| NEWS OF THE WEEK
OLIVOMYCIN A: 11
Total synthesis of antitumor antibiotic
compound achieved. ALBEMARLE EXPANDING: 12
Company to double sales with purchase of Albright & Wilson. CHEMICAL ACCIDENTS: 12
Government's data collection efforts
are inadequate, report says. HELICAL OLIGOMERS: 13
Unnatural peptides adopt helical conformation in aqueous solutions. END OF AN ERA: 13
Perkin-Elmer is selling its analytical
instruments business to EG&G. ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: 14
Improved research needed to define
problems, IOM report says. NEW CHEMICAL LAB: 14
NIST dedicates its $75 million, state-of-the-art facility. BUSINESS
BUSINESS CONCENTRATES: 15
COVER STORY PETROCHEMICALS: 19
Low crude oil prices exacerbate
cyclical low point for producers. SHELL CHEMICALS: 25
Petrochemical producer will sell off
downstream units in an economics-
driven restructuring. SODA ASH: 28
New producer set to make sodium
carbonate in a new way. PRODUCTIVITY: 28
Chemical industry's 1.1% drop last
year ends 15-year string of increases. INTERNATIONAL
JAPAN'S CHEMICAL INDUSTRY: 30
Current business conditions have
Japanese businesses selling assets
and forming alliances overseas. GOVERNMENT & POLICY
GOVERNMENT CONCENTRATES 35
BIOSAFETY TALKS: 36
Agreement on international trade in
genetically modified organisms stalls. AGRICULTURAL BIOTECH: 40
As public concerns grow, Congress
addresses issues of genetically modified crops. GOVERNMENT INSIGHTS: 41
Potentially harmful health effects of
DEHP leached from PVC intravenous
bags suggest a switch to alternatives. SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY
SCIENCE CONCENTRATES 43
QUASICRYSTALS: 44
Unusually ordered, highly symmetric
metallic compounds already are garnering applications. REACTIVE AGGREGATES: 47
Two natural elastase inhibitors containing vicinal tricarbonyls have been
synthesized. ADVANCED INTERNET: 49
High-speed network called Abilene is
a major stop on information highway. EDUCATION
DONALD & MILDRED OTHMER: 50
Bequest leaves more than $100 million to each of two universities. BOOKS
SCIENCE'S BIG QUESTIONS: 53
"What Remains To Be Discovered" is
author's personal view on the origin
of the universe, of life, and more. THE DEPARTMENTS
EDITOR'S PAGE 5
LETTERS 8
NEW PRODUCTS 33
ACS NEWS 55
AWARDS 56
MEETINGS 57
NEWSCRIPTS 72
Chemical & Engineering News
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