Besides imports, the other major ι three dozen persons who were sent factor that Sullivan sees in alleviating copies of the report. curtailments will be a switch of part The report's major conclusions are of the domestic nitrogen production that NSF: capacity to feedstocks other than • Establish a new research pro natural gas. He foresees a major role gram in information science. being played by coal gasification. • Appoint a permanent advisory However, Sullivan warns, it will be panel to advise Atkinson on the five to seven years before the eco priorities and management of the nomics of coal gasification vs. natural information science research pro gas can be evaluated and at least eight gram. to 10 years before coal gasification can • Support research application become a significant factor in nitro programs for the design, prototype, gen fertilizer production. D development, field testing, and eval uation of techniques for the dissemi nation and use of scientific and tech nical information. NSF urged to revamp • Provide staff support for par information science ticipation in certain science information activities at the national After nine earnest months of dialec and international levels. • Assume a responsibility for pol tic, the National Science Foundation Task Force on Science Information icy research and analysis on national Activities has delivered to NSF di issues relating to scientific and tech rector Richard C. Atkinson its con nical information. • Support research, development, clusions, and it calls for a revamping of the agency's program on informa testing, and evaluation of methods for tion sciences and dissolution of its educating and training prospective users in the utilization of scientific division of science information. The task force was headed by Joe and technical information systems. B. Wyatt, vice president for admin • Determine the most appropriate istration at Harvard University. Its organizational locations and interre recommendation to dissolve DSI lationships within NSF for imple borders on the ironic, since DSI di menting the recommendations. rector Lee G. Burchinal was instru The report isn't popular with mental in establishing the task force members of the DSI staff who believe in the first place. that programs exist within the divi The report by no means urges that sion that cover most if not all of the science information and information elements of criticism. D science (the terms mean different things) be minimized at NSF. On the contrary, it laments the continuing erosion of budget in the dual-headed Toxicology lab defends field and, in fact, calls for a doubling document shredding of its budget from the current $5 million to about $11 million. (Science Industrial Bio-Test Laboratories, information covers all elements in the a midwestern toxicology lab under generation, storage, retrieval, and federal investigation for alleged de dissemination of scientific material to ficiencies in a large number of its an all levels of user, whereas information imal tests (C&EN, Aug. 22, page 15), science is the theoretical study of in has informed the Environmental formation as a phenomenon.) Protection Agency and the Food & Wyatt presented the report to a Drug Administration that on June 2 Sept. 15 meeting of the National it shredded certain documents vital Science Board, which received it on to that investigation. The matter was first reading with something less than reported to the two agencies on Aug. enthusiasm. Particularly biting was 25 in a letter from IBT president À. J. some commentary by NSB member Frisque. Saunders MacLane, who seemed IBT has objected to newspaper more bent on stumping Wyatt than accounts of the incident, claiming understanding the content of the re that they could give the impression port. that the company, a subsidiary of However, NSB chairman Norman Nalco Chemical, deliberately engaged Hackerman in kinder tone said the in a large-scale destruction of records board members would study the re for the purpose of impeding the inport diligently. vestigation. The fate of the report's recom "The June 2 data destruction was mendation really rests with Atkinson entirely inadvertent and Industrial himself. He said Wyatt's presentation Bio-Test voluntarily informed federal was nothing more than the first step officials of the circumstances surin a review of the program and he will rounding the destruction," Dr. be awaiting the response of some Frisque points out. "We will continue
to cooperate fully with federal officials." Included in the shredded documents were seven long-term feeding studies on the carcinogenicity of some commercially marketed plastics, herbicides, and cyclamates. But at least three of these studies never were submitted to any agency, the Northbrook, 111., firm claims. Also destroyed were records from an unknown number of short-term studies. According to Frisque's letter, the June 2 shredding was due to a misunderstanding as to the nature of the documents involved, all of which were produced before the period (1970-75) that federal investigators are interested in. The company's records have been left in a state of "unusual disarray" because of the demands of the federal investigators, Frisque adds. EPA has asked at least 31 firms and two federal agencies to audit and to certify the accuracy of IBT data that they supplied to EPA in support of pesticide registrations and applications for pesticide tolerances. D
Chemicals feedstocks: changes will be slow With announcements filling the news of projects for development of fuels to replace presumably dwindling supplies of oil and natural gas, it's a fair question whether these projects will affect the oil and natural gas presently used as raw materials for petrochemicals. Yes, but not very soon. That's the view at Union Carbide, which has a large interest in both conventional and substitute feedstock use. Richard C. Perry, manager of feedstocks and energy policy at Carbide, gave a strategic view of feedstock substitution prospects last week at an executive briefing in New York City spon-
Substitute feedstock may affect 2 7 % of petrochemicals
/v
Sw Nonoxygenated \ . \ . aliphatics X ^ V 48% Ammonia N / ^ S .
/
17%
J%
/ \ Aromatics 25%
Oxygenated λ aliphatics 10% Source: Union Carbide
Sept. 26, 1977 C&EN 7
