June 20, 2011 - IMM@BUCT

GOVERNMENT & POLICY CONCENTRATESAQUARIUS SATELLITETO STUDY OCEANSThe successful launch of the Aquarius/Satélite de Aplicaciones Científicas (SAC)-Dsatellite on June 10 marks the beginningof an international mission to studyocean circulation and Earth’s water cyclevia ocean salinity. The mission is a jointproject between NASAand Argentina’s spaceagency, Comisión Nacionalde ActividadesThe Aquarius/SAC-D satellitelifts off fromVandenbergAir Force Base.BILL INGALLS/NASAEspaciales. Aquarius/SAC-D microwave radiometerswill measureminute differences inthermal radiation fromthe ocean’s surface,which correlate withsalinity. Ocean surfacesalinity affects the densityof the water, andsalinity differences helpdrive ocean circulation.In 2009, the EuropeanSpace Agency launchedthe Soil Moisture &Ocean Salinity (SMOS)satellite. Salinity measurementsfrom SMOSand Aquarius/SAC-Dwill augment data fromother Earth-observing satellites, providinginsights into how fresh and salty wateraffect global systems such as the atmosphereand sea ice. —EKWEPA OPENS DATABASESON TOXICITY, EXPOSUREScientists and the public have greater accessto chemical toxicity and exposureinformation thanks to two databases thatEPA made public last week. One, calledToxCast, allows users to search and downloaddata generated by 500 automatedassays the agency has conducted on morethan 300 chemicals, mainly pesticides(C&EN, Dec. 6, 2010, page 32). In 2012, EPAwill add results on 700 more compoundsgarnered through these high-throughputtests. The second database, called Expo-Cast, provides human exposure data fromstudies measuring amounts of various substancesin food, drinking water, air, dust,indoor surfaces, and urine. “These databasesprovide the public access to chemicalinformation, data, and results that we canPOLITICS AT PLAY INNUCLEAR WASTE REVIEWThe inspector general of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) toldCongress last week that the agency’s chairman made unilateral decisionsand repeatedly misled fellow commissioners about his plans to terminatethe proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump in Nevada. InspectorGeneral Hubert T. Bell told the House of Representatives Energy & CommerceCommittee that NRC Chairman Gregory B. Jaczko “strategically”withheld information from the four other commissioners about a key scientificreview of the repository project. Jaczko’s actions allowed him to shutdown the review last year without a vote by the full commission. Bell saidJaczko acted unprofessionally but not illegally. Several Republican lawmakersdisagreed, saying Jaczko appears to have violated a federal law that requiresthe NRC chairman to keep fellow commissioners “fully and currentlyinformed” about important matters before the commission. Rep. John M.Shimkus (R-Ill.) said Bell’s report “reveals a calculating and political NRCchairman who has abused his authority, who sought to suppress scientificreports and withhold information from fellow commissioners.” Jaczkoworked for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) before joining NRCin 2005. Reid strongly opposes the Yucca Mountain project. —GHuse to make better-informed and timelierdecisions about chemicals to better protectpeople’s health,” says Paul Anastas,assistant administrator of EPA’s Office ofResearch & Development, which overseesthe databases. They are available throughthe agency’s Aggregated ComputationalToxicology Resource found at actor.epa.gov. —CHFDA STRENGTHENSSUNSCREENREGULATIONSAfter decades of delay, FDA issued a finalregulation on June 14 that will requiremanufacturers for the first time to testand label sunscreens for both UVA andUVB protection. The rule allows manufacturersto label sunscreens that passFDA’s test for UVA and UVB protection as“broad spectrum,” and it requires warninglabels on sunscreens that do not pass thetest. Makers are currently only requiredto test and label sunscreens for protectionagainst UVB radiation, the primarycause of sunburn, not UVA rays, the leadingcause of skin cancer and prematureskin aging. The new rule also prohibitsmanufacturers from using misleadinglabels such as “sunblock,” “waterproof,”or “sweatproof,” but they can use the label“water resistant” if they include informationon the label regarding how long thewater resistance lasts. The new labels willbe required in summer 2012. —BEEDOE SPENDS $36MILLION FOR BIOFUELSThe Department of Energy will distributeup to $36 million to six small-scale projectsfor development of drop-in advanced biofuels—thekind that integrate into the existingfuel infrastructure—and other biobasedchemicals. The projects aim to improve theeconomics and efficiency of biological andchemical processes that convert nonfoodbiomass feedstocks into replacements forpetroleum-based feedstocks, products,and fuels. Virent, Genomatica, and TexasEngineering Experiment Station are amongthe funding recipients. Virent will get up to$13.4 million to create a process that costeffectivelyconverts a cellulosic biomassfeedstock into a hydrocarbon mixture forblending into jet fuel. With support of upto $5 million, Genomatica will focus on anengineered organism that converts cellulosicsugars into the industrial chemical1,4-butanediol. For up to $2.3 million, TexasEngineering Experiment Station will developchemical and mechanical processingsteps for pretreating cellulosic biomassfeedstocks to ease their conversion to a varietyof biofuels. —RRMWWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 27 JUNE 20, 2011