Document 2R95drYEMZ9OVbKZNMKBgbLJp

AICKnbvs Published by Manufacturing Chemists Association Vol. 2 No. 3 May 1974 Study Shows Death Rate Average for VC Workers The findings of a survey contracted by MCA show that vinyl chloride workers, in the aggregate, experience death rates from all causes that compare favorably with other U.S. male industrial workers. This, in spite of the now well-recognized risk of angiosarcoma of the liver among such workers. The only statistically sig nificant differences in their specific mortal ity rates appeared where reported death rates were lower than that of the general population. Although the total number of cases was small, there did appear to be suggestive dose-related increases in the incidence of cancers of the urinary organs and the brain in the longer-exposed workers, as com pared with their counterparts who, at the time of death, had worked for shorter periods in jobs exposing them to vinyl chloride. Employees Identified These results were reported May 10th by Dr. Irving R. Tabershaw to a meeting held under the auspices of the New York Academy of Sciences. In the course of the study, the firm of Tabershaw-Cooper As sociates Inc. had identified 8,384 past and present employees of the VC/PVC indus try, and had determined the vital status of 7,128. Among these individuals, 352 deaths had occurred during the period under study and, of these, death certifi cates had been obtained on 328. Release of subsequently acquired data is planned in a supplementary report. Earlier, MCA had announced preliminary indications that vinyl chloride exposure has produced angiosarcoma in mice at several exposure levels. Former Commerce Head Peterson Industrial Bio-Test Laboratories, Inc., which is conducting the MCA-admin- To Speak at June Annual Meeting istered vinyl chloride animal exposure study, informed MCA that its work-- although very preliminary at this point Peter G. Peterson, chairman of Lehman Brothers Inc. and former secretary of commerce, will be the main speaker at MCA's 102nd Annual Meeting at The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., June 6-8. More than 900 per sons have registered for the meeting, at He joined the firm as vice chairman and board member in June 1973 and was elected to his present post in August of that year. continued on page 3 Appeals Court Finds Economics Can Enter --tends to confirm the findings of Professor Cesare Maltoni, an Italian scientist who found that vinyl chloride exposure caused cancer in rats. MCA immediately notified the Occupa tional Safety and Health Administration, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Environmental Protec tion Agency of the preliminary test results. Peter G. Peterson which six of the nation's outstanding chemistry teachers will be honored along with four companies that will receive the Lammot du Pont Safety Award for having made the greatest improvement in industrial safety during the past five years. Agendas forthe business session June 6 will be mailed around May 15 to executive contacts. Into OSHA Rulings A decision that could have a substantial bearing on the shape of occupational health standards to be administered by the Occupational Safety and Health Adminis tration was handed down by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on April 15. The court's decision was reached on a petition of the Industrial Union Department, AFL-CIO, for a review of the secretary of labor's Standard for Exposure to Asbestos Mice Affected In the MCA-administered study, rats, hamsters and mice are being exposed seven hours a day, five days a week, to 2,500 parts per million (ppm), 200 ppm and 50 ppm. After seven months of exposure, angiosarcoma has been observed in mice at all levels, but not in rats or hamsters. Professor Maltoni reported at the OSHA hearings on vinyl chloride February 15 that he had observed the liver cancer in rats exposed four hours a day, five days a week, to 250 ppm for up to 12 months, ft) ^ ft) Joins Investment Firm Dust under the Occupational Safety and However, he did not find the cancer in test- Just prior to joining Lehman, an interna tional investment banking firm, Mr. Peter son served as ambassador and personal Health Act. Briefly, the court denied the petition to review the asbestos standard, except for ing at the 50 ppm level. The animal exposure study is continuing, and further vinyl chloride testing is under representative abroad for President Nixon. I continued on page 3 consideration. ; ^, ..: .. '* .... ^4#, i' ,, [ 'g-' * BFG29426 j MCA Firms Told of Suits Trying To Protect Right of Rules Review MCA is advising member companies of certain lawsuits' undertaken by several major chemical companies to protect their legal rights to judicial review of wastewater guidelines and standards issued by the Environmental Protection Agency. The regulation's cover effluent guidelines and new plant standards for