these groups comment are the selection of reviewers and the appropriateness and adequacy of the reviews. In our judgment, this examination . . . is the most effective way to review these aspects of our stew­ardship. Even if additional paperwork would be of significant value, anything more than a virtually meaningless pro forma exercise would require a consider­able increase in staff." D

Regulators release chemicals hit list As promised last year, key federal regu­lators are now gearing up for a coordi­nated attack on hazardous chemicals and other substances. They've just released their plan of attack and it targets 24 categories for special attention.

Toward this end, the Consumer Prod­uct Safety Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, Food & Drug Ad­ministration, and Occupational Safety & Health Administration got together and formed the Interagency Regulatory Liai­son Group (IRLG). Observes OSHA chief Eula Bingham, "Our cooperative efforts mean that the government's left hand now knows what the right is doing about these compounds." Basically what the agencies have agreed to do is to share their indi­vidual research, data, and analyses; avoid duplicative regulations; and attempt to set consistent standards to control haz­ards.

The group's "hit list" is not strictly a list of 24 compounds, however, since it includes such ill-defined categories as

Interagency group targets "substances11 for action

Acrylonitrile Arsenic Asbestos Benzene Beryllium Cadmium Chlorinated solvents (including chloro­

form, trichloroethylene, perchloro-ethylene, and methylchloroform)

Chlorofluorocarbons Chromâtes Coke oven emissions Diethylstilbestrol (DES) Dibromochioropropane (DBCP) Ethylene dibromide (EDB) Ethylene oxide and its residues Lead Mercury and mercury compounds Nitrosamines Ozone Polybrominated biphenyls Polychlorinated biphenyls Radiation Sulfur dioxide Vinyl chloride and polyvinyl chloride Waste disposal to the food chain

coke oven emissions, chlorinated solvents, "radiation," and "waste disposal to the food chain." At least two of the four fed­eral regulators plan action against each of the 24 targets.

As a basis for action against target substances, IRLG has brought forth a 236-page document that includes a sum­mary of regulatory actions already taken as well as plans for the future. "The plans aim at stopping or minimizing the risks associated with these compounds while maximizing their benefits," notes EPA Administrator Douglas M. Costle.

Most of the chemicals and substances on the IRLG list already have been the subject of some sort of regulatory action, or they wouldn't be on the list in the first place. For example, chlorofluorocarbons have been banned for use as aerosol spray can propellants, and polychlorinated bi­phenyls (PCB's) likewise shortly will be put out of business as electrical insulating fluids. EPA, however, is still awaiting a report from the National Academy of Sciences on the use of chlorofluorocarbons as refrigerant gases before the agency determines the gases' fate completely.

A more typical case, or cases are chlo­roform and other chlorinated solvents such as trichloroethylene, perchloroeth-ylene, and methylchloroform, all of which have important industrial uses. FDA has banned chloroform from cough syrups and toothpaste, among other drugs and cosmetics. And EPA, according to IRLG documents, will issue standards regulat­ing their presence in drinking water supplies. OSHA and CPSC have not yet acted on the chlorinated solvents, but they are used in many industrial pro­cesses, for example, metal degreasing, and in consumer products such as paints and household cleaners.

In addition, the IRLG report says that new controls will be issued by several agencies on target compounds such as nitrosamines. EPA, for example, will propose new air and water pollution reg­ulations governing nitrosamines and FDA is currently studying the hazards of ni­trosamines in foods and cosmetics.

Some of what the agencies are planning to do about the substances identified by IRLG is expressed in the vague terms that government regulators use when they don't know what to do. For instance, in the case of chlorinated solvents, the IRLG document recommends, among other things, that "as the results of ongoing contracts and studies come in, more meetings should be held so that regulatory considerations can be a joint effort."

Nevertheless, the report serves as a starting point for joint agency action against what they see as major chemical hazards. Previously, for example, FDA and OSHA would have been operating in their separate bureaucratic vacuums in attempting to regulate exposure to, say, diethylstilbestrol, a synthetic hormone linked to cancer in people, and used both as a human drug and as a livestock feed additive to promote weight gain. OSHA comes into the act, of course, because of worker exposure to DES. D

The unique properties of these

are already proving out in a wide range of applications.

When we introduced our new specialty branch chain alcohols last year, we were sure that industry would recognize many application possibilities for a start­ing material that offered:

Excellent hydrolytic, oxidative and color stability; much lower titers than straight chain alcohols of similar chain length; unusually high boiling and flash points.

Now users are proving it, applying this unique combination of properties in the manufacture of esters, sulfates, ethoxy-lated alcohols, ethoxylated sulfates, phosphates, among others.

The Standamul " GT and GTO series are available in six pure cuts (C12-C26) and in three blends (C1620-C3236). See what you can make of them.

Write for samples and technical data.

Chemical Specialt ies Division

Henkel 185 Cross St., Fort Lee, N.J. 07024

Sales and Technical Services: EAST. 1301 Jefferson St . Hoboken. Ν J 07030 WEST: 12607 Cerise Ave . Hawthorne. Ca 90250

CIRCLE 15 ON READER SERVICE CARD

Dec. 11, 1978 C&EN 19

new branch chain alcohols