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Trinuclear complex is a rare example of bottled double aromaticity – Chemistry World

Posted on November 19, 2020 by Danzig

Scientists have made a heteronuclear complex containing a ruthenium atom that takes part in two different aromatic systems. This exotic molecule is surprisingly stable. In fact, its so stable that it can be bottled and stored.

Aromaticity is a phenomenon where electrons are shared across multiple atoms within a molecule. August Kekul proposed the structure of the earliest and most famous aromatic molecule, benzene, in 1865. Benzene contains -aromaticity, where a series of overlapping p-orbitals can share electron density. Since then, chemists have found and made countless structures to test and explore the boundaries of aromaticity in its various different guises.

The latest instalment in the storied tale of aromaticity comes from a team led by Alexander Boldyrev of Utah State University in the US. Working with colleagues in Chile and Italy, his team has created the second doubly aromatic molecule that is also considered stable. It takes the form of a heterobimetallic [Pd2Ru]+ cation, whose metal centres are decorated with phosphines, thiols and a para-cymene ligand. Other researchers have made similar trimetallic cores before, but this is the first to contain two different metals that are not adjacent on the periodic table.

Computational studies, and the surprisingly short metalmetal bond lengths, indicate that the all-metal triangular core has two electrons delocalised over the three metal centres in a -aromatic network. The para-cymene ligand is a common -aromatic ligand. Calculations by the researchers revealed that the ruthenium atom of the metal core actually gets involved in the aromaticity, resulting in a -aromatic system with two electrons delocalised over seven different atoms.

The complex is the first example of ruthenium simultaneously taking part in two types of aromaticity a concept called spiroaromaticity. The researchers note, however, that as ruthenium is not in the plane of the all-carbon -aromatic ring, a new term may be necessary.

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Denied by Trump EPA, NC activists hope Biden EPA will force forever chemical study – The Fayetteville Observer

Posted on January 27, 2021 by Danzig

Related news: State issues new violation notice to Chemours over PFAS water treatment system.

In the closingdays of the Trump administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rejected a petition by North Carolina environmental groups to force the Chemours Co. to fund studies on the long-term health and environmental impacts of the forever chemicals that it had released into the Cape Fear River for decades.

Now that President Joe Biden has selectedNorth Carolinas Michael Regan, the states secretaryof the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, to be the new EPA administrator, the groups plan to resubmit theirrequest.

They also hope Regans move to be the countrys top environmental steward assuming hes confirmedby the U.S. Senate will bring more national attention to the dangers posed byper- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, to people and the environment."We look forward to working with him, appreciate the work hes done here, and the knowledge he has on PFAS is a huge step forward," said Dana Sargent, executive director of Cape Fear River Watch, one of the groups that submitted the petition.

For decades Chemours and its predecessor, DuPont, dumped manmade chemicals into the Cape Fearfrom the sprawling Fayetteville Works plant, which sits roughly 70miles upstream from Wilmington on the Bladen-Cumberland county line just south of Fayetteville. The Cape Fear River is the primary drinking water source for an estimated 350,000downstream residents, including in and around the fast-growing Wilmington area.

The discovery of the mystery compounds in public water supplies, most famously GenX, was first reported by the Wilmington StarNews in 2017. State regulators led by Regan forced Chemours to stop the discharges later that year. Contaminants also were found in the groundwater around the Fayetteville Works plant, prompting the company to provide bottled water and other remediesto nearby residents who relyon wells for their drinking water.

Little is known about the long-term health consequences of prolonged exposure to PFAS. The chemicalsare used in many consumer and commercial goods,such as cosmetics, firefighting foam, food packaging and nonstick cookware. But what researchers have determinedis that the forever chemicals dont break down easily in the environment,and they accumulate in the body.

Learn more: EPA administrator saysChemours should make newer, safer PFAS chemicals

Study: GenX chemical in 70 of 84 wells tested near Chemours Fayetteville Works plant

In their October petition to the Trump administrations EPA, the environmental groupsnoted their request would mirror the health testing that was done in the Parkersburg, West Virginia, area, where high levels of forever chemicals were contaminating water supplies around another DuPont plant that made Teflon. Thattesting, which wrapped up in 2013, linked exposure to the manmade chemicals to six diseases: ulcerative colitis, pregnancy-induced hypertension, thyroid disease, testicular cancer, and kidney cancer.

But the EPA, while stating that its denial is not based on lack of concern with PFAS, said the testing for the 54 manmade chemicals that the environmental groups said were manufactured at Fayetteville Works wasnt necessary because many of the chemicals were already being studied.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other government agencies also are already undertaking a large-scale, multi-site epidemiologic study of communities where PFAS contamination has been found, the EPA noted.

In a statement released after the EPA's decision, Chemours said the company agreed that environmental groups had failed to provide justification that the Toxic Substances Control Act compels the requested tests. It also noted the efforts it had already made to reduce PFAS dischargesfrom the plant.

River Watchs Sargent said the EPAs decision to not force Chemours to pay for the studies wasnt in line withits missionto protect public health and the environment.

Were not asking them to conduct this work, and this is not a big ask," she said. Much of the PFAS research currently underway is being done by academic institutions and other government agencies, Sargentsaid, and they are paying for it, not the polluting companies.

The ask of EPA in this case is to ask the EPA to do itsjob, she said.

Regans selection by Biden to head the EPA received strong support from the environmental community when it was announced in late December.

Gov. Roy Cooper, who hired Regan in 2017, called him a consensus builder and a fierce protector of the environment.

Regans widely acclaimed achievements while head of DEQ include the coal ash cleanup agreement with Duke Energy and the creation of the states Environmental Justice and Equity Advisory Board.

Getting Chemours to stop discharging PFAS into the states air, groundwater and surface waters also is seen by many as a feather in his cap.

Geoff Gisler, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center who worked with state regulators and environmentalists to end Chemours' PFAS discharges, said he believed Regan is a strongchoice to lead the EPA.

"When all existing consent order requirements are met, PFAS from Chemours site will nearly be eliminated," he said on Tuesday."If that can be replicated nationwide, we can make significant advances in cleaning up our streams and rivers."

But the nomination of Regan for the nations top environmental job hasn't pleased everyone.

Mike Watters lives less than a mile from theFayetteville Works plant, and hes been experiencing health problems since he moved into his house in 2012.

He said Regan hasnt used all the legal and other tools available to him to force Chemours to change its ways and clean up the PFAS contamination in a timely manner.

On Tuesday, DEQ issued a new violation notice to Chemours for design and operational issueslast fall associated with the treatment system at an outfall on the Cape Fear River at Fayetteville Works. The problems allowed wastewatercontaminated with PFAS to flow into the river in violation of Chemours discharge permit and the consent order between the company and the state.

DEQ is committed to holding Chemours accountable, and ensuring they meet the requirements of the Consent Order and their permit conditions at all times, Regan stated in the release. DEQ will continue to take all appropriate actions, from increased oversight to enforcement, to ensure the company meets its obligations to prevent PFAS from entering the Cape Fear River.

But Watters said the lack of a fine or penalty associated with the new violations isanother missed opportunity. According to the release, state regulators said they would "evaluate the responses and additional information provided by Chemours in determining the civil penalties for all of the violations cited above, as well as the assessment of the stipulated penalties under the Consent Order."

"Theres no repercussions," Watters said on Tuesday. "Why will that change if he goes to Washington?"

Reporter Gareth McGrath can be reached at GMcGrath@Gannett.com or @GarethMcGrathSN on Twitter.