inorganic chemi cals, plastics and synthetics and organic chemicals under the 1972 Water Pollution Control Act. The principal petitions are before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond. Related proceedings have been filed in other courts. MCA has filed a motion to join the petitioners challenging the effluent guidelines on inorganic chemi cals in the Fourth Circuit because the major legal questions involved concern all the Association's members. Those issues are: Whether judicial review of effluent guidelines must be sought in the Court of Appeals within 90 days of their issuance, and Whether EPA is not required to fix guidelines flexibly. Law Ambiguous The 1972 law is not completely clear on the 90-day limit. If the limit does not apply to the guidelines at this stage, guidelines would be subject to challenge later in con nection with discharge permits issued under them. If the court rules the other way, a pro ducer could be severely penalized by not taking legal action within 90 days from is suance dates. This could result because effluent guidelines requirements could be written into discharge permits after the 90-day period as non-negotiable require ments and might then be totally immune from court action. EPA's effluent limitation guidelines and standards published March 12 for inor ganic chemicals, April 5 for plastics and synthetics, and April 25 for organic chemi cals, are final rules and regulations. MCA is suggesting that member com panies evaluate their environmental control programs and determine whether they can comply, and it also suggests that they may wish to consider filing a legal challenge. Although other companies have already 2 ____ BFG29427 done so, the Association points out, suits may not cover the particular concerns of any individual company. Filing Dates Given Under the 1972 act, legal challenges to the standards for new plants must be filed within 90 days from March 12, April 5 or April 25 unless based solely on new data. If not challenged within 90 days, the stand ards must be met by new plants and there will be no variances. MCA is not seeking to participate in liti gation concerning guidelines on individual products in view of the Association's long standing policy not to become involved in individual product problems of this nature. Its staff and general facilities are wholly inadequate for product:by-product con siderations, and there is potential anti-trust sensitivity for MCA in activity of this sort. The Association is asking that MCA Pres ident William J. Driver be advised of any legal actions a company takes on the EPA regulations. What Is Business? MCA NEWS reprints without comment the following editorial from Nation's Busi ness. The energy problem has brought attacks not just on oil companies but on business as a whole. Critics demand that business somehow be punished. We wonder what they mean by "busi ness." All the businesses we know are owned by people--whether by one guy, a few partners, or thousands of stockholders. Businesses buy from people, too--some big ones buy from thousands of suppliers. Businesses give people jobs--a total of 90.5 million. And businesses serve people--pro viding the goods and services all 212 mil lion of us need and want. Whom would it hurt to punish business? Copyright 1974, Nation's Business, a publication of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America. Re printed from the March 1974 issue. Brussels Tariff Hearings Planned For Chemicals The United States Tariff Commission has begun public hearings on its staff's pro posals to accomplish conversion of the Tariff Schedules of the United States to the Brussels Tariff Nomenclature (BTN). The Commission has scheduled the hearings by groups of BTN chapters, which are, in effect, a division into industrial sectors. The principal coverage for chemi cals is in BTN chapters 28 through 40, on which hearings are scheduled for August 12 in New York. Members of the commission's chemical division staff are providing the industry the opportunity to make suggestions before the formal release of the draft chapters, 30 days before the hearings are to begin. The hearings are the result of a study begun at the request of the President after an appeal to him by the Office of the Spe cial Trade Representative, which antici pated international negotiations on such a tariff conversion. To keep the new tariff structure withir reasonable size, a number of changes in U.S. import duties will be necessary, and it is these changes which will be the subject of the August hearings. Trade Advisor Asks Help In Cutting Non-Tariff Bars The cooperation of U.S. chemical man ufacturers in an effort to reduce non-tariff barriers to trade is being requested by the Office of the Chemical Industry Trade Ad visor. The effort stems from the intention of the Office of the Special Trade Representative to negotiate actively on. the reduction