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DENIS REILLEY
CONGRATULATIONS on your fine article
on Denis Reilley’s receiving the SCI Medal;
he is certainly an exceptional gentleman
(C&EN, March 10, page 32). I was
fortunate to have worked for him when
he managed DuPont’s titanium dioxide
business. Many of my colleagues were unable
to fathom his management style, for
he was a type rare in senior management
and in a ticket-punching assignment. We
expected him to be another bumpkin but
found him instead to be a very sophisticated
intellectual. Many people now realize
what we lost when he left for Praxair.
James W. Reeves
Wilmington, Del.
POLLUTING WITH
PHARMACEUTICALS
CONGRATULATIONS TO C&EN for an
excellent and comprehensive article on
pharmaceuticals and how they enter our
LETTERS
environment after their intended use
(C&EN, Feb. 25, page 13). Unfortunately,
the story gave little more than a cursory
nod to methods of medicine recovery and
disposal, such as minimizing the environmental
and human impacts at the end
of a medicine’s intended use.
The ACS Detroit Section has been raising
awareness about proper medication
disposal for two years. The local section
created a pamphlet that details where old
and used medications can be turned in or
disposed of properly in the local area. The
pamphlet has been distributed at public
outreach events at which the Detroit Section
has had a presence in and around the
metro Detroit area and has been posted
on the Detroit Section website (www.
detroitsection-acs.org/presdru.pdf ). This
informative tool was created in response
to a survey sent out to section members
asking what they wanted from their section
and its leadership. The response was
a strong desire for a more environmentally
responsible, proactive position on
matters of environmental concern.
Furthermore, a sample examination
of the local section
websites for New
York City, Miami,
Chicago, and Los
Angeles, as well
as for Bayer and
Pfizer, turns up additional
material
for this story. That
information could
have jump-started
any number of readers,
as well as ACS
local sections, to
think about this
matter more deeply
or perhaps to initiate
their own local
awareness program.
At the risk of
sounding like an
alarmist, merely
talking about pharmaceuticalpollution
is not enough.
Effective, simple
steps can be implemented
now to help
minimize or even
alleviate this problem.
C&EN really
does have a duty to
bring such possible
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 6 APRIL 14, 2008
solutions to its readers when it discusses
this type of condition or problem. The
article was good but could have been
much better and could have provided so
much more.
Mark A. Benvenuto
Detroit
CORRECTION
■ March 3, page 42: The third time interval
in the table on industrial chemists’ salaries
should be 10–14 years, not 10–12 years.
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