TCF CEO to retire having completed merger with Chemical Bank – The Detroit News

Posted on October 28, 2020 by Danzig

TCF Financial Corp. CEO Craig Dahl will retire Tuesday, the Detroit-based bank said, following the completion of the integration as one brand of TCF and Chemical Bank, which merged last year to create one of the largest banks in the Midwest.

Dahl has led TCF from outside Minneapolis since 2016 before the tie-up. His duties will be split between David Provost, who will take over as CEO of the company, and Thomas Shafer, who will be CEO of its subsidiary, TCF National Bank.

Provost and Shafer came from the Michigan-based Chemical Bank side of the merger.

TCF Financial Corp. CEO Craig Dahl is retiring.(Photo: TCF)

TCF Financial Corp.'s board of directors has named David Provost as the company's new CEO.(Photo: Courtesy of TCF Financial Corp.)

Craigs leadership has been instrumental in getting TCF to the point we are today," said TCF Executive Chairman Gary Torgow in a statement."He has guided TCF through a successful integration program and has worked tirelessly with our teams to build many of our businesses from the ground up over the past 20 years."

Dahl, 66, said the mergerhas created momentum for growth in the future: "These leaders are ready to assume their roles and run the business."

Provost, 66, has been TCF's vice chairman since the merger closed in August 2019. Prior to that, he was president and CEO of Chemical Financial Corp. since June 2017. The board also elected Shafer, TCF Bank chief operating officer and president,to the board as vice chairman.

Schafer, 62, previously served as vice chairman and a director of Chemical Financial Corp. and president and CEO of Chemical Bank.

Daves and Toms commitment to our team members, customers and communities sets us on a trajectory for monumental success in the years ahead, Torgow added.

TCF Financial Corp.'s board of directors has appointed Thomas Shafer as the company's vice chairman and TCF National Bank CEO.(Photo: Courtesy of TCF Financial Corp.)

MichaelJones, currently executive vice president of regional banking, will become president and chief operating officer of TCF Bank and reportto Shafer.

The succession announcement came as TCF reported net income in the third quarterincreased almost 152% year-over-year to $55.7 million. The quarter marked the conclusion of the full integration of activities related to the merger. Shares were falling slightly in after-hours trading.

bnoble@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @BreanaCNoble

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Rebuilding Chemistry With Julian Edelman Should Be Near Top Of Cam Newtons To-Do List – CBS Boston

Posted on October 28, 2020 by Danzig

By Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) Julian Edelman spent the first 10 years of his career with the Patriots making big catch after big catch. Now in his 11th season, hes just looking to make any catch.

From 2013 until last season, Edelman had been New Englands most reliable receiver, a shoo-in for 7-12 catches every game. He was one of Tom Bradys many security blankets, a safe bet to move the chains whenever the Patriots needed to keep the offense moving. If the Patriots needed to pick up eight yards to keep a drive alive, Edelman would fight tooth and nail for nine. Most of the time, there was no denying him in his quest to keep the Patriots going toward the end zone.

He was Mr. Reliable. But Edelmans transition from having Brady as his quarterback to Cam Newton has gone as smoothly as a trip down Route 24. Newton made it sound like hed be taking Highway 11 quite a bit when he first arrived in New England, but his GPS is making him throw the football every which way but Edelmans over the last month.

In Sundays 33-6 blowout loss to the 49ers at Gillette Stadium, Edelman was targeted by Newton just once, resulting in an interception when the QB threw behind his intended target. Edelmans only reception of the game came after Newton was benched, when Jarrett Stidham hit him for a 13-yard gain in the fourth quarter.

While its become clear that Edelman, now 34, has lost a step or two in the last few years, and his tendency to drop a few passes has increased, hes still better than one catch off three targets. Hes still getting open, hes still in a good spot to make one of those patented Edelman catch-and-runs, but the connection just isnt there.

That all starts with the quarterback.

We got to figure it out. Our Wi-Fi is definitely off, Newton said after Sundays loss. And its frustrating because knowing the person Julian is and knowing the body of work that he puts in each and every week and day, from preparation to biometrically with his body, you fall in love with a person like that.

The connectionshould work, as we saw in Week 2 when Edelman exploded for 11 receptions for a career-high 179 yards. It was vintage Edelman and then some against the Seattle Seahawks, and the New England offense scored a season-high 30 points in the losing effort. The Newton-Edelman connectioncan be a good one.

But since that career day for Edelman, he has caught just five passes that Newton has sent his way. We use that phrase lightly because many of Newtons throws to the receiver have hopped, skipped or jumped on their way there, or in many cases, been too far behind Edelman for him to do anything but get a finger tip on the ball.

Newton said that Edelman did exactly what he was supposed to do on his route that led to Sundays interception, but he wasnt on the same page with his receiver. That falls squarely on Newtons shoulders, and the QB knows it.

Many are wondering if Newtons lack of chemistry with Edelman is because Newton is basically refusing to throw to his right since the start of the month. Newton continues to say hes healthy, but if hes ignoring one side of the field, there has to be some kind of explanation for it. If thats the case, it is likely health-related.

But the bottom line is that the Patriots offense has been putrid, and the quarterback has lost any and all chemistry he had with his top receiver.

The New England offense has a lot of work to do if they want to start winning games or at least giving the team a chance to win games. Rebuilding the chemistry between the quarterback and his No. 1 receiver is a great place to start.

Kinross chemistry class team up with American pupils thanks to 32k funding boost – The Courier

Posted on October 28, 2020 by Danzig

Young scientists from a Kinross-shire school have demonstrated that teamwork knows no boundaries after collaborating on chemistry projects with pupils from across the globe.

Senior pupils from Kinross High School were able to take part in an innovative link-up thanks to impressive exam results which secured a grant of 32,000 from the Wolfson Foundation.

The science department used the funds to create four state-of-the-art laboratory rooms, which includes a microscopic classroom, a digital laboratory, an analytical laboratory and a microbiology room.

But the pupils were inspired to go one step further with their new high-tech equipment as they spanned the Atlantic virtually to connect with students from Vanguard High School in Marion County, Florida.

Kinross pupils were put into teams of two and paired with their American peers where they performed the same experiments in real time and compared notes.

The chemists have also planned longer term collaborations which will investigate the contrast in water quality of two local beauty spots to learn how Loch Leven compared to Sulphur Springs in Florida.

The pupils may not be able to meet their new friends in person, but the contemporary equipment has enabled them to build a science community despite the distance and differing time zones.

Science has no boundaries and neither should the education for young people.

Dr Graham Armstrong

Both schools used digital learning during the coronavirus lockdown and it allowed teachers and pupils to explore the different ways of learning with others even almost 4,500 miles away.

Kinross pupils said the opportunity has allowed them to make lifelong friendships while working on their studies.

Chemistry student Olivia Kuijpers said: Its so much fun and a really incredible chance we have been given to make friends with people from across the world from us and being able to work with them is really incredible.

Isla Morris added: Weve never done anything like this before and its really interesting to have new friends so far away. Weve managed to connect really well through social media.

Dr Graham Armstrong, Kinross Highs principal teacher in chemistry said the team work shows the subject is a universal topic.

He said: Science has no boundaries and neither should the education for young people.

I think the fact that our classes can work together 4,500 miles apart and enjoy the experience really adds to the interest level.

The Wolfson Foundation is an independent charity that provides funding to organisations across the UK.

The organisation awards funding to high-achieving state schools to enable them to improve teaching in STEM subjects such as science, maths, engineering and technology.

Headteacher Sarah Brown said: This is a very exciting project for young people at Kinross High School. It helps to deepen their knowledge of chemistry, provides an opportunity to collaborate with other students who are enthusiastic about science and to develop international friendships with other young people.