of such barriers on behalf of the U.S., regard less of whether or not Congress enacts a new trade bill this year. Accordingly, the special task forces formed to assist the trade advisor are now seeking to identify non-tariff barriers to U.S. chemical exports. The success of the trade advisor in pviding such information should enhanu. the U.S. negotiating position during the discussions. /MCKnews President's Annual Reception Draws Many Notables More than 350 persons attended the Presidents Annual Reception for Members of Congress and government officials on April 8 at the Madison Hotel in Washington. Among the many dignitaries attending were Secre tary of Labor Peter J. Brennan, 10 senators and more than 50 congress men. At left, President William J. Driverand Senator Vance Hartke (D-Ind.), left, listen to Secretary Brennan make a point. At right, President Driver gestures to MCA Executive Committee Chairman Jack B. St. Clair in a conversation with Senator Harrison A. Williams, Jr. (D-NJ.), right, afterthe senator was greeted by Werner C. Brown, MCA's chairman of the board. Economics Can Affect OSHA Rulings House Unit Reviews (Continued from page 1) remanding il to the secretary for re examination of the following: The uniform application of the 1976 effective date of the two fiber standard. The three-year retention period for monitoring records. Of importance is the court's finding that economic feasibility could properly be included as a factor entering into the secretary's conclusion regarding stan dards. The court adds, however, .. this qual ification is not intended to provide a route by which recalcitrant employers or indus tries may avoid the reforms contemplated by the act." Another matter of interest is the court's view regarding the weight to be accorded by the secretary of labor to National Insti tute of Occupational Safety and Health recommendations, stressing that such recommendations are only an "aid." "The NIOSH recommendation was undoubtedly important in the eyes of Congress as an aid to the secretary, but we cannot see that it was intended as more than that," the court stated. Safety, Health Act; Suggestions Invited The House Select Subcommittee on Labor is holding oversight hearings on the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 under the chairmanship of Con gressman Dominick C. Daniels (D-N.J.) for the purpose of reviewing the act for possi ble legislative strengthening. The subcommittee is especially in terested in specific examples and experi ences of difficulties with the act and its administration that indicate where some Peter Peterson to Speak at Annual Meeting ofAssociation correction appears needed. Criticisms of OSHA to date have included vague stan (Continued from page 1) Appointed commerce secretary on January 27, 1972, he was asked at the same time by the President to assume the the assistant to the president for interna tional economic affairs. A former part-time university faculty dards, on-site consultations with im mediate threat of citation and insufficient time for the preparation of comments on regulations and standards. chairmanship of the National Commission on Productivity, which included leaders from business, labor and the public sector, member and advertising firm vice presi dent at 27, Mr. Peterson left his mark at Bell & Howell. During his nine years of leader It is unlikely, considering the slow pace of two hearing days a month and planned hearings in the field next year, that the0 'i as well as the secretaries of treasury, labor, ship, corporate sales more than doubled subcommittee will act on any of the 60 01 commerce and the director of the Office of and operating earnings more than quad amendments to the act already introduced. O Management and Budget. rupled. Nevertheless, the subcommittee has in-CP At the age of 34, Mr. Peterson was The recipient of numerous achievement vited interested parties to come forwardC*? elected president of Bell & Howell and two awards, he graduated summa cum laude with suggestions, and MCA feels that ' i years later he was named chief executive from Northwestern University with a B.S. member companies with problems or sug officer, the position he held until February degree and received his M.B.A. degree gestions should bring them to the attention 1971, when he joined the White House as with honors fromthe University of Chicago. of the subcommittee now. ..... BFG29428 3 24126006 Senator McClure Calls for Review of Environmental Laws Senator James A. McClure (R-ldaho) has called for a re-examination of "the Clean Air Act and other environmental legislation passed without accurate basis in fact." Senator McClure made this recommen dation in remarks before the Air Pollution Control Association's 2nd Government Af fairs Seminar in March. The Senator took bureaucrats to task for not understanding the "two-way relation ship between ecological needs and energy