Document e5XR97129w8D31G848N25xbaG

CHEMICAL t ENGINEERING NEWS -- FEB. 2, X976 The Chemical World This Week Like most oilier measures of indus costs during the recession has been industry's 42% rise in production try performance, productivity and stopped. The relative quid in this over this period. The reason is that unit lobAf costs in the chemicals indicator over the past three quar actual hours worked in 1975 were and allied' products industry have ters leaves unit labor costs in the about 5%> less than in 1967. Tins cooled off from their outstanding fourth ouartcr just 1.2% higher than drop was due largely to the reces recovery pace in the third quarter. in fourth-quarter 1974. sion. 'Die level of hours worked riwe Still, preliminary results calculated However, for all of 1976 unit labor strongly in the third ami fourth 1>V C&KN from government. data costs were still about 97* over 1971. quarters, although not ns fust as show continued improvement after 'Phis increase is greater than the 8% production. the collapse in these two indicators increase in 1974 over 1972 and very The rise in productivity in the during the recession. much out of line with the chemicals fourth quarter just about matched Productivity (physical output per and allied products industry's aver the gain in wages. Ileme. the static hour worked by production person age annual 17c drop in unit labor rending for fourth-quarter unit nel) in chemicals and allied prod costs from 1964 through 1973. The labor costs. The 1.87* quarter in ucts made its third successivequnr- industry's labor cost for a unit of quarter gain in wages in the fourth Icr-to-qunrtor gain in the fourth output is now about 157o higher than quartet was also less than the cor quarter with a rise of 1.2%. This in 1967. responding rises in the past three pirkup is much less than the re Average productivity in chemi quarters. vised 6.2% guin in the third quarter. cals and allied products for all of For 1975 as a whole, wages in However, it brings the year-to-year 1975 was about 1% over 1974. This chemicals and allied products rose productivity increase back up to the weak gain is about the same as the about 10% over 1974. This com industry's traditional pace with a gain in 1974 over 1973.MBolh years pares with a rise of 971. in 1974 over reading of about 8% by year's end. arc considerably under the indus 1972. The increases in both years Final government data on the try's average 7% annual gain from were above the fairly steady 5 to 1% fourth quarter and a revision in data 1964 thropgh-'!973i -Average pro- annual increases in wages in the series for previous years will change ductivily in 1975 remained stalled previous several years. The indus these figures somewhat in tltc-ncxt" 'oh a plateau about 50% higher than try's average hourly wage in 1975 few months. / productivity in 1967. was 737e higher than in 1967. This Unit labor costs (labor cost per The 50% rise in productivity in increase has outstripped the indus unit of physical output) in chemi the past eight years slightly exceeds try's 507 rise in productivity during cals and allied products.'atayed just the chemicals and allied products this period. about even in the fourth quarter with the third quarter, according to preliminary calculations. This did Monsanto plans to stop making PCB's not continue the 1.8%[quarter-to- quaricr drop in the third quarter, which was the first such drop in two and a half yours. However, the fourth-quarter reading confirms that the runaway rise in unit labor Monsanto, the only U.S. producer times in high concentrations, in a of polychlorinated biphenyls variety of fish and animals, in rivers (PCB's)* says it will stop making and lakes, in bottom sediments, and them "eventually." F. J. Fitzgerald, even in foods. Adverse effects began a Monsanto corporate vice presi Nto be attributed to PCHV For ex dent, says it's too early to set an ex ample, one study showed that feed Productivity gain back act timetable for the phase-out. But, ing chickens small amounts of up to usual 8% rata % ytaHo-yttr gain* he adds, "as soon as we are satis , PCB's caused a marked drop in egg fied that the electrical power indus "hatchability." Also, the reproduc try's needs for usable, acceptable tion rate fell off precipitously in alternate dielectric fluids has been ranch mink fed PCB-contarninnted met, by whomever, Monsanto will coho salmon from Bake Michigan. voluntarily shut down its BOB man The mink ranchers had to switch to ufacturing unit." different, more expensive feeds. PCB's came into commercial use Because of the growing concern more than 45 years ago. Their main about environmental effects. Mon use has been as dielectric and heal santo in 1971 voluntarily adopted transfer fluids for capacitors and the policy of selling PCB's only for transformers, but they also found use in closed electrical systems. wide application as plasticizers, as Production fell to about 40 million hydraulic and lubricating fluids, lb a year. Despite the restriction, and as components of "carbonless PCB contamination has remained carbon paper." U.S. production distressingly high in some areas. peaked at 72 million lb in 1970. According to some studies, PCH The compounds were long levels in Lake Michigan trout and thought to be relatively inert and coho salmon actually have increased nontoxic. But about 1966 a Swedish since 1972. scientist discovered PCB residues in Consequently, there has been a ?fish and wildlife tissues. Since then rowing clamor for a complete ban. PCB's have been detected, some ast November, for exomplc, at a HONS 031841 HONS 031842 CliicflK" inocli(i|t on I'CH's, nssistnnt interior seuelary Nathaniel l\ Iteccl complained that imillimil liondollnr programs to rebuild Great Lakes fisheries would be "for naught" if high PCI! concentration made the fish unfit for consumption. He cnllcd for elimination of all .sources PCH's within three yenrs. And'Environmental