All the Chemistry You Never Wanted to Know About Heroin, and More – American Council on Science and Health

Posted on October 28, 2020 by Danzig

Some of you screwballs out there have been complaining that I'm not giving enough chemistry lessons. No accounting for taste. If you'd asked me a few years ago when I first started writing these miserable thingsI would have doubted thatmy own family would bother to read them, but it turns out that they've become strangely popular.

So, let's do another.

THE MORE OR LESS SORDID HISTORY OF HEROIN

Here's the first journal articleon the synthesis of heroin. It is long and complex, despite the fact that the conversion of morphine to heroin is (now) a trivial reaction that can be done in minutes.

The title of the first reported synthesis of heroin. Wright, C. R. A.: On the action of organic acids and their anhydrides on the natural alkaloids, Journal of Chemical Society, 1874, 12, 1031. The paper contains no chemical structures, only molecular formulas. Does anyone know why? (1)

Source: Journal of the Chemical Society

OK, it's time...

Making Heroin is Easy Peasy. But it wasn't in 1874

Our progress in fightingpain hasn't progressed much since 1874, but organic chemistry has. It took four pages of experimental details for Wright to describe the procedure for the synthesis, purification, and analysis of the heroin he made. All of this for one very simple reaction...

Acetylation of morphine: Two hydroxyl groups react with acetic anhydride to form two acetateesters (red boxes) (heroin).

By contrast, the synthesis of aspirin from salicylic acid an almost identicalchemical reaction takes10 minutes(plus a little purification time) in an experiment suitedfor high schoolor organic 101 students.

Salicylic acid contains one hydroxyl group, which is easily acetylated to form aspirin. The acetyl group is shown in the red box.

See how similar the two reactions are?

ASPIRIN VS. HEROIN

In the 1890s Felix Hoffman, a German chemist working for Bayerwas acetylating everything in sightto examine the change in properties ofchemicals/drugs when hydroxyl groups are converted to acetate esters. Although Hoffman wasn't the first person to synthesize either aspirin or heroin, he did make both for Bayer, which sold both of them...at the same time... and in the same ad(!).

A Bayer ad, date unknown, selling both aspirin and heroin. Image: Bomb Magazine

You've withstood theDCLFHTM so what is your reward?

A BIOCHEMISTRY LESSON FROM HELL!

Why do the acetyl groups found inheroin and aspirin give the drugs enhanced properties compared to the hydroxylversions, morphine, and salicylic acid, respectively? The acetyl groups make a very big difference in the potency of the drugs in each case, but for different reasons.

ASPIRIN

Figure1: The inhibition of COX by aspirin. Aspirin forms a covalentbond to a serine group near the active site, which prevents the normal substrate from entering the channel to the catalytic (active) site ofthe enzyme.Source: Tulane University

Aspirin and other NSAIDs work by inhibiting a critical enzyme called cyclooxygenase (COX), which catalyzes the conversion ofa ubiquitous biomolecule,arachidonic acid (AA) into prostaglandinsand thromboxanesextremely potent hormones that have multiplefunctions throughout the body, including, pain and inflammation. As seen in Figure1, aspirin (4) fits into the channel in COX that leads to the catalytic (active) site (black dot).

Once there, the acetyl group, whichis chemically reactive,reacts irreversiblywith the serine another way of saying that aspirin transfersthe acetyl group to COX forming a covalent bond.Once theserine group of the enzyme has been acetylated things grind to a halt; the enzyme is inactivated.Arachidonic acid can no longer reach the catalytic site on COX so it cannot be convertedtoprostaglandins and thromboaxnes.This explains why aspirin, ibuprofen, etc.treatpain, fever, and inflammation (and also why they screw up your stomach.)

MAKING SENSE OF MORPHINE AND HEROIN

The function of the acetyl groups in heroin is completely different than thatin aspirin. In this case, they aremerely delivery devices -sort of molecular UPS trucks.

The two hydroxyl groups in morphine make themolecule hydrophilic (water-loving the opposite of lipophilic fat-loving). Lipophilic molecules are usually better at penetrating cells (and also getting into the brain) because they can pass more easily through cell membranes. Lipophilicityis measured or calculated(2) and expressed by a unit called logP, the higher the value the more lipophilic the molecule. (P is called the partition coefficient.Don't ask.) All you need to know is this:

A drug targeting the central nervous system (CNS) should ideally have a logP value around 2

Source: ACD Labs

Now, let's look at the logP values for morphine, heroin, and its primarymetabolite, 6-monoacetylmorphine. It should not be surprising that each time anacetyl group replaces a hydroxyl groupthe molecule becomesmore lipophilic. (For the chemical structure of these drugs see Figure 2 below.)

Morphine (two hydroxyl group)- 0.8

6-Monoacetylmorphine (one hydroxy group) -1.3

Heroin (no hydroxyl groups) -1.5

Sorry to interrupt your coma, but there is a bit more information you need to know in order to understand why heroin behaves like heroin metabolism.

Although heroin's logPis closeto 2 the ideal value for CNS drugs the difference between it and morphine, 0.7 doesn't seem like a big deal. But keep in mind thata 0.7 log10 unit difference means that heroin is6.5-timesmore lipophilic than morphine, so it gets to the brain more easily (this explains the "heroin rush").

Heroin's two acetyl groups are metabolized at different rates and atdifferent places in the body. This what makes heroin such an effective and deadly drug.

Figure 2. Metabolism of heroin. Original Source: Science Direct

Step 1. The acetyl group at the 3 position of heroin(3) (red box) is very reactive. It is cleaved by esterase enzymesin the blood in a few minutes, forming 6-monoacetylmorphine (6-MAM). This reaction occurs so quickly that heroin doesn't even reach the brain. And if it did, it wouldn't matter because heroin itself is not an opioid agonist.

Step 2. 6-MAM is also deacetylatedin the blood, formingmorphine, but not so fastthat it cannot reach the brain. It does so very quickly. In fact,6-MAM itselfis a mu-opioid agonist and this is probablywhy heroin packs more of a punch than morphine. Additionally, 6-MAM isdeacetylatedby the brain to give morphine.

It is not completely clear whether the "heroin rush" is due to 6-MAM itself, the rapid delivery of 6-MAM to the brain where it is converted to morphine, or both. But it doesn't really matter. Heroin is a very effective pro-drug of morphine (and/or 6-MAM).

It's amazing, in a twisted sort of way, that heroin, the scourge of mankind (at least until fentanyl came along) is a quintessential example of the power of pro-drugs.

Chemistry lesson over. Biochemistry lesson over.

You can wake up now.

NOTES:

(1) At this time chemical structures were unknown. Chemists could not determine how the atoms of a molecule were connected, only the molecular formula of that molecule.

(2) Virtually all the numbers given for logP are calculated, not measured. To do this, itwould take an eternity and cause chemists to be hurling themselvesinto the Kilauea Volcano. I have no idea how this calculation is done and am perfectly content to keep it that way.

(3) Why is that called the 3-position? Although there are rules for assigning numbers tomolecules for the purpose of naming them I'd rather drink nitric acid than go back and relearn them. Nomenclature makes organic chemists (more) crazy.

(4) Aspirin is the only NSAID to inhibit COX by forming a covalent bond. The others do so by tightly (but reversibly) binding to the enzyme.

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This was the first man employed by Dow Chemical Company – Midland Daily News

Posted on October 28, 2020 by Danzig

Thomas G. Griswold, ca. 1897 (Courtesy Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation)

This was the first man employed by Dow Chemical Company

As Midlanders, we all know (or should know) that Herbert H. Dow started the Dow Chemical Company in 1897, but few still remember the name Thomas G. Griswold, Jr. who was the first man employed by the company.