needs," and for not understanding "the interrelationships between the air, water and land." He then took Congress to task for pass ing laws which "for the most part did not address the total environment; instead they addressed an individual environmental problem." Congress, he said, "tended to some degree to look at the environment with tunnel vision." "What has been sadly lacking in the whole conservation effort," the senator continued, "is not sincerity or hard work or even the ability to sacrifice. It was simply a lack of knowledge on the part of the indi vidual--whether he be private citizen or governmental official--of anything other than one aspect of a problem." He pointed to a stack scrubber that would reliably remove sulfur dioxide from commercial power plant stacks as a par ticularly horrible example of "tunnel vi sion": "Despite the fact that it does not exist, legislation exists requiring perfor mance based on its use," he said. Another such example, according to Senator McClure, is "the impossible standards set for the emissions of oxides of nitrogen from automobiles--standards which cannot possibly be guaranteed." The senator also stated, "Perhaps the most serious drawback involved in the ecological perspective of both the Con gress and the bureaucracy is the tendency to look upon the United States as a giant monolith," adding, "Programs which make excellent sense in New York are foolishly made applicable to Oklahoma." He said that Congress should "remove restraints that keep others from acting on their own," since "the vast majority of Americans, whether businessmen, en vironmentalists or both, are responsible Technical Committees Elect The Food, Drug and Cosmetic Chemi cals Committee has re-elected George W. Ingle of Monsanto Company and W. H. Meyer of The Proctor & Gamble Company to the posts of chairman and vice chair man, respectively. Their terms run for two years beginning June 10. At the April meeting of the Chemical Packaging Committee, Stephan Kuzma of Allied Chemical Corporation was elected chairman of the committee for the two-year term beginning June 1. Joseph Sandford, Jr., of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company was elected to the post of vice chairman. citizens___ Before further harm is done i our society--including, of course, our natural environment--revisions to these statutes must be enacted. And, these revi sions must be based on a total definition of 'environment'--a definition that includes man's natural social and economic envi ronment." MCA Asks Your Help On Updating Mail Usts The recent postal rate increase has caused MCA to take a hard look at its mail ing costs and to ask member companies for help in cutting down on duplicate mail ings. Help is needed because of the sheer size of MCA's correspondence, which in cludes 170 mailing lists with 8000 names and 22,000 mailing plates. Member companies are asked to report duplicate mailings. If a plant manager re ceives a publication under both his title and name, for example, MCA should be notrfted. Returned mail stamped "Return to Sender" or "Addressee Unknown" is no help in eliminating duplications. If an inf vidual has been transferred, a change v.. address card should be completed and mailed. Also, notification of resignation, re tirement or death will help greatly in reduc ing unnecessary mailings. Tb?. OSHA Hearings Consider Revision of Noise Standard The Occupational Safety and Health Administration held hearings late in March on the possible revision of the industrial noise standard. As a result of the hearings, the Department of Labor is presently pre paring an environmental impact statement, but it has given no indication when the statement will be issued. The Scientific Advisory Committee on Noise recommends a time-weighted aver age of dBA 90, the current standard. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health recommends in its criteria document a time-weighted average of dBA 85 for new installations. 4 A. I. Roberts (left) and G. W. Rousseau of the Department of Transportation's Office of Hazardous Materials answer questions of industry representatives during an informal conference sponsored by MCA on the proposed consolidation of regulations hrthe transportation of hazardous materials and the proposed Hazard Identification System. /MOkNEWS Energy Data Unit Subject of Bill Under Scrutiny Legislation to establish a National Energy Information Office is being marked up in the Senate Interior Committee. The Energy Information Act, introduced by Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-Wis.), has more than 25 co-sponsors and would es tablish a National Energy Information Ad ministration to operate a National Energy Information System. The Department of the Interior would make the inspection and energy surveys called for in the legislation, but the new agency would be independent and charged with bringing together