Letters Pipe dream comes true SIRS: In C&EN for May 24 (page 11') under the heading "Recycling: Water from raw sewage," you reported "The 'pipe dream' of direct water from raw sewage is becoming a reality in a San Diego, Calif., pilot plant."

This is no pipe dream as can be seen in a paper ("Potable water from hos­pital waste by reverse osmosis") pre­sented in Los Angeles to the American Institute of Chemical Engineers in the fall of 1968 and published in their Sym­posium Series, "Water—1968."

The achievement goes to the AiRe-search Mfg. Co. of Phoenix, Ariz., who developed the method for the U.S. Army Medical Service as part of its "MUST" hospital complex.

Potable water yield from the proto­type was reported as more than 90% with overall rejection of dissolved salts across the membranes exceeding 99%.

K. A. H. Hooton Tempe, Ariz.

Nader and history SIRS: Re C&EN editorial, June 21: Come, come, Mr. McCurdy, are you kid­ding?—"Else, Mr. Nader may have no consumers to protect."

For your enlightenment, there will always be consumers—perhaps not as uninformed as those who have lived and are living under the philosophy of caveat emptor—yes, there will always be con­sumers, better informed ones than now exist, it is hoped.

The problem you posed in your edi­torial, America, Inc., vs. Ralph Nader, is really not new—some years ago the remedy tried was called fascism or nazism, or The Corporate State, a more euphemistic term. The gist of the re­marks attributed to various industry leaders seems to indicate that the les­sons of the past four decades have not been learned.

It seems to me that man has not de­veloped the necessary talents, up to this time, to enable him to cope with the very complex problems of this society. Only when a great effort is made to co­ordinate all of the disciplines in focus­ing on these problems will any real progress occur. Until that time, the piecemeal attempts at solution will only result in prolonging the life of the prob­lems and will be used primarily to still the voices of protest.

Yes, Mr. McCurdy, there will always be consumers, and they will be grateful to Ralph Nader for his concern and his concept of public service.

Moses Konigsberg, Ph.D. Tenafly, N.J.

Nader and pollution SIRS: I read C&EN's April 19 (page 9) commentary on "Nader Reports on Water" with amazement. The impres­sion it made on me was that Mr. Nader is suggesting that business is solely re­sponsible for the pollution of the na­tion's water supplies and that business is indifferent to these conditions.

This is hard to believe! I have not read the Nader report, however I cannot but wonder whether he and his "ex­perts" are qualified by experience or background to make such scathing re­marks as "corporate polluters . . . are

conning the public. . . ." How really qualified are he and his staff to make judgments on this problem?

Pollution has existed and will continue to exist in some form as long as there are people. If the countryside is littered with trash and the rivers are full of wastes it is because the total popula­tion created this condition and tolerates it. To state or imply that this is due to an anonymous group of people called "business" is to fail to face up to facts. As an example: The furor over plastic bottles can be traced to the fact that people liked them, found them to be convenient, and bought them. If this had not been so, manufacturers would have long since ceased to produce them. So, it seems rather illogical to blame this problem on "business."

Since "pollution" is a common pheno­menon created by everybody, it behooves everyone to do his bit to reduce it. It would seem to be very naive and childish to think that this will occur immediately, or that "pollution" will ever be elimi­nated, or that it can be reduced without everyone paying the price of a cleaner environment.

"Pollution and environment" appear to be the "in" fads at this time. Everybody can be an expert! Maybe this is a good safety valve to vent off some of the tension that seems so prevalent. How­ever, if the problem is going to be solved, it might be well for the average citizen to face up to the fact that he had a good deal to do with the existence of the problem and that he will have to pay something to correct it. Rather than dream of a "pollution-free environ­ment" which is unattainable, it might be more fruitful to consider what level of pollution he is willing to live with and support by his actions.

It might also be the time to recognize this as a problem shared by the business management and the populace; cool the rhetoric; and let the scientists, engi­neers, administrators, etc., get on with the job of reducing this problem to acceptable proportions without the emo­tional harassment implied by the Nader report.

