Document Z49M9N9x7ELvwqw7L0xwM2rOO

Industrial Hygiene Digest August. 1967 LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS 7 23 Flammable Fabrics. The House Subcommittee on Commerce and Finance completed hearings on H.R. 5654 (Staggers, D.,-W. ,Va.) and similar bills to amend the Flammable Fabrics Act. Rep. A. H. Quie (R.-Minn. ) told the committee "it is evident that dangerously flammable fabrics are being marketed which are beyond the reach of the Flammable Fabrics Act, although flame-retardant material in one form or another is available for practically all of our fabric needs." Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Paul Rand Dixon advised the committee that a survey showed "that the articles from which the greatest number of deaths and injuries result are items of bedding and upholstered furniture. ' The survey showed Z04 deaths and 1, 747 injuries because of ignition and burning of bedding, and 44 deaths and Z, 168 injuries from the ignition of upholstered , furniture. He stated that "most'' of these deaths and injuries "resulted from articles which would pass the present flammability tests under the Act." The FTC urged: (1) That the term "article of wearing apparel" be defined to include "any costume, article of clothing or accessory worn or intended to be worn by individuals, " (2) "it would be most desirable to have all children's clothing made flameproof by applying a chemical finish to all combustible fabrics or by having such clothing made of noninflammable material." -- Natl. Safety News 95, 77 (June, 1967). 724 Controls on Pesticide Manufacture. A bill to put tighter controls on pesticide manufacture has been introduced by Senator Abraham Ribicoff (D. -Conn.). S. 2057 would require registration of all pesticide manufacturing plants with the Secretary of Agriculture and would permit the Department of Agriculture to inspect these plants. It would also provide penalties for producing pesticides in unregistered plants or for using production methods that "do not conform to good manufacturing practice." Meanwhile, the National Academy of Sciences will make a study of pesticide residues in the environment for USDA. The NAS study has four goals: to review and summarize recent data on pesticide residues; to evaluate the significance of these residues; to look at the possible impact, both economic and biological, of substituting less persistent pesticides for those now in use; and to establish criteria for evaluating present regulations. -- Chem. Eng. News 45, 35 (July 10, 1967). 725 Licensing of Patented Drugs. A proposal to force licensing of high-priced patented drugs is before Congress again. This time, the proposal, first considered during the Kefauver drug hearings, is in H.R. 10777 introduced by Rep. Seymour Halpern (R. -N. Y. ). Under the bill, the holder of a patent on a drug would be forced to issue licenses to competitors to manufacture it if, three years after the patent issues, it is found that the net profit on the drug exceeds 400%. The Federal Trade Commission would enforce the new rule. Rep. Halpern urges immediate action on his bill "to curb those who would take advantage of monopoly to capitalize on human misery." -- Chem. Eng. News 45, 25 (June 26, 1967). 726 Committee on Environmental Problems. A proposal to create a committee to advise on long-range environmental problems cleared its first Congressional hurdle. S. Res. 68, which would create a select Senate committee with a life of only three years, has been approved by the Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations, and early approval by the parent Government Operations Committee seems likely. The select committee would provide a special forum where scientists and politicians could discuss the environmental problems that are likely to arise from technological advances and what might be done to solve them. -- Chem. Eng. News 45, 35 (July 10, 1967). | BOOKS, PAMPHLETS AND NOTICES I 727 Physiology in the Space Environment. Vol. II. Respiration. Publication 1485B. National Academy of Sciences. AVAILABLE FROM: Printing and Publishing Office, National Academy of Sciences, 2101 Constitution Avenue, Washington, D. C. 20418. 1 50 pp. (1967). PRICE: not given. At the request of the Office of Advanced Research and Technology of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, studies were undertaken in two areas of biomedical research germane 4. 03122575