information on energy supply and demand. Under the bill, energy producing and consuming businesses and establish ments would be required to supply infor mation from both domestic and foreign op erations on all aspects of the energy supply Mrs. Peggy Walton, MCA's manager of consumer information, interviews Jack B. St. Clair, presi dent of Shell Chemical Company andchairman ofMCA's Executive Committee, for the radio program "Good Uving", while Carl A.Gerstacker, chairman of the board oi The Dow Chemical Company and member of the Executive Committee, looks on. Both were interviewed at the President's Reception last month on the chemicalindustryand the energy problem for radio spots that will be aired later this year on the program, which goes out to 450 radio stations around the country. Werner C. Brown, process and on energy consumption. The president of Hercules Incorporated and chairman of the board of MCA will be interviewed by Mrs. required information would include dis Walton early in May. closure on corporate structure, proprietary relationships, costs, prices, capital in MCA Argues for Rate Bureau Restraints vestments and profits. The collected data would be classified public, confidential or secret, depending on criteria still being shaped in the mark-up sessions. A good deal of discretion for classification, however, would rest with the head of the proposed administration. In a statement to the Interstate Com merce Commission, MCA has said that rate bureaus should be prohibited from protest ing or in any way interfering with indepen dent action proposals of their member companies. In addition, MCA recommended that rate increases should be proposed on a re gional basis and said that it should be un necessary for the commission to monitor public hearings of rate bureaus. No hearings have been held as yet by the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee on a comparable bill in the Flouse of Representatives. MCA's views were presented in a veri fied statement by Grant Arnold, general traffic manager of Ethyl Corporation and a member of the Traffic and Distribution Committee, in connection with the Safety Group From the U.K. Visits U.S. as MCA Guests A group of safety representatives from Allocation Laws Confusing? New Directory May Be Help commission's investigation of rate bu reaus. A rate bureau is an organization of carriers that sets uniform transportation the Chemical Industries Association (CIA) of Great Britain visited the United States as guests of MCA from April 29 to May 8. McGraw-Hill hopes to take some of the confusion out of petroleum allocation laws rates for its members and enjoys certain exemptions from antitrust laws. Their visit included a briefing on CHEMTREC at MCA headquarters and a meeting by its new directory entitled "Energy Action MCA also advised the ICC that the right with officials of the Occupational Safety Guide". The 64-page book is a summary in of independent action by a member of a and Health Administration in Washington layman's language of the intent and execu rate bureau does not adversely affect the before departing for Houston, Tex. tion of the allocation laws plus a complete rate structure and in fact is needed to pre In Texas, the seven representatives of directory of names, addresses and tele serve the validity of the rate structure. the Works Safety Committee of the CIA * i phone numbers of officials in state, local The Association also recommended that viewed the demonstration of chemical fire V i and federal agencies who can help people carriers continue to publish single-line fighting techniques at the Longview plant with their fuel or energy problems. rates, and it asked the commission to con of the Texas Eastman Company and visited The material was collected and com sider adoption of a rule which would pro plants of member companies in the Hous piled by McGraw-Hill World News bureaus vide for the automatic suspension of any ton area. They also attended a meeting of and correspondents in 50 states. rate that was developed by a rate confer the MCA Safety and Fire Protection Com The single copy price is $4.95. In lots of ence in violation of the section 5a agree mittee in Houston, along with a conference 200 or more, the price is $3.50 a copy. ment granting anti-trust immunity. on risk analysis. 