S. T. Ross Tokyo, Japan

To metric? Why not to natural? SIRS: Do thinking chemists want to knowingly perpetuate the superstitious flat-earth world views that plagued hu­mankind during the Age of Homo Erec-tus, the Stone Age, the Age of Chaldean Magi and Mathematici, the Age of Chaos and Lydian Dice-makers, the Age of Metaphysics and Mythology, the Dark Age, the Age of Ptolemaic Geocentrism, the Middle Ages of Alchemy and Witch­craft, the Age of Holy Crusaders and Seers, and indeed, all the totalitarianized eras that preceded the Galilean Age of Reality and Reason? France's geocen­tric and aquacentric meter-kilogram-second unit system, as well as ancient Chaldea's egocentric (i.e. astrologer-centered) duodecimal system and the primitive Naked Apes' anthropocentric binary and decimal systems, clearly re­flect a world view that is even more narrow than Kepler's often-maligned heliocentrism and almost as narrow as Stahl's phlogiston-centered occultism or Heisenberg's electron-centered atomysti-cism.

Here are the unbreakable, economical successors to standard-size glass cylin­drical jars. You can safely drill, tap, or apply clamps. Heat resistant to 135° C. Use them as water baths, terra-ria, aquaria, bell jars, environmental chambers,for freeze-drying and other vacuum applications, and as large transparent, autoclavable containers.

The 1 gallon (6%" χ 91/4"), 2 gallon (83/4" χ 10"), 31/2 gallon (8%" x 18") and 41/2 gallon (12" χ 12") sizes are molded in transparent, distortion-free, unbreakable Lexan polycarbonate (Cat. No. 5300). All come with autoclavable polypropylene close-f i t t ing covers except the one gallon size which has a polyethylene cover.

Order from your Lab Supply Dealer. Ask for our Catalog or write Dept. 2107, Nalgene Labware Division, Rochester, New York 14602. •General Electric trademark

JULY 19, 1971 C&EN 5

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peV .ott\P<>undS

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NtVV ' Another i-0ctyl Sulfide (3-thiaundecanethiol-1) new member of the Phillips line

•—" ¥ ¥ • of petro-sulfur products listed below. 1

MERCAPTANS (THIOLS)

*Ethyl Mercaptan *iso-Propyl Mercaptan *n-Propyl Mercaptan

iso-Butyl Mercaptan *n-Butyl Mercaptan

sec-Butyl Mercaptan *tert-Butyl Mercaptan

sec-iso-Amyl Mercaptan *tert-Amyl Mercaptan

mixed-Hexyl Mercaptans *n-Hexyl Mercaptan

mixed-Heptyl Mercaptans *n-0ctyl Mercaptan *tert-Octyl Mercaptans tert-Nonyl Mercaptans n-Decyl Mercaptan n-Dodecyl Mercaptan

*tert-Dodecyl Mercaptans *tert-Tetradecyl Mercaptans *tert-Hexadecyl Mercaptans

Mixed Secondary Mercaptans *Mixed Tertiary Mercaptans *Cyclohexyl Mercaptan

Pinanyl Mercaptans—Type 2 Pinanyl Mercaptan—Type 10

Typical Purity Wt.%

99+ 98 99+ 98 98 97 98 97 98 97 96 97 98 96 97 95 96 97 94 82 96

94-98 99-» 96 98

DIFUNCTIONAL MERCAPTANS

Ethylcyclohexyl Dimercaptan TCD (Tricyclodecene) Mercaptan Anethole Mercaptan

*Dipentene Dimercaptan

SULFIDES

Methyl Sulfide *Ethyl Sulfide Allyl Sulfide η-Propyl Sulfide tert-Butyl Sulfide

*n-Butyl Sulfide

1 These Petro-Sulfur Compounds are available

98 97 98 98

99 96-99

98 96 97 97

DISULFIDES

η-Propyl Disulfide •tert-Butyl Disulfide

η-Butyl Disulfide tert-Amyl Disulfide tert-Octyl Disulfide tert-Dodecyl Disulfide

