Document p36z6oY2Y6wgpzyaKx4rNvZj

_ r-?rr~!\\ J/niii n.r-'ie* t. 15 1^ r . : S:I Tt II S' .U.F.M knih4tfllVdUtlMliMII Volume 13, Number 8 14 Ou'il'ci 5571 1 EDITOk Sheldon Novick CONSULTING EDITOR Virginia Brodinc SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR f Kevin P. Shea ASSOCIATE EDITOR Julian McCaull . k. ASSISTANT EDITOR Judith G. Meyer BUSINESS MANAGER Nancy Shea ART DIRECTOR Robert Charles Smith NEWS EDITOR Terri Aaronson PHOTOGRAPH RESEARCH Dianne Hocncr I STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Daniel T. Magidson Environment is published monthly except bimonthly January/Ecbruary and July/Aup.usi by the Committee for Environment.il Information, 438 N. Skinker Boulevard. St. Louis, Missouri 63130. An official publication of Scientists' Institute for Public Information. Subscription rates are as follows: I year $8.50, 2 years $14.50, 3 years 520.00,student S6.00, foreign subscriptions SI.50 per year additional. ; Additional information regarding bulk rates and overseas and air mail rates may be obtained from the Circulation Manager. Contributions are tax deductible. Checks may be made payable to Environment or Committcclor Environmental Information. Subscription .nut cii.im'e-ol'-.wMrk**\ information . should be aiMrrtscd to Circulation Department, ' Fnvironmint, Pom-Oilicc Box 755, : Bridgeton, Missouri 63044. ^ Allow two months for changes of address. , Indexed in Readera* Guide to Periodical i Literature beginning January 1968. { Entitled Scientist and Citizen previous ' \ to the January February 1969 issue. : Microfilm copies available from Xerox I University Microfilms, 300 North Zecb Road, i Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106. | Back vo(umcs(Sl 5.00 each) and back issues arc available from Maxwell Reprint Company, Fairvicw [ Park, Elmsford, New York 10523. Copyright 1971 Committeefor Environmental Information. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without the express permission of the publishers. ; Editorial correspondence and manuscripts . ,, should be addressed to The Editor, Environment, 438 N, Skinker bivd.,St. Louis. Missouri o3l36. . Secoad<lass postage paid at St. Louis, Missouri. THE NEW-CAR SMELL By Kevin P. Shea Phthalates, a class of chemicals generically related to thalidomide, are used to make common plastics soft and flexible. These "plasticizers" evaporate from the plastic interiors of cars, creating the familiar "new-car smell." They and other plastic components have been implicated in the sometimes fatal shock-lung syndrome that follows massive blood transfusions: in laboratory Iexperiments they have affected the nervous system and fetal development of animals; and, as usual, no one knows the effects of exposing millions of people to their vapors. --:--------------------------------------------- ------------------- --. THE POLLUTION OF ASIA 10 By M. Taghi Farvar, Margaret L. Thomas, Howard Boksenbaum, and Theodore N. Soule Asian students recently met with Western scientists and found serious dis agreements over environmental problems and their causes h Asia. Western ers recommend slowing population and even economic growth, while Asian students and officials emphasize the need for development: a few question the Western technology which lies at the crux of the dilemma. METALS IN THE AIR 18 By Henry A. Schroeder Twenty-two metals found in the air are derived principally from u.e g of coal and oil; cadmium, nickel, and lead present reai public health nazarui. Nickel is present in coal, but is also added to gasoline, a practice wh.cn substantially increases the hazard from this toxic metal, which has been implicated in cancer of the lungs and respiratory tract. ALDRIN AND DIELDRIN 33 By Charles F.Wurster Two closely related pesticides which present a greater hazarc to man and animals than DDT, which they resemble, are under consideration for removal from the market. They are highly resistant to breahdown, are attributed throughout the world, and are increasingly concentrated in food chains. Their effects range from the inhibition of photosynthesis at extremely low concentrations to induction of cance-in experimental animals. DEPARTMENTS SPECTRUM LETTERS REVIEWS THE JAUNDICED EYE 25 46 50 53 DSW 588301 STLCOPCB4093637