5 BFG29429 24126005 Theme-of-the-Month This is another in a series of articles on contributions and innovations of the chemicals and allied products in dustry. Reprinting in plant andcorporate publications with or without supplemental information is unrestricted. In deed, such use is highly recommended as a means of developing better understanding of the industry by all levels of society. As Vital as Its Smell Is Bad According to a small item in the New York Times, a chemist in New York has devised what must be the cheapest, yet probably most effectivermeans of preventing auto theft invented. It has only three elements, a jar, a lid and household ammonia. After parking, the chemist partially unscrews the lid on a jarof ammonia he keeps in the trunk. The loose lid keeps the odor in, but if the unsuspecting thief steps on the gas, over goes the jar and out spills the am monia. The fumes are enough to start a whole den of thieves to choking. An interesting idea, but the good chemist has forgotten a basic rule: Accidents do happen, and ammonia, even in its very dilute household solution, can be dangerous. Imagine the possibilities for lawsuits if car keys are lent, but warnings forgotten. So, it's doubtful if this new use will cause industry to gear up for a sudden upsurge in demand for ammonia. But then, the chemical industry is already producing more ammonia than any other industrial chemical with the exception of sulfuric acid, some 15.5 million tons a year. For those of us who thought ammonia was only the breathchoking stuff used for cleaning windows, the question naturally arises: What is all that smelly stuff used for? An Element of Life The answer is that while ammonia is only nitrogen and hydro gen, nitrogen is one of the essential elements for all plant and animal life. Plants and animals cannot use the uncombined nitrogen found in the air around us, but nature has provided enough "fixed," or chemically combined, nitrogen by setting in motion the nitrogen cycle. In this cycle, nitrogen, in the form of chemical compounds, is stored by plants, which animals use as food. The animal breaks down the compounds, and some nitrogen enters into other com pounds necessary for nutrition, while some is returned to the soil in animal waste. Certain bacteria then transform the new nitrogen compounds into forms that can be used by plants, which trans form the compounds into those that are to serve once again as food for animals, and the cycle continues. For eons, this natural system sufficed, but an increasing popula tion depleted farm lands of their nitrogen content and modern sewage systems burned or washed out to sea organic wastes that would have returned much of the nitrogen to the soil. The im mediate result was a boom in the sales of guano to Europe. . With the. earth's soil being ever-more rapidly depleted of nitro gen, it was essential that chemistry develop a commercial process forthe synthetic production of nitrogen fertiliser. The Haber-Boscb process of making ammonia was the answer, and improvements in the process have made ammonia not only competitive with 6 other, natural sources of nitrogen fertilizers, but virtually the sole source. Ammonium nitrate, first produced forthe munitions indust' s become the leading solid nitrogen fertilizer. It analyzes at atv. a third nitrogen. Urea, which analyzes at close to 50 percent nitro gen, is produced by reacting ammonia with carbon dioxide and accounts for much of the new and planned nitrogen fertilizer production. But anhydrous liquid ammonia itself is the ultimate nitrogen fertilizer, analyzing out at 82 percent nitrogen. In this case, ammonia itself is injected directly into the soil. Nearly all explosives contain nitrogen and may be considered as derived from nitric acid and various organic materials, and ammonia is the raw material from which to obtain nitric acid. Nitric acid is used for more than making explosives, however, and it is the second most important industrial acid and the eighth largest tonnage industry chemical. Its uses sometimes sound exotic, as in this sentence: "Nitric acid is used to convert cyclo hexanone to adipic acid, which is a monomer." But the end result is simple: one of the most important nylons. Ammonia is also an important intermediate in making sulfa drugs, antimalarial compounds, vitamins and amino acids. You'll also find it in your toothpaste. The petroleum industry uses am monia to neutralize acids in refining oil in order to protect equip ment. The wine, beer and alcoholic beverage industries use am monia as a source for the nitrogen needed by microorganisms in fermentation. It is used in making synthetic resins, treating metals, making synthetic fibers and scouring synthetic natural fibers. Aniline, the foundation of the modem dyeing industry, is indirectly derived from ammonia, so that not only are our clothes made with thef of ammonia, they are colored with it too. And the shoes we v --the tanning industry uses ammonia as a depilatory and curing agent and to prevent slimes and molds from forming in the liquors it uses. The pulp and paper industry uses an ammonia base process to make cheaper, stronger paper and to pulp some woods that are too hard to pulp by the calcium base process. Ammonia is the refrigerant used in air conditioning large build ings and plants, and it is also used to make ice, process frozen foods and provide cooling in industrial processes like dewaxing lubricating oils. Demand Will Increase Considering the many and varied uses, it's