POLYSULFIDES

tert-Butyl Polysulfide tert-Amyl Polysulfide tert-Octyl Polysulfide tert-Dodecyl Polysulfide

SULFOXIDES AND SULFONES

η-Propyl Sulfoxide η-Propyl Sulfone η-Butyl Sulfoxide — Π 1. Ι Ο It 1 η-Butyl Sulfone

CYCLIC SULFONES

3-Methylsulfolane 3-Methylsulfolene

*Sulfolane *Sulfolene

MISCELLANEOUS

S-t-Butylthioglycolic Acid S-t-OctylthioglycolicAcid S-t-Dodecylthioglycolic Acid

Ethylenetrithiocarbonate *Ethylthioethanol

OTHER PETRO-SULFUR COMPOUNDS:

If you don't see what you need above, let us know. Well be happy to discuss your specific requirements.

in commercial quantities.

Special Products Division, PHILLIPS PETROLEUM COMPANY Bartlesville, Oklahoma 74004. Phone: 918 336-6600.

At Phillips 66 it's performance that counts

If the U.S. society indeed must be asked to bear the horrendous expense and pain of changing measuring systems, the U.S. science community should at least make the wise suggestion that, in the interest of forward-stepping instead of side-stepping progress, the change be made to nature's system instead of France's system. For instance, one such readily knowable natural system of measure and number is based on units such as the "ma, le, ti, °ho, bu, and n," being equivalent respectively to about 21.770855 micrograms, 491.49144 kilom­eters, 1.639436 milliseconds, 30.76625 degrees absolute (or Centigrade), 3.467895 gamma, and 339. Using such a system, the naturally rational values of the mi-crophysics quantity h ("h-bar") and the macrophysics quantity G, having humanly traditional values of about 1.05443 χ 10-27

gram cm.2/second rad and 6.67 χ 10"8

cm.Vgram second2 rad, respectively, will be found to have the same simplified numerical coefficient, η~1θ. Also, each of the four unified-physics quantities c, c3m2/a2h, 4kWmehc2, and hSeae/m5Mec, having humanly traditional values of about 2.99793 χ 1010 cm./second, 3.9811 χ 108 gram cm. radians/second2, 6.444 χ 10"1 radian/second °Abs.2, and 1.7589 χ 107 radians/second gauss, respectively, will be found to have the same simpli­fied numerical coefficients, that is, 1.0 or "unity." Unity, most thinking people will agree, is something that mystic-mis­guided humankind desperately needs during this psychotic and narcotic Age of Galloping Ghosts, Leaping Quarks, Jump­ing Quanta, and other mechanical-minded specters. Oak Ridge, Tenn. Alan T. Gresky

Drugs and doctors SIRS: I suggest that if R. B. Coleman, Jr. (C&EN, May 17, page 5), thinks that his doctor competes on the open market, he should re-examine the last statement that his doctor sent. Are we never to be free of the idea that civil service is synonymous with incompetence? And by what process did so-called lawyers and doctors become self-appointed de­fenders of the public weal? I could apply Mr. Coleman's comments about his "Ph.D. chemist friends" to some of my lawyer friends, but fortunately I haven't any.

Jerry F. O'Donnell, Ph.D. Department of Engineering Technology,

Del Mar College, Corpus Christi, Tex.

R&D in Japan? SIRS: The recent article on "Foreign firms explore R&D prospects in Japan" (C&EN, June 21, page 32) should be an eye-opener to every scientist and en­gineer. At a time when thousands of us are unemployed or underemployed, an increasing number of American firms are doing, or contemplate doing, much of their research in Japan, where they can get the "most R&D for the dollar."

In view of such social irresponsibility, is it surprising that many scientists and engineers are becoming increasingly con­vinced of the need for a professional or­ganization that represents our economic interests? After all, we could all be re­placed by Japanese scientists, who work for a fraction of our American salaries.

Henry F. Lederle, Ph.D. North Haven, Conn.

6 C&EN JULY 19, 1971

PHILLIPS

66