Griswold helped nourish the development of the early company with his skills as a chemical engineer, land surveyor, inventor, machinist, photographer, and patent attorney. He also enriched the business, cultural and humanitarian part of our community as an early organizer of the Community Center, the Chemical State Savings Bank, the Midland Chapter of the American Chemical Society as well as sharing his talents in music, gardening, furniture design, and the devotion to his church.

Griswolds documentary skills in his 1973 autobiography, The Times of My Life, and other narratives also offer us some of the earliest and most quoted stories about Herbert Dow and Midlands 19th century history. Among many other insights, Griswold said that Herbert H. Dow, had a new idea every morning, and when he was faced with challenges, he didnt know he could be beaten.

Thomas Griswold was born Sept. 29, 1870, in Ashtabula, Ohio, east of Cleveland and later his parents moved to Cleveland, where Tom concurrently attended high school and the Cleveland Manual Training School to learn carpentry, woodturning, pattern-making, and blacksmithing. He learned to make blueprints as a boy working for his father, who was a surveyor and civil engineer. Tom worked as an apprentice for more than two years at Brown Hoisting and Conveying Machine Company in Ohio, and then enrolled at Case School of Applied Science (Case-Western University today) in 1892 at the age of 22. He was an outstanding student and achieved recognition as the business manager of The Accumulator annual and winner of the Reid Physics Prize.

It was at Case School that Griswold met Herbert Dow who, during his senior years, asked Griswold to work with him at his early company in Navarre, Ohio. But Griswold decided to stay in school until he graduated with a chemical engineering degree in 1896, and then rejoined the Brown Hoisting company for a year. After looking at his long-term options there, he approached Dow in 1897 about a job and joined the brand-new Dow Chemical Company in Midland on May 22 as an engineer for a salary of $1,000 ($31,000 a year in todays money), only two thirds of what he received from Brown Hoisting. Griswolds father was jubilant, but his mother wept because he was going to the frontier.

Griswold set up the Dow Chemical engineering department which was pivotal for the early company. During his first 29 years at Dow Chemical Company, Griswold laid out the original electric, water, and gas lines, streets, drains, and sewers and designed equipment, machinery, and buildings including the companys first manufacturing facility, a 40 x 90-foot building to house the electrolytic cells for the manufacture of bleaching power, the original focus of the Dow Chemical company. He also designed the small wooden office that was fitted with drafting tables, a home-made chest of drawers, wall shelves, and a solar blueprint outfit. Twelve-hour days were common for everyone, and since Herbert Dow had to answer to the company directors in Cleveland, economy was always on his mind.

Griswold reminisced about those very early days in his autobiography saying, A few days after starting on my drawings, Mr. Dow sat on a stool at the back side of my drafting table and explained to me his theories of design and manufacture. He gradually slowed down and finally burst out with the remark, Say I am important enough around here for you to listen to me when I talk. I had continued working on my drawings as he talked. I explained to him that I had been brought up by a superintendent who wouldnt talk to me unless I continued to work while he talked. Mr. Dow never did get used to my habit of working while he talked to me. They had a stormy relationship throughout their time together at the company, although as brothers-in-law, they would often spend time together including playing checkers or chess together on Sunday evenings.

Griswold had met Herbert Dows sister, Helen, previously while living in Cleveland, and it was love at first sight. On Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 25, 1897, Griswold returned to Cleveland to marry her with the Dows attending. Grace and Herbert held a reception for them at their home (the old Charles A. Andrus House on Main Street between St. Nicholas and Auburn) upon their return to Midland. The Griswolds lived initially in the old Mary Patrick House (where the Dows themselves had lived as newlyweds), between the Larkin Farm and the Dow Chemical Company. The Griswolds eventually had three children.

Even early on, Griswold was a trouble-shooter and innovator for Dow Chemical. Shortly after the company began full production, small explosions caused frequent shutdowns in chorine production. Tom Griswold and the companys first chemist, Jim Graves, were asked to fix the problem. Griswold bought some paraffin from the local drug store and dipped the carbon electrodes in the melted paraffin. When they put them back in the cells, the explosions stopped saving the process. Griswold was responsible for the beginnings of the calcium chloride business in 1905, after visiting Cleveland seeing an automobile garage man selling gallon jugs of the product to keep down dust and melt ice. It was a great match for the Midland brine stream and Dowflake and Peladow eventually became two of the companys very successful products.

In 1926, Griswold took 18 months leave of absence due to illness but after his recovery, he was asked to organize a patent department for Dow Chemical (his notes are at the Midland Area Archives) and later obtained a license as a patent attorney. At one point, he served on the advisory committee in the patent office of the U.S. Department of Commerce. He worked in patents until his retirement in 1936 (again due to illness) and after his recovery, he took on a third career as a consulting engineering. Griswold was issued 29 patents between 1911 and 1949, as either the inventor or co-inventor including patents for apparatus for the manufacture of carbon tetrachloride, chlorine, caustic alkali, and phenol. Longtime Dow Chemical Gulf Coast manager, Dr. Albert P. (Dutch) Beutel, who was recruited to Dow by Griswold, said of him, Tom had a lot of vision as an engineer and also had the ability to accomplish engineering and construction projects at a minimum of cost to the company.

Griswolds first wife, Helen, died in the spring in the flu pandemic of 1918, and he married Vera Ann Hadsall in Oct. 17, 1918. He was director of the St. Johns Episcopal Church choir for 10 years and served as a church vestryman for 40 years. He was recognized for his long-term devotion to his church when he as awarded the Bishops Cross in 1960, and the church further honored him by naming its new guild meeting facility the Griswold House.

Before his death on June 21, 1967, he held the double distinction of being the oldest living alumnus of the Case Institute of Technology and the oldest former employee of the Dow Chemical Company.

For more Midland County history or to begin your own research, visit the Midland Area Archives at the Doan History Center or call 989-631-5930.

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Review The Flash #764: Chemical Reactions – GeekDad

Posted on October 28, 2020 by Danzig

The Flash #764 variant cover, via DC Comics.Ray 8/10

Ray: For his second story, fill-in Flash writer Kevin Shinick goes back to the earlier days of the Flashs rogues gallery and digs up an old enemy Dr. Alchemy, a rival chemist of Barry Allens who has gained the power of the Philosophers Stone. This is a good change of pace, as Barry seems to spend almost all his time battling gimmick crooks and evil speedsters. Alchemy has no powers on his own, but his mind combined with his weapon makes him one of the Flashs deadliest enemies and this issue shows that off well. After a brief prelude with Iris, Barrys first battle with Alchemy shows how the villain has no problem taking advantage of Barrys better nature as well as bending the laws of nature to turn concrete into liquid and bullets into toxic gas. While hes not as fast as Flash by any means, the way his powers work means he has a much easier time getting ahead of the hero than any other villain.

Shinick has obviously done a lot of thought into the way Dr. Alchemys powers work and how they tie into other forces in the DCU. This issue features a surprising tie-in to the Metal Men, and a look at the history of the Philosophers Stone going back decades is intriguing. Its also a bit of an infodump, making this issue veer wildly between action-packed storytelling and narration-driven backmatter. But after that digression, we head back to the rematch between Flash and Alchemy, and theres a surprising twist at the end as we discover that Alchemy has figured out how to affect his enemys biggest weapon his speed. This is part one of three before the title shifts to Endless Winter, and the threat here seems to be big enough to justify a whole arc. Its the kind of clever old-school story that shows what a hero does when a new villain (or old villain) sends them firmly out of their depths.

To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.

GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.