easy to understand why some experts see the use of ammonia increasing by five percent annually for the next Five years. And that demand would seem simple to fill. After all, ammonia is basically only nitrogen and hydrogen, and our atmosphere is more than three quarters nitro gen. Hydrogen, however, comes from natural gas, liquified petro leum gas or naphtha--the very items in such short supply be cause of the energy crisis. An alternate supply source in the future may be high-sulfur fuel oil or gasified coal for ammonia synthesis gas, at higher cost further heightened by pollution controls. Nuclear energy might be used some day to supply the electricity needed to generate hy drogen by electrolysis of water. But right now, the world must worry through an ammonia crisis at a time when its food supply depends in part on its fertilizer supply. So, ammonia isn't just that smelly stuff to clean with--or to ton thieves with. It's vital to both our agricultural and industrial produc tion. AK^nbvs Miller Simpson, MCA Librarian, Marks 20 Years President William J. Driver last month presented a silver plate symbolic of 20 years of service with the Association to Mil ler Simpson, MCA librarian, in a ceremony attended by the Washington staff. Mr. Simpson was instrumental in creat- ing the library. When MjBSphNBS he came to MCA from George Washington s University's library in ' 1954, he found only a room with four bare ..SsSMHHlJL.-. walls. During the past Miller Simpson 20 years, he has lined those walls*with more than 3,200 volumes, an extensive vertical file and masses of government statistics pertaining to the chemical industry. "The purpose of the library," he says, "is to serve the MCA staff, MCA member com panies and the public in any way possible. To do this, we maintain materials on any development which would affect the chem ical industry." A graduate of Emory University in At lanta, Mr. Simpson had been an English teacher and a librarian at several univer sities before coming to MCA. He also has served as organist and choir director in several churches in the Washington area and elsewhere. His special interests in clude travel and classical music. Texas Chemical Council Honors High School Grads The Texas Chemical Council this spring is awarding slide rules to graduating seniors from 145 Texas high schools be cause of their excellence in chemistry, sci ence and math. Selections were made by principals and science department heads on the basis of scholarship, imagination and scientific aptitude. ; Texas Chemical Council President John , t T. Files, president of the Merichem Com ' * pany of Houston, noted this is the 20th con._ ` secutive year for the awards. He said the ' - intent of the council is to encourage the state's outstanding high school students to pursue a chemical career or to continue studies in the science field. who needs them? New Booklet Tells Consumer Reasons for Food Additives Because MCA believes that consumers should be informed about food additives, it has published a new booklet to make the "whys" of food additives more under standable. The 12-page booklet, "Food Additives: Who Needs Them?", answers questions on the amounts of additives used, how we can be sure they are really safe, why we can't go back to the "good old days" before modern additives, whether health and natural foods are really safer than pro cessed foods and where to find additional information about food additives. Included is a two-page chart showing the reasons for using food additives, some of those used and the foods in which they are used. "Food Additives: Who Needs Them?" is available without charge from Consumer Information, Manufacturing Chemists As sociation, 1825 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009. Slide Talk Depicts- Need for Feedstocks A slide presentation on the petro chemical industry's needs forfeedstocks is now available from the Petrochemical Energy Group (PEG). "Petrochemicals and Man-Made Mate rials" explains the realities of the energy problem and answers questions on supply and on the numerous military, political and economic problems caused by the shortages. The absolute reliance of the petro chemical industry on petroleum feed stocks is presented in some detail, along with a description of the innumerable products the industry makes. The 30-minute talk next focuses on the importance of the petrochemical industry in our economy and ends with a call for the development of new energy sources. The 61 -slide presentation costs $33.50 and is available from M. C. Carpenter, di rector of marketing communications, Dow Chemical, U.S.A., 2020 Dow Center, Mid land, Mich. 48640. Gordon Conference on Water The 1974 "Gordon Research Confer ence on Environmental Sciences: Water" will be held at New Hampton School, New Hampton, N.H., July 1-5. Applications to attend should be made well in advance because only approximately 100 con ferees will be accepted. For details, con tact Dr. Alexander M. Cruickshank, Direc tor, Gordon Research Conferences, Pastore Chemical Laboratory, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, R.l. 02881. A complete schedule of these Conferences appears in the March 8 issue of "Science". MCA CALENDAR Committee Meetings May 15. Food, Drug and Cosmetic Chemicals, Washington, D.C. May 15-16. Transportation and Distribution, Chicago, III. May 16. Public Relations, Washington, D.C. May 17. Education Activities, Washington, D.C. May 22. Joint Subcommittee on Environmental Law--Water Resources Committee, Washington, D.C. May 22-23. Water Resources, Washington, D.C. May 23-24. Technical Information Retrieval, St. Louis, Mo. May 29. Insurance Symposium, New York, N.Y. May 29. Insurance, New York, N.Y. May 29-30. AirQuality, Research Triangle Park, N.C. June 4-5. Solid Wastes Management, Charleston, W. Va. June 5. Plastics, White Sulphur Springs, W. Va. September 11-12. Water Resources, Boston, Mass. Other Events June 6-8. Annual Meeting. The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, W. Va. 7 24126007 BUSINESS CONDITIONS I Shipments' Value, Production Show First Quarter Gains - March shipments of chemicals and al lied products advanced 3.2 percent from February for a first quarter 1974 increase of 17.1 percent over the same quarter of 1973. Chemical production rose less than one percent in March, but the first quarter was 5.2 percent higher than the same quar ter a year ago. Recently issued official data show that the industry's net profits aftertaxes were up 24 percent in the last quarter of 1973 com pared with the like period a year earlier. For the year 1973. chemical earnings were 26.4 percent above the previous year, while all manufacturing earnings rose 31.9 percent. Capital outlays for chemicals in the first quarter of 1974, based on JanuaryFebruary reports, were an estimated 31 percent above the same 1973 period. At the same time, projected expenditures for the year 1974 were revised to $5.31 billion, a 19 percent increase. Chemical wholesale prices rose 5.9 per cent in March, for a first quarter increase of 15 percent. March employment advanced 0.6 percent from February, and the first quarter was 2.7 percent above the same quarter a year ago. Exports rose 3.3 percent in March, while imports advanced 5.6 percent. First quar ter comparisons showed exports up 63.5 percent and imports up 19.5 percent, giv ing a chemical trade surplus of $1.3 billion. All U.S. trade in March registered a deficit of SI 71 million. Economic Indicator Date Compiled: April 30,1974 Latest month Sam parted r quarter yearaoa Percent change Annual data latest year* GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT' (Annual Rate) (bil. 3) IQ 1,351.8 1,242.5 + 8.8% Si CONSUMER PRICE INDEX2 All Items (1967=100) Mar. 143.1 129.8 + 10.2 133.1 INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION INDEX3 Total Chemicals & Products (1967=100) Mar Mar. 123.9 155.3 123.7 + 0.2 146.8 + 5.8 125.6 150.2 WHOLESALE PRICE INDEX2 All Commodities Chemicals & Allied Products (1967=100) Mar. Mar. 154.5 127.3 129.7 +19.1 106.7 +19.3 135.5 110.0 VALUE OF SHIPMENTS' Manufacturing Chemicals & Allied Products (mil. $) Mar. 78,309.0 69,719.0 + 12.3 866,489.0 Mar. 6,518.0 5,488.0 +18.8 67,092.0 CORPORATE PROFITS AFTER TAXES* Manufacturing Chemicals & Allied Products CAPITAL EXPENDITURES' Manufacturing^ -r? " Chemicals & Allied Products (mil. $) 4Q 12,968.0 10,125.0 +28.1 48,095.0 4Q 1,435.0 1,157.0 +24.0 5,686.0 (M. *) IQ IQ 9.38 7.80 +20:3 1.14 .87 +31.0 38.01 4.46 EMPLOYEES, ALL2 Manufacturing Chemicals & Allied Products (thorn.) Mar. 19,657.0 19,521.0 + 0.7 19,820.0 Mar. 1,044.2 1,016.2 + 2.8 1,029.5 EMPLOYEES, PRODUCTION WORKERS2 Manufacturing (thom.) Mar. 14,361.0 14,345.0 + 0.1 Chemicals & Allied Products Mar. 608.3 592.0 + 2.8 14,575.0 599.8 HOURLY EARNINGS. PRODUCTION WORKERS2 Manufacturing ($) Mar. Chemicals & Allied Products Mar. 4.23 3.98 + 6.3 4.65 4.36 + 6.7 4.07 4.47 EXPORTS OF MERCHANDISE' Total Chemicals (mil. S) Mar. 7,673.9 5,308.5 +44.6 lr Mar. 698.5 420.4 +66.2 4 -5 IMPORTS, GENERAL' Total Chemicals (mil. $) Mar. 7,845.2 5.410.5 +45.0 69,121.2 Mar. 248.9 185.9 +33.9 2,436.7 TRADE BALANCE' Total Chemicals (mil. $) Mar. -171.3 -102.0 + 1,677.2 Mar. .+449.6. +234.5 +91.7 +3,311.8 'Oepaitmint of Commara. ^Department ol Labor.1Federal Reserve Board. *Federal Trade Commlssioa. *1973. yUCkNEU's John E. Slavick, Editor Published monthly by Manufacturing Chemists Association 1825 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20009. soo92rr#2 MR C0*0* POUji , b rc do o 8i? h c m *ix <i co TO 0. 0 fK !T 8 fc 81 VO CLTVCtH VO - OHIO 4-4 I 3 I it I Ccipies to: A. Vittone R. D. Scott J. L. Nelson E. W. Harrington H. Waltemate B. M. G. Zwicker G. Pow W. J. Wilcox P. J. Weaver R. B. Downey E. B. Osborne R. P. Kenney - A. L. Hatfield - C. R. Flynn BFG29430 V PQW frif