Protec tion Agency ndministmtor Husscll K. Trnm has on several occasions cited the PGM problem ns evidence of the need for n strong toxic sub stances control act. Tor most Applications, switching from PCH's lias caused no gicat difficulty. Hut because of A combi nation of POH properties--stability, nonflammability, and high dielec tric constant- no completely satis factory substitutes have been found for use in transformers and capuci- tors. However, several companies arc working on finding subst itutes.D Safety data of drugs, pesticides queried Drugs and pesticides may be reach ing the U.S. market without ade quate proof of their safety, two gov ernment agencies told the Senate Subcommittee on Health late last month. The problem arises from the fact that in most instances regula tory agencies, such as the Environ mental Protection Agency and the Food & Drug Administration, must rely on data submitted by a prod uct's manufacturer to determine that product's safety. But there is f;onerally no agency supervision of aciiitics where the safely tests are performed. KPA deputy administrator John R. Quarles Jr. told tho subcommit tee, chaired bv Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (I).-Moss.), that although "private laboratories generally pro vide competent and honest service, there arc indications that serious problems may exist" in the conduct of pesticide testing. These prob lems can range from a laboratory's technical incompetence to perform safety tests due to an inadequacy of personnel, equipment, or manage ment experience to the withholding from ERA of valid test results indi cating dangerous pesticide charac teristics. In addition, Quarles says, a laboratory's independent Scien tific judgment might be impaired bv Its close economic relationship with a pesticide producer on which it is dependent for contract work. Or the laboratory, at the request of (he manufacturer, might intentionally misrepresent test results. | Balloon probes seek I fluorocarbon data As the debate over chlnrofltioroear- bons and stratospheric,oxime con tinues. researchers arc coni inuing lo strive to measure nrcurnlelv the re actions taking place more than 50,000 feet above the eurth'sMjrfncc. Sonic effort has been directed to ward this end already, including the launch of a satellite, the Atmo sphere Explorer. Iasi November (C&KN, Non'. 24, 1075, page 25). This satellite will look down on "the earth's ozone layer from about 85 miles from the planet's surface. Us ing hneksentter ultraviolet speclro- photometry, it will determine the Quarles told the subcommittee density and vertical profile of the that KPA has found instances in ozone layer. which an .unknown number of sub A somewhat more direct ap cutaneous tumors were removed proach that has been used before from test animals during the Iasi will he attempted again this month six months of life and where inde by scientists from the University of pendent pathologists diagnosed Wyoming, Laramie, working with many more cancerous and precan- the Nat ional Oceanic & At mo- ccrous tumors in lest adimnls than spheric Administration (NOAA). did the original laboratory patholo Using balloon probes, the research gists. . ers will look for traces of chioro- FDA's system of new drug regula fluorocarbons 11 and 12, used as tion is also heavily dependent on the propellants in aerosol products and accuracy of data submitted by the as refrigerants. sponsor of the drugs. Hut Gregory Chlorofluorocnrbons arc believed J. Ahart, director of the General Ac by some scientists to initiate a counting Office's manpower and chemical reaction in the strato welfare division, told tne subcom sphere that would deplete the ozone mittee that FDA's monitoring of there. This layer shields the clinical investigation--in which planet's surface from harmful levels drugs are tested on humans has of ultraviolet radiation that other been limited. He said that a review wise could cause more skin cancer of 165 clinical investigators, re and climatic changes. viewed from July 1972 to January At the same time, the Wyoming 1974, showed that 115, or 74%, failed scientists will attempt to determine to comply with one or more of the the effect of the earth's natural ni regulations covering human testing. trogen oxide uycle on stratospheric According to Ahart, half of the in ozone. At least one scientist has vestigators did not keep adequate speculated that use of ntan-mndc records of the drug being tested, nitrogen fertilizers is throwing the 35% did not get proper consent from natural nitrogen cycle out of balance the patients involved, and 23% did --leading to increased destruction not maintain records accurately re of ozone by nitric oxide produced flecting the condition of the pa in the stratosphere by photodissoci tients before, during, and after the ation of nitrogen oxide (CAEN, study. Nov. 24, 1975, page 6). However, the subcommittee was Balloon samplers will be launched told that steps are being taken to from the Navy's weather station at ensure the accuracy, reliability and McMurdo Sound. Antarctica, completeness of test data submit where they can rise into what Dr. ted to the agencies. Quarles said Arthur L. Schmeltekopf, head of that EPA, FDA, and tne National the sampling program, calls "the Cancer Institute have agreed to es relatively clean stratosphere over tablish a cooperative auditing and Antarctica." Schmeltekopf believes inspection program. The program the chlorofluorocarlion situation will set laboratory testing standards there is as it was over the lower including standards for personnel latitudes two lo three years ago. qualifications, equipment, and Samplers on board the 35-lb in laboratory management. And the strument package of each double program will call for regular audit balloon consist of six stainless steel ing of laboratories performing safety spherical flasks that have been evac testing. uated and meticulously cleaned.