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Review The Flash #764: Chemical Reactions - GeekDad

Why Are DuPont and Chemours Still Discharging the Most Notorious ‘Forever Chemical’? – Environmental Working Group

Posted on October 28, 2020 by Danzig

The Big Bang of the nationwide forever chemicals crisis was the revelation in 2001 that PFOA, a toxic compound used to make Teflon, had contaminated the drinking water for 70,000 people near a DuPont factory in West Virginia. Pressure from the Environmental Protection Agency forced DuPont and other companies to phase out PFOA, and they agreed not to use it after 2015.

So why are DuPont and its spinoff company Chemours still discharging PFOA from their facilities?

Last week, Rep. Harley Rouda (D-Calif.), who chairs the Environment Subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, sent a letter to DuPont and Chemours asking why theyre still discharging a highly toxic substance they claim not to have used in years.

PFOA is the most notorious of the thousands of fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS, which have contaminated drinking water for an estimated 200 million-plus Americans. Very small doses of PFOA and some other PFAS have been linked to kidney and testicular cancer, thyroid issues, high cholesterol, reproductive and developmental harms and reduced effectiveness of vaccines. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says these chemicals pollute the bodies of virtually all Americans, including newborn babies.

PFOA and other PFAS are called forever chemicals because they never break down in the environment. PFAS discharged over the past 50 years by companies like DuPont and 3M which knew it was dangerous as early as the 1950s will stay in the environment until its actively remediated.

Roudas letter asks DuPont about its ongoing PFOA discharges at its Circleville Works plant, in Ohio, and Chemours about its Washington Works facility, in Parkersburg, W.V., the most notorious PFAS contamination site in the world.

The Parkersburg facility was owned by DuPont until it spun off its chemical division into Chemours, in 2015. For decades, DuPont dumped PFAS into the Ohio River in West Virginia, killing farm animals and poisoning the water of surrounding communities. The contamination in Parkersburg and subsequent lawsuit were the subject of an acclaimed feature film released last year.

There are no federally enforceable limits on any PFAS in drinking water, groundwater or soils, or any requirements to clean up PFAS under the federal Superfund law. Only five states have placed limits on a handful of PFAS, and the EPA has the ability to test for only 29 PFAS in drinking water.

Rouda asked about the discharges because both companies have said publicly they no longer use PFOA. Chemours claims it has never made or used PFOA. Yet data from the EPAs Enforcement and Compliance History Online database shows ongoing discharges from both the Circleville and Parkersburg facilities. For example, daily monitoring updates for the Parkersburg site reported 323.5 pounds of PFOA discharged in 2019.

The continued releases could be an indication that the two companies are still using PFOA, despite their assurances otherwise. If so, that would be a serious breach of public trust. But there are other possible explanations for these discharges. There could be PFOA in products or mixtures used at the facilities. Or legacy PFOA remaining in water used at the facilities could be showing up an alarming reminder of the chemicals persistence in the environment.

Even if DuPont and Chemours are being honest with regulators about their use of PFOA, we should be alarmed at its continued presence in discharges as legacy contamination, because it underscores how merely ending the use of a toxic substance like PFOA will not make the contamination disappear. History shows that even decades after being banned, some chemicals ongoing impact continues to be deeply harmful to health and the environment.

The ongoing cleanup of another group of forever chemicals, polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, underscores the gravity and longevity of the PFAS problem.

PCBs were manufactured by Monsanto beginning in 1929 and are linked to various health harms, including cancer, reproductive harms and immune effects. They were widely used for a myriad of industrial purposes, until they were banned as a class by Congress, in 1976.

But 44 years later, PCBs remain prevalent in the environment. Just this summer, Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018, agreed to pay $650 million to 2,500 cities, counties and ports to clean up PCB contamination. And there may be still more contamination: A 2015 study found that PCBs could be leaching from building materials in nearly 26,000 schools.

The challenge of cleaning up PCBs pales in comparison to the coming PFAS crisis. The EPA has identified just over 200 PCBs, and there are far more PFAS chemicals. The EPAs most recent update of its CompTox database identified more than 9,000 different compounds related to PFAS. The EPA has reported that at least 600 PFAS are being used in commerce. A recent study identified over 200 categories of use for more than 1,400 individual PFAS chemicals.

And unlike PCBs, which were banned and subject to cleanup regulations, PFAS remain largely unregulated. Manufacturers have agreed to phaseouts of only a handful. And some companies that are not subject to those agreements have admitted they still use PFOA.

Even if the ongoing discharges in Ohio and West Virginia can be attributed to legacy discharges, thats little comfort. It underscores how even if industry stops using PFOA or other PFAS chemicals, they will be with us for a long time and that as we try to get rid of the PFOA in the environment, its being replaced with newer kinds of PFAS that are less studied and, research shows, potentially as dangerous, with many of the same toxicity concerns as old PFAS chemicals.

For example, regulators in New Jersey have found that the manufacturer Solvay has replaced PFNA, a PFAS chemical it phased out in 2010, with a new PFAS chemical that is toxic to the liver at potentially even lower doses than PFNA or PFOA. As reported last year by Sharon Lerner of The Intercept, the EPA has allowed more than 40 new PFAS chemicals on the market reported to pose substantial risk.

Congress must take decisive action to address the PFAS problem, including:

DuPont and Chemours must respond quickly to Roudas inquiry and account for their ongoing discharges of PFOA. If they have misled the public about ongoing use of this toxic chemical, they should be held accountable. Without aggressive action, PFAS chemicals will continue polluting people and the planet for centuries to come.

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Why Are DuPont and Chemours Still Discharging the Most Notorious 'Forever Chemical'? - Environmental Working Group

Study reports chemical mechanism that boosts enzyme observed in cancer – IU Newsroom

Posted on October 25, 2020 by Danzig

A new study led by scientists at IUPUI and Indiana University Bloomington is the first to describe a biochemical mechanism that increases the activity of a molecule whose presence is observed in many types of cancer.

The molecule, an enzyme called Pif1 helicase, plays a role in many important cellular processes in the body. Tightly regulating this protein is vital to genome stability because too little -- or too much -- activity can influence aging and age-related diseases, primarily cancer. A common cancer therapy, HDAC inhibitors, can also impact the mechanism that regulates this enzyme.

"We're currently giving people drugs that change the acetylation status of the cell without knowing how it affects many proteins that play a role in genome stability," said Lata Balakrishnan, an associate professor of biology in the School of Science at IUPUI, who is co-lead author on the study. "HDAC inhibitors upregulate certain tumor-suppression genes, and thus are used in combination therapies to treat specific cancers, but when it comes to their impact on other parts of the cell, we're basically operating in the dark."

The study's other lead author is Matthew Bochman, an associate professor in the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry. Other co-authors are Christopher Sausen and Onyekachi E. Ononye, Ph.D. students in Bochman's and Balakrishnan's labs, respectively, at the time of the study.

The effect of lysine acetylation on Pif1 is the mechanism described in the study. Lysine acetylation occurs when a small molecule called an acetyl group binds to lysine, an amino acid used to build common proteins in the body. This action transforms lysine from a positively charged molecule to a neutrally charged molecule. This neutralization can impact protein function, protein stability and protein-protein interaction in cells, among other things.

Helicases are known as the genetic "zippers" of cells because they pull apart DNA for the purpose of genetic replication and repair. They also help maintain telomeres, the structure at the end of chromosomes that shortens as people age.

In the new study, the researchers identified lysine acetylation on Pif1 helicase and showed the addition of the acetyl group increases the protein's activity -- as well as its "unzipping" function. They also found that lysine acetylation changes the shape -- or "conformation" -- of the Pif1 protein. They believe that this shape change increases the amount of Pif1 helicase.

"The dynamic interplay of the addition and removal of the acetyl group on lysine regulates a wide variety of proteins within the cell," Balakrishnan said. "Perturbations to this process can play a role in cancer, aging, inflammatory responses and even addiction-related behaviors."

"As a class, helicases are involved in a lot of processes necessary for genome integrity," Bochman added. "Any significant failure in these processes is generally carcinogenic."

The precise details of lysine acetylation in Pif1, its effect of the enzyme's shape and the resulting impact on helicase activity took nearly five years to observe and report. The study, carried out in parallel on two IU campuses, was made possible by the lead scientists' complementary expertise. As a biochemist who has previously studied lysine acetylation in other proteins, Balakrishnan was able to isolate Pif1 in vitro to observe its response to chemical reactions in a test tube. In contrast, as a geneticist working in yeast as a model organism to study Pif1, Bochman was able to modify cells in vivo to watch reactions play out in a living organism.

"The ability to observe these reactions in a living cell is often more relevant, but it's also a lot messier," Balakrishnan said. "Our experiments were constantly informing each other as to where to go next."

Looking to the future, Bochman said intricate knowledge of cellular processes -- such as lysine acetylation -- will increasingly play a role in personalized therapy.

"If you sequence a patient's tumor, you can fine-tune drugs to target very specific enzymes," he said. "Instead of a drug that broadly affects the whole cell, it will be possible to take a targeted approach that reduces potential side effects. This level of personalization is really the future of cancer biology and cancer medicine."

"Lysine Acetylation Regulates the Activity of Nuclear Pif1" is available online in advance of print in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. A perspective article on the work is also forthcoming in the journal Current Genetics.

This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the American Cancer Society.

Indiana University's world-class researchers have driven innovation and creative initiatives that matter for 200 years. From curing testicular cancer to collaborating with NASA to search for life on Mars, IU has earned its reputation as a world-class research institution. Supported by $854 million last year from our partners, IU researchers are building collaborations and uncovering new solutions that improve lives in Indiana and around the globe.

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Study reports chemical mechanism that boosts enzyme observed in cancer - IU Newsroom

The Chemical Reaction By Fiona Erskine Review – Forbes

Posted on October 28, 2020 by Danzig

A gripping fast-paced mystery where our hero is seeking one of her students that disappeared in China, and quickly becomes involved with the theft of ancient Chinese jade sculptures

Book jacket by Point Blank.

This gripping novel, The Chemical Reaction (Point Blank, 2020: Amazon US / Amazon UK) by Fiona Erskine is the second instalment in the Jaqueline Jaq Silver series and it starts, literally, with a BOOM. It picks up where the first novel, The Chemical Detective (my review), ended with our fearless hero, globe-trotting chemical engineer, Dr Jaqueline Silver, sailing the yacht, Good Ship Frankium, on the Black Sea with her lover, Giovanni. That yacht, which promptly sinks, was owned by her former boss, Frank Good, a ruthless corporate player who has trapped Jaq in a watertight contract that demands repayment for the cost of the boat, regardless of the fact a minor detail? that it was not seaworthy. At the same time, Jaq is already strapped for cash because she is paying hospice bills for her aging mother who is suffering from dementia.

Predictably, events escalate from there. Jaq, who is unemployed, is suddenly offered a high-paying contract that will solve her financial woes. Her potential benefactor, Sophie Clark, is the managing director of the joint venture company, Krixo. This company, which uses rare earth elements to develop superstrong magnets for wind turbines, batteries and other green energy technologies, is located in Shingbo, a mythical coastal town that lies south of Shanghai in Zhejiang province,China. Because tensions have recently arisen between Krixos joint venture partners, Sophie wants an expert to secretly investigate. Despite her money problems, Jaq is very reluctant to get involved with what appears to be corporate espionage.

Ive had enough of investigating dodgy companies. Ive put my friends in danger, and Im not doing it again. Give me a technical problem and Ill solve it, give me a project and Ill manage it, give me a team and Ill lead it, but no more mysteries, Jaq later complains privately (p. 89).

But someone has already been put in danger, as Jaq discovers, after one of her former students, who is Chinese, disappears shortly after she sent him a brief email query about Krixo.

So of course, Jaq accepts Sophies contract and goes to China. But things do not go well: not only can she not find her former student, but her translator and driver also disappear as does the entire Krixo factory. Whoa, whaaa..? How can an entire factory and all of its large and expensive equipment just ... disappear? In just a few days?

Meanwhile, at roughly the same time in London, the rare jade Lovers Cup, once the possession of Quinlong, the 18th century Qing dynasty emperor who was infamous for executing his enemies by slicing them to death with a thousand cuts, is sold for 10 million. When both the art auctioneer and a retired professor are murdered and their pets dismembered, these two eerily similar crimes raise troubling questions about potential connections. Further, is all this connected to the recent heists of Chinese treasures from museums in Durham, Stockholm and Lisbon? And what is the connection between ancient Chinese works of art and a joint venture green tech company located in China?

These questions and more are addressed by an intricate but plausible plot that skilfully weaves together fact and fiction along with plenty of high-octane action and mystery. I was especially impressed by the authors use of a character to provide a personal view of the 1975 Banqiao dam disaster as well as a glimpse into the tragically misguided Smash Sparrows campaign, which lasted from 1958 to 1962 both of which devastated farming communities and led to catastrophic famines in China. (You can even read a little more about the Chinese history mentioned in this novel in the 6-page Authors Note at the end.)

In addition to having a healthy imagination and a love of history, the author also relies on her real-life expertise as a chemical engineer to share some science with her readers, including some information about the 17 rare Earth elements (which really arent very rare) used by green energy technologies, and even venturing into describing a little human endocrinology.

As I read the book, I became intrigued by the chapter pages because each featured a different rare earth element. What could this possibly mean? After puzzling over this for a few hours, I tweeted my question to the author, and she replied:

Fiona Erskine via Twitter

Mystery solved. Both I and my many tiny color-coded post-it tabs peeking out from pages throughout the book were satisfied.

Overall, this unique and entertaining novel is a lot of fun. The plot is complex, intelligent and carefully developed and features just the right blend of suspense and mystery, explosions and gorgeous male strippers, theft of multi-million dollar artworks and five-star dining in interesting locations that will especially satisfy those suffering from cabin-fever. But be careful if you have a meeting in the morning: you may not be able to put this book down once youve started reading it!

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The Chemical Reaction By Fiona Erskine Review - Forbes

Notre Dame chemistry professor had the right formula for how to live and die – South Bend Tribune

Posted on October 28, 2020 by Danzig

I wish that I had known Roger Schmitz, the former dean of the Notre Dame chemistry department and later a vice-president and associate provost at the university.

He loved to run and was still winning his age group into his 70s even though he laughingly admitted he sometimes didnt have any opponents.

He threw snowballs at his three girls, the three Js Jan, Joy and Joni even when they were adults and coached them in softball, sometimes having to nudge them off the bench for their two-inning minimum in the field. He loved giving them nicknames.

He enjoyed a wide variety of music from Bobby Darins Mack the Knife to the English folk song Greensleeves, from Roger Millers King of the Road to the Notre Dame Fight Song, of course.

He collected 200 autographs of major league ballplayers when he was growing up in Carlyle, Ill. His collection included 22 Hall of Famers with names like Musial, DiMaggio and Robinson.

He died of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) in October of 2013 while the World Series played soothingly by his bedside.

During his 78 years, Roger Schmitz knew how to live and love and then leave this world in both a courageous and dignified way.

I dont think I ever met anyone who didnt enjoy being around my father, says Jan Schmitz Mathew, Rogers oldest daughter. And he demonstrated the same incredible grace and presence when he was dying that he had shown throughout his life.

To honor her dad, Jan has written a book, Surrounded by Love: My Familys Journey Through ALS. It is available at corbybooks.com, Amazon and the Hammes Notre Dame Book Store.

It is about Rogers life with his wife, Ruth, and their three daughters and the battle they faced together against Lou Gehrigs disease that took him in just seven months.

When his diagnosis was confirmed, he wrote his daughters. Everything else has been ruled out. Thats a bummer but it doesnt surprise me There will be bumps ahead, but we can handle them as you know.

Yes, they knew. Their dad had never been about self-pity or bitterness. He accepted what he couldnt change and moved on just as he had during an earlier bout with bladder cancer.

But in not much more than a years time, Roger went from still being able to jog around the block to needing a walker and then a motorized wheelchair and finally a scooter he bonded with.

And he kept his quirky sense of humor, Jan says.

When he once banged his scooter into a doorway, Jan remembers him saying, Well &$$%, Roger. Do you think you could clobber the wall just one more time today?

He never built walls around himself, though. He never tried to push his family away and go it alone.

Love is costly, the Rev. Paul Doyle wrote in the foreword of Jans book. And when we love, we carry crosses with each other. On the day Roger died, his last words to his daughters Jan, Joy and Joni were I love my Js. They and his wife Ruth had carried this cross with him.

Surrounded by Love is the story of that sad yet sometimes sweet journey of this uncommon man.

Heres another story about the late great Chicago Bear star and Wakarusa resident Gale Sayers from reader Michael Myers:

Its 1995 or so, and my son Matthew and I are walking down the midway at the Elkhart County Fair and I see Gale Sayers, Michael recalls. He was by himself, nobody bothering him, so I decided to change that. We approached him and I apologized for bothering him.

He was very friendly and I told him I wanted my son, who played football, to meet the greatest Bears running back ever. He then said as he was shaking Matthews hand, Is Walter Payton here?

You gotta love a humble man like that.

Congrats to the whole town of Buchanan for garnering the top honor on Reader Digests list of The Nicest Places in America.

Yeah, Ive always thought Buchanan was pretty cool. A couple of my friends come from there even though they probably should have been kicked out of town.

The Redbud City earned the accolades because of its 150-year-old tradition of honoring our fallen veterans on Memorial Day a summer march for racial justice with police chief Tim Ganus joining in Red Bud Area Ministries, which helps so many of the less fortunate the Scarecrow Factory and the Buchanan Promise scholarship fund to name a few reasons.

Life is better here, is Buchanans motto, and its citizens seem to believe that. Buchanan is a very supportive community, says 27-year-old Megan Goodrich, who sets up donation boxes for the homeless, according to the article. If you have an idea and want to do something, theres bound to be people here who will try to help you figure out how to make it happen.

Buchanan obviously is a happening place and now Readers Digests nicest of nicest places, too.

I was trying to out-drive my wife on Studebaker Golf Courses seventh hole when a ball plunked down on the No. 9 green and rolled into the hole not 30 yards from us.

Then Tribune sports editor Mike Wanbaugh came whooping down the hill like a banshee. Our buddy Kirby Sprouls had just made a double eagle/hole-in- one on the 265-yard hole.

In the last year, Ive been in the vicinity of two of my buddies making aces at Studebaker. If you pay my way ha, ha (it costs only $6 for a senior to walk), Ill serve as your lucky charm.

But then Kirby had to come clean: OK, before anyone calls Sports Illustrated because it was a heckuva shot, if I say so myself it was a mulligan. My first tee shot was a little left and a little short. With no one behind us, I decided to hit a second tee shot. The rest is history. But if I dont come clean on the mulligan, I would owe Wanbaugh drinks from Hammer & Quill for the rest of my life.

Sadly, Wanbaugh is like that ha, ha. But as groundskeeper Carl Spackler (Bill Murray) said in Caddyshack, Its in the hole!

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Notre Dame chemistry professor had the right formula for how to live and die - South Bend Tribune

Explaining the science behind the 2020 Nobel Prizes for Chemistry and Physics – The Hindu

Posted on October 16, 2020 by Danzig

In this second part of a two-episode series on the Nobel Prizes, we go into the Chemistry and Physics 2020 awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna, for discovering one of gene technologys sharpest tools: the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors.

Also read our explainer on the Chemistry Nobel 2020:

And for physics, British mathematician-physicist Roger Penrose received half of this years prize for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity, as the the Nobel Committee put it. German Reinhard Genzel and American Andrea Ghez received the second half of the prize for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the center of our galaxy. We explain the science behind both awards.

Also read our explainer on the Physics Nobel 2020:

Guest: T.V. Venkateshwaran, Science Communicator, Senior Scientist at Vigyan Prasar, New Delhi.

Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for In Focus by The Hindu.

Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in

Dear subscriber,

Thank you!

Your support for our journalism is invaluable. Its a support for truth and fairness in journalism. It has helped us keep apace with events and happenings.

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We also reiterate here the promise that our team of reporters, copy editors, fact-checkers, designers, and photographers will deliver quality journalism that stays away from vested interest and political propaganda.

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Explaining the science behind the 2020 Nobel Prizes for Chemistry and Physics - The Hindu

Reyna On Playing With Haaland: The Chemistry Is Working – Forbes

Posted on October 16, 2020 by Danzig

Giovanni Reyna, left, and Erling Haaland have developed a special relationship on and off the pitch ... [+] (Photo by RONNY HARTMANN/AFP via Getty Images)

There might be just one American among thetop 5 most valuable players in Concacaf. But in terms of depth, the US men's national team is the deepest in the region with ten players in the UEFA Champions League this season. One of them is Borussia Dortmund star, Giovanni Reyna.

I think its so exciting for all of us to have so many Americans, even if were not all playing, in a good environment day in and day out," Reyna said in an interview with Bundesliga.com. "There are guys at Barca, guys at Juventus, guys here in Germany and of course Christian [Pulisic] in London. There are so many guys with the best players in the world, learning every day, and its still a young core group."

Reyna was signed by Borussia Dortmund in Jul. 2019. The 17-year-old had his first experience in the Bundesliga under Lucien Favre last season. This year he has been a crucial player for the Black and Yellows scoring one goal and four assists in the first three Bundesliga games.

Im growing up fast at the moment; there is a lot coming my way," Reyna said. "My mom is luckily here now, so she is able to help me with everything I need, but in terms of on the pitch and off the pitch, also there is a lot of stuff happening."

Reyna's biggest milestone was scoring his first Bundesliga goal. At the time, he was the youngest goalscorer in Bundesliga historyJamal Musiala has since broken his record. His initial record almost escaped the young American. "No, I never really thought about it, but now that I think about it, two 17- year-olds that should be the youngest goal ever, so yeah, thats cool," Reyna said when asked about his record.

Giovanni Reyna scoring his first ever Bundesliga goal on matchday 1 of the season. (Photo by Alex ... [+] Gottschalk/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

Being part of one of the most potent and young attacks in Europe helped Reyna to become quickly integrated in Germany. In fact, the American seems to have developed a special relationship with Norwegian star Erling Haaland, who regularly calls Reyna "the American dream" in post-game interviews.

I just think we came into the first team at the same time, obviously him getting bought from Salzburg and me getting promoted," Reyna said when asked about his relationship with Haaland. "Ever since then, we kind of looked at each other, saying we dont have as many friends as the other guys do, so we talked to each other right away and got along. On the pitch also, he kind of just told me what he likes, and I can play into his strengths, so he told me just to play the ball in behind, and I really saw his speed right away, and you can see its paying off. That chemistry is working, and I am just trying to make the whole teams life easy and especially his.

There were many teams interested in both Haaland and Reyna ahead of them, choosing Borussia Dortmund. Reyna stressed that joining Dortmund came down to various factors, including Christian Pulisic's previous presence at the club. More importantly, Dortmund's preference to play young players and their presence in the Champions League made were big factors.

As for the future, Real Madrid has been strongly linked to both Haaland and Reyna. But Borussia Dortmund is expected to sign Reyna to a new long-term contract soon. More medium-term expectations are that the 17-year-old will replace Sancho. As for the long-term, given his skill set, the sky appears to be the limit.

Manuel Veth is the editor-in-chief of theFutbolgrad Networkand the Area Manager USA atTransfermarkt. He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler,Pro Soccer USA,and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter:@ManuelVeth

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Reyna On Playing With Haaland: The Chemistry Is Working - Forbes

Bulls tackling tough task of creating team chemistry with COVID restrictions – WIVB.com – News 4

Posted on October 16, 2020 by Danzig

OXFORD, OHIO SEPTEMBER 28: The Buffalo Bulls huddle up during a timeout in the game against Miami of Ohio RedHawks at Yager Stadium on September 28, 2019 in Oxford, Ohio. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) In the most unprecedented college football season to date, almost nothing is typical or normal about the way teams go about their everyday preparation.

UB Football knows that all too well. After an COVID-19 outbreak hit 25 student-athletes in the athletics program, the team had to postpone practice for a few days before being able to start fall practice. Now, with almost two full weeks of practice under their belts, the Bulls are rolling with the punches of this abnormal season already.

Right now, weve had our fair share of things that have happened here, and our players have done a great job. When you look at some of the things that have transpired nationally with higher profile programs and players and coaches, its possible. Thats the reality that you have to deal with, UB Football Head Coach Lance Leipold said. I think you just have to be honest with yourself and do the best you can to find a way to get these guys to play football, but youve got to be ready.

Theres a lot of erasing or deleting of plans or you better have multiple plans ready to go to try and find a way to make it happen. I think from the early things is that our conference is on a good path to get this thing kicked off.

With daily COVID testing and working on opposite sides of the field throughout practice, head coach Lance Leipold says so far, the toughest obstacle the Bulls have had to face is a lack of team chemistry.

Right now the only time were able to have position meetings within our field house is on our non-testing days. Our schedule is between people coming into be tested and going through results and all those things, its been difficult, Leipold said.

Our coaches use things like Zoom to record notes and send it, and its all virtual. But when you do things virtually or sending information out, its harder to know if its being absorbed, if its being read, all of those things.

You have to have blind trust that our young men are doing everything, but were also trying to be as thorough as we can. Were working through it pretty well, our seniors have been outstanding, Leipold said. The routine is getting better for us to understand.

Knowing that this could be an issue, Leipold and the other Bulls coaches tried to integrate the entire team during Zoom meetings all the way back at the beginning of quarantine to try and get a head start on team cohesion for the 2020 season.

We do some things differently to try to break us out of just our position group, but youre looking at different boxes and youre able to interact differently, and we hope that has helped some, Leipold said. Weve tried to do some things differently, even in the locker room how weve organized the locker room to try to get players to interact more with other players in other positions. Were hoping were taking that. Were all playing with the same rules that started when we got going, you dont want a bunch of excuses or reasons why things didnt go right, and I dont want team cohesion to be one of those. Well be sure were where we wanted to be when we head to DeKalb, Illinois.

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Bulls tackling tough task of creating team chemistry with COVID restrictions - WIVB.com - News 4

Chemists Create New Crystal Form of Insecticide, Boosting Its Ability to Fight Mosquitoes and Malaria – NYU News

Posted on October 16, 2020 by Danzig

Through a simple process of heating and cooling, New York University researchers have created a new crystal form of deltamethrina common insecticide used to control malariaresulting in an insecticide that is up to 12 times more effective against mosquitoes than the existing form.

The findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), may provide a much-needed and affordable insecticide alternative in the face of growing resistance among mosquitoes.

The use of more active crystal forms of insecticides is a simple and powerful strategy for improving commercially available compounds for malaria control, circumventing the need for developing new products in the ongoing fight against mosquito-borne diseases, said Bart Kahr, professor of chemistry at NYU and one of the studys senior authors.

Improvements in malaria control are needed as urgently as ever during the global COVID-19 crisis, added Kahr. The number of deaths from malaria in Africa this year is projected to double as a result of coronavirus-related disruptions to supply chains. We need public health measures to curtail both infectious diseases, and for malaria, this includes more effective insecticides.

Malaria is a major public health challenge worldwide, with more than 200 million cases and 400,000 deaths reported each year. Insecticides such as deltamethrin can prevent the spread of diseases carried by mosquitoes and are often sprayed indoors and on bed nets. However, mosquitoes are increasingly becoming resistant to insecticides, leaving researchers and public health officials searching for alternatives with new modes of action.

Many insecticides, including deltamethrin, are in the form of crystalsthe research focus for Kahr and fellow NYU chemistry professor Michael Ward. When mosquitoes step on insecticide crystals, the insecticide is absorbed through their feet and, if effective, kills the mosquitoes.

As part of their research on crystal formation and growth, Kahr and Ward study and manipulate insecticide crystals, exploring their alternative forms. In their PNAS study, the researchers heated the commercially available form of deltamethrin to 110C/230F for a few minutes and let it cool to room temperature; this resulted in a new crystallized form of deltamethrin, composed of long, tiny fibers radiating from a single point.

Link:
Chemists Create New Crystal Form of Insecticide, Boosting Its Ability to Fight Mosquitoes and Malaria - NYU News

For Years, Solvay Kept Tests Secret Showing Health Hazards of ‘Forever Chemical’ – Environmental Working Group

Posted on January 27, 2021 by Danzig

EWG Petitions EPA To Fine Chemical Maker More Than $400M for Failure To Report Tests

For Immediate Release:

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

WASHINGTON Solvay Specialty Chemicals failed for up to eight years to report animal and humantests showing the health hazards of one or more of the fluorinated forever chemicals known as PFAS, the Environmental Working Group charged today in a petition to the Environmental Protection Agency. For multiple violations of the Toxic Substances Control Act, EWG asked the EPA to levy civil and criminal fines totaling $434 million.

EWGs petition alleges that in 2005, Solvay obtained test results showing that its new PFAS chemical was just as toxic as a fluorinated compound it was meant to replace DuPonts PFOA, used to make Teflon. That year, acting on a petition from EWG, DuPont was fined a then-record $10.25 million for failing to disclose PFOA toxicity studies. DuPont and other companies, including Solvay, subsequently agreed to phase it and similar compounds out by 2015 through the PFOA Stewardship Program.

Yet EPA documents show that Solvay failed until 2011 to report results of tests on two variants of the replacement chemical, chloroperfluoropolyether carboxylate. Solvays tests, which found no level of the compound that did not harm rats, were made public only two months ago, when Solvay said it was phasing out the chemical and therefore the toxicity information was no longer proprietary.

In 2019, Solvay submitted a document to the EPA that showed it had been testing its workers blood since at least 2011, and knew that the chloroperfluoropolyether carboxylate compounds were building up in their bodies. The lengthy gaps between when the two rounds of tests were conducted and when they were reported more than five years for the rat study and eight years for the worker study violate the TSCA rule that requires immediate filing when a company becomes aware of a substantial risk.

Solvay may have hindered the EPAs ongoing PFAS assessments and put public health at great risk, said EWG President Ken Cook. We suspect that Solvay deliberately kept these damning toxicity studies from the EPA a serious violation of federal law that requires companies to immediately report any evidence they uncover that a chemical may pose a substantial health hazard.

The gaps between the tests and Solvays reporting of them was first noticed by EWG Senior Scientist David Andrews, Ph.D., in his examination of EