Government Concentrates

Agent orange case dismissed

U.S. District Court Judge Jack B. Weinstein has dismissed the lawsuit brought by Vietnamese plaintiffs against U.S. chemical companies that supplied herbicides during the Vietnam War. Weinstein said there was no legal basis for the complaints. The case was filed last year by the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin on behalf of up to 3 million Vietnamese who claim to have been injured by exposure to agent orange and other herbicides sprayed by the U.S. over Vietnam between 1965 and 1971. More than 30 chemical companies and subsidiaries were named in the lawsuit (C&EN, March 7, page 8). "There is no basis for any of the claims of plaintiffs under the domestic law of any nation or state or under any form of international law," Weinstein concluded in his 233-page decision. The chemical companies, including Dow Chemical, Monsanto, and Hercules, argued that there is no scientific link between exposure to the herbicide and the diseases claimed by the Vietnamese. They also argued that any compensation to Vietnamese citizens for war claims should be negotiated between the respective governments and not in a U.S. court. Lawyers for the Vietnamese are planning to appeal the decision.

Michael Griffin picked for NASA

President George W. Bush announced the nomination of Michael D. Griffin to serve as administrator of NASA. Griffin, 55, is currently the head of the space department at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. He is no stranger to NASA, having served in the 1990s as chief engineer and associate administrator for exploration at NASA headquarters. He has also held various positions in the aerospace industry, including several posts within the Orbital Sciences Corp. and president and chief operating officer of In-Q-Tel, a nonprofit group funded by the CIA. The President's choice of Griffin to replace Sean O'Keefe--who left NASA earlier this year to become chancellor of Louisiana State University--is receiving widespread, bipartisan support. Griffin received a bachelor's degree in physics from Hopkins, a master's degree in aerospace science from Catholic University of America, and a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland. He also holds four other master's degrees in electrical engineering, applied physics, business administration, and civil engineering.

Chemical data effort expanded

Chemical makers pledged on March 15 to provide basic toxicity and exposure data on some 500 high-production-volume (HPV) substances not covered by existing information-gathering efforts. The American Chemistry Council, in cooperation with the Soap & Detergent Association and the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association, will build on the HPV Challenge Program, begun in 1998 as a voluntary effort among industry, EPA, and Environmental Defense, an environmental group. Through that work, chemical makers are producing information on nearly 1,400 HPV substances, defined as compounds made or imported in volumes of at least 1 million lb per year (C&EN, Dec. 13, 2004, page 23). Only chemicals that met this production threshold in 1990 are included in the challenge program. Since this effort began, however, companies in the U.S. have increased production of hundreds of other chemicals. The new industry initiative, called the Extended HPV Program, is designed to publicize data on substances that met the HPV production threshold as of 2002 but aren't in the challenge program. It also calls on chemical makers to provide use and exposure data for substances in the challenge program as well as those in the new initiative.

Senate backs Arctic Refuge oil drilling

By a 51-to-49 margin, the Senate voted last week to allow oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The vote came on an amendment to strip language incorporating ANWR drilling from a budget bill. Budget legislation cannot be filibustered in the Senate, allowing drilling supporters to avoid the 60-vote margin needed to overcome a filibuster. The vote was the third try in a dozen years to get ANWR drilling approved by the Senate. The entire budget bill still must be approved by the full Senate and reconciled with House legislation that does not hold similar language. House Republicans, however, strongly support ANWR drilling. If the budget bill becomes law, separate legislation is needed to implement drilling, but that, too, will not need to overcome the 60-vote hurdle. Views of the significance of ANWR's oil reserves vary widely: Proponents say it can supply 4% of U.S. oil consumption needs for 30 years, and opponents say its reserves are equivalent to U.S. use for six months and will make no dent in price or imports. In recent years, oil companies have shown dwindling interest in drilling there.

GOVERNMENT & POLICY ROUNDUP

The Senate has confirmed Michael P. Jackson as deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. He was sworn in on March 11 by DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff, who cited Jackson's management experience in the public and private sectors.

The 2005 report of the Senate Budget Committee will include language that directs the Pentagon to halt the study of alternatives to incineration of chemical weapons and to free appropriated funds for chemical weapons disposal at Richmond, Ky., and Pueblo, Colo.

The Federal Railroad Administration will investigate a chemical accident in Salt Lake City in which a misplacarded rail tank car leaked a mix of acid waste and ammonia, resulting in the evacuation of several thousand residents.

U.S. Geological Survey data used for water infiltration and climate computer modeling at the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository have been fabricated, Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman announced last week. He said an internal investigation will determine the significance of the falsification.