Chemical World This Week
The Top Stories Commerce Department's flammability standard for children's sleepwear draws differing reactions from chemical firms, textile groups, and consumers 9 A flip—polymer chemists, who in the past have tried to stabilize plastics against UV radiation, are now trying to promote UV decomposition of plastics 10 West German city of Hamburg is hiring U.S. teachers for jobs in city's high schools. If experiment works, other schools in Germany may follow suit 12 Widespread danger to the ecology, public fears, loss of profits for an industry are at the heart of the current problems for pesticides. One of C&EN's series on consumerism 16 Romania, already the third largest chemical producer among East bloc nations, has ambitious goals for chemical output in its new plan 22 Pheromones are being used in investigations of gypsy moth control; studies show arthropods manipulate pheromones in defense systems 79 Education and public policy was the subject of a symposium at the 160th ACS National Meeting in Chicago last year 82 ACS is coming to grips with the question of professionalism. A new committee will look at the Society's professional involvement 93
August 9, 1971
FLAMMABILITY RULE ARGUED The final flammability standard for children's sleepwear seems destined to prove that the Department of Commerce can't please everyone. Clothing and textile makers claim that the standard is too stringent. Sen. Warren G. Magnuson (D.-Wash.), cosponsor of the 1967 Flammable Fabrics Act which authorized Commerce to establish the standard, calls it "timid and inadequate" and "weighted in favor of industry." Consumer groups generally agree with the senator. But an unlikely coalition of mothers and some chemical companies is pleased with the newly promulgated standard, which will require children's sleepwear garments to pass a strict flammability test by July 1972. As an aid to mothers, the standard is designed to protect children five years old and younger. Each year, nearly 6000 children in this age group are burned by sleepwear that catches fire. And some chemical companies stand to profit from increased demands for flame-retardants. Hooker Chemical, for example, is currently sole domestic producer of THPC [tetrakis(hydroxymethyl> phosphonium chloride], a flame-retardant chemical that has a variety of end uses in fabrics. But THPC is now primarily used in heavy in-
dustrial fabrics, opposed to other fabrics, because it stiffens the feel of the garment. However, a Hooker spokesman expects the firm to claim a significant share of the flame-retardant chemicals market in apparel, especially when federal standards for other garments and fabrics are passed. Du Pont's Nomex, a flame-retardant nylon, may also capture a share of the children's sleepwear market. But Nomex is currently too expensive for use in sleepwear and it is difficult to dye. The leading contender for the children's sleepwear market appears to be Ciba-Geigy, at least for the present, with its Pyrovatex CP process. Pyrovatex CP, a fiber-reactive phosphone alkyl amide, doesn't affect the feel of fabric, Ciba-Geigy claims. Currently, CibaGeigy has the whole market, since Sears and Roebuck, the only company that now markets sleepwear meeting the new standards, uses Pyrovatex CP. (An ironic wrinkle is that Sears also markets a nonphosphate detergent which apparently has a tendency to wash out the flameproofing.) Several chemical fiber makers, although supporting the objective of the standard, criticize the test procedure for the fabrics as described
Commerce Secretary Stans watches demonstration of sleepwear flammability
