Document O30Eky9EaxVOgNJMpyppqBddK

* Letters Continued from page 34 unknown, and the compound could be either a preserved metabolic product or I might have been formed during formation evaluation through the insurance compa which would require maintenance of of the oil. If Dr. Nazir and coworkers nies financed from new employer con multiple public facilities by the patent are able to elucidate the origin of this tributions affecting cost plus federal office, seems of doubtful value in view of and related esters, they may indirectly be contributions can bring any tangible al existing service. Public service, even on making a major contribution to our leviation. This is clearly a political issue. prepaid requests for patent copies and/or knowledge regarding the origin of petro It can be seriously questioned as to information, is slow or impossible with leum. whether a huge deserving and politically the existing organization in Washington. Irving A. Breger as well as biologically active segment of It would seem that currently available U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, D.C. the population can be omitted from cost service ought to be improved before it is of living adjustments which are experi diffused, since multiple centers would probably be even less accessible for gen Geneva Protocol enced by other occupational groups where lobbying pressure is strong enough to eral public service and would serve SIRS: A draft convention for the pro rock the ship. mainly as an arm of large, specialized hibition of biological warfare was sub If the Society, as I foresee, plans to business enterprise. For one thing, pat mitted to the UN General Assembly on rechart its course in the direction of be ents are already too numerous to search Sept. 30, 1971. Although the framers of ing more responsive to members' profes based on the products they support or on the draft convention, the United States sional interests, then I suggest that it the manufacturer of given products. It is foremost among them, reaffirm their "ad should take a strong and lively interest necessary to know the specific inventor herence to the principles and objectives" in applying equal pressure to improve the (usually the assignor) and probably the of the 1925 Geneva Protocol and call upon economic status of retired chemists and issue date or patent number as well. Sub all states to comply strictly with them, chemical engineers in a similar vein. ject matter, as from product information, the effect of the draft convention is to Norbert J. Kreidl is not sufficient. Hence the service aspect undermine the clear prohibition of the Rolla, Mo. - does not really include facilities for full Geneva Protocol, which bans the first use public disclosure as an agreed commit in war of "asphyxiating, poisonous or ment in return for protection of a right to other gases, and of all analogous liquids, Environmental studies exclusive practice of the subject matter materials or devices . . . and of bacterial SIRS: In your Science/Education Con of a patent. Practically, this means that methods of warfare." centrates (C&EN, Nov. 1, 1971, page 19), a disclosure is achieved only within a spe The proposed convention will handicap brief article announces our doctoral pro cialized industrial community, not for the rather than strengthen efforts to achieve gram in environmental science and engi general consumer, and not for groups that an effective ban on CB weapons. The neering. Unfortunately, it is not clear may envision other means to desired ends simple wording of the Geneva Protocol from the article that this program has or uses other than those claimed by in was effective until undermined by the not yet received the required academic ventors and their assignees. If additional United States' employment in Vietnam of and administrative approvals. Our target facilities are established, I would hope tear gases, harassing agents, herbicides, date for beginning approved operation of they would provide patent searches from defoliants, etc. It thus ill behooves our this program is September 1972. The stu subject matter or product information Government to proclaim "adherence" to dents mentioned are actually enrolled in alone for interested consumers and for its "principles and objectives"! The de regular programs and, by agreement with public interest groups. struction of bacteriological weapons and the various departments, are informally Arthur H. Goldkamp a renunciation of their further develop-' affiliated with (and assisting in the de Bellevue, Wash. ment and production is to be welcomed*, velopment of) the embryonic program. but it is of little use if a ban on chemical C. S. Foote, Professor of Chemistry weapons, including harassing agents, henfc - W. F. Libby, Director, Institute of bicides, and defoliants is not also agreelrf Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Univer SIRS: The identification by Dr. D. J. upon. The renunciation of biologica^T sity of California, Los Angeles . Nazir and coworkers of dioctylphthalate weapons alone is an attempt to provide a in the hearts of cows, dogs, rabbits, and rats (C&EN, Nov. 8,1971, page 7) leads me smokescreen for continued use of chemi cal weaponry in flagrant violation of the Final word on Taylor to call attention to our own experiences Geneva Protocol and in disregard of SIRS: Your Nov. 15, 1971, issue (page 6) with this compound. In particular we world public opinion (viz. the UN resolu contains letters from. Dr. Gabor and Dr. are concerned lest there be a predisposi tion of December 1969). Blodgett commenting critically on the tion to overidentify this material as a Our Government should ratify the 1925 Taylor family picture in the Oct. 11, 1971, pollutant, in view of its industrial use as Geneva Protocol without any qualifying issue, and on the size of the Taylor family a plasticizer and to ignore its possible reservations, and should renounce the de itself. I understand the doctors as stat geochemical significance. velopment, stockpiling, and use of chem ing that a number of the Taylor children In 1958, H. F. Phillips and I published ical as well as of biological weapons. should never have been born. No person the results of studies in which we identi- J. S. Beilin has the right to say this to another. Life fled a dioctylphthalate in a crude oil from Associate Professor of Chemistry, Poly is a mystery, but I believe that every in : Duchesne County, Utah (Geochim. et technic Institute of Brooklyn, Brooklyn, dividual is incapable of imagining the Cosmochim. Acta, 15, 51). Shortly N.Y. nothingness of not having experienced it. after the paper appeared, we were con If there is such a person, he should wish fronted by skeptics who felt that we had laboriously isolated a contaminant, Straits of retired persons it only for himself. Walter C. Broad ' namely a plasticizer. We could only reply SIRS: Although the Society has taken Midland, Mich. by pointing out that we never use plastic some steps to enhance the employment __ of any kind in our work and, moreover, opportunities of its retired members, and Editor's note. With publication of the that it would be most difficult to attribute although ACS also has taken the lead in above letter re Dr. Taylor and his family : 0.15% of a crude oil to contamination developing a new pension system with and comments. on the subject, we will from a plastic (which was never used, emphasis on portability of benefits using - draw to a close this particular discussion anyhow!). The ester we had isolated, we a variable annuity approach, I feel it im- so we may get on with other topics, , feel now as we did then, was indigenous portant that the Society ponder what it > to the oil. can do to remedy the massive impact of . At a somewhat later date, a colleague inflation on the large body of currently por shorter work week j studying an Italian oil identified the same retired members. r ester. -To satisfy his skeptics, he repeated In many instances, their woefully small SIRS: Just a note to second the corn- ; the entire collection of the oil and its pensions have reduced their income to- ments of Donald B. Miller (C&EN, Sept, s analysis taking every possible precaution the poverty level, even though their pen- -13,1971, pages 65 and 66). Unemployment i to avoid contamination of any sort. sions earlier were calculated in good faith is likely to be a problem for chemists for 1 Again he isolated the dioctylphthalate. from employer and employee contribu- some time, and a shorter work week is f- Still a "third colleague, this time French, tions based on insurance mathematics much better than higher unemployment, l - was able to detect phthalic anhydride and related equity. The present pitiful In fact it may turn out to be--not the routinely in crude oils from North Africa, value of such pensions is entirely due to lesser of two evils but rather a positive i It is quite obvious from our experiences inflation, for which the individual em- good! Use ACS influence to promote it. _ r that dioctylphthalate occurs at least in ployer and employee are not directly ac- : .. James E. Blau- : certain crude oils. As we noted in our countable. : Institute for Enzyme Research, University . paper, however, ithe origin of the ester is Nevertheless, nothing short ' -- of Wisconsin, Madison . . . ... S' " --* DSW 587912 'n^17, 1972 C&EN ^9 -- STLCOPCB4093248