Advertisement
Grab your lab coat. Let's get started
Welcome!
Welcome!
Create an account below to get 6 C&EN articles per month, receive newsletters and more - all free.
It seems this is your first time logging in online. Please enter the following information to continue.
As an ACS member you automatically get access to this site. All we need is few more details to create your reading experience.
Not you? Sign in with a different account.
Not you? Sign in with a different account.
ERROR 1
ERROR 1
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
Password and Confirm password must match.
If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)
ERROR 2
ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.
Polymers
Reactions: Ziegler’s role in plastics, and Arctic pollution
October 14, 2023
| A version of this story appeared in
Volume 101, Issue 34
Letters to the editor
Karl Ziegler’s role in plastics
With great interest I read your article on the history of plastics in the issue of Aug. 7/14 (page 22). This is without any doubt a very interesting topic that has changed our everyday lives permanently. I was just a little surprised that professor Karl Ziegler was not mentioned in that article, even though he plays such an important role in the history of synthetic polymers. Ziegler won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry jointly with Giulio Natta for “discoveries in the field of chemistry and technology of high polymers.” He developed a pioneering polymerization process at the Max Planck Institute for Kohlenforschung in 1953 that subsequently became a standard process in the production of polyethylene and polypropylene. It is still used on a large scale today.
Christoph Kiessling
Mülheim, Germany
Arctic pollution
Credit: C&EN
Regarding “Toxic Trouble as the Arctic Heats Up”( C&EN, Aug. 28, 2023, page 26), those familiar with Svalbard, Norway, wonder why there was no mention of the Zeppelin Observatory in Ny-Ålesund, Norway, which has been measuring toxic substances in the atmosphere almost continuously since 1990. One also wonders why there was no mention of the scientists at the Norwegian Polar Institute who have been measuring toxic substances on Svalbard for decades.
Considering per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the author claims that PFAS are not listed, but two of the many PFAS compounds are listed on Stockholm Annex A and Annex B.
The article is not complete without consideration of these important issues.
Mark H. Hermanson
Haarlem, Netherlands
I just got back from a trip to the High Arctic and was delighted to find the topic of Arctic pollution being addressed in C&EN. Thank you for raising awareness about pollution building up in the unique Arctic climate. It should have been mentioned, though, that despite being signed by 152 nations, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants was not ratified by the US.
Carmen Scholz
Huntsville, Alabama
Chemical & Engineering News
ISSN 0009-2347
Copyright © 2024 American Chemical Society
You might also like...
Advertisement
The power is now in your (nitrile gloved) hands
Sign up for a free account to get more articles. Or choose the ACS option that’s right for you.
Already have an ACS ID? Log in
Join the conversation
Contact the reporter
Submit a Letter to the Editor for publication
Engage with us on Twitter