. Apparently, the bulk of chemi cal spending is planned for the second half of this year. This unlikely pros pect is put in further doubt by Com merce's consistent trend over the past few years of revising capital spending figures downward toward the end of each year. D Sept. 18, 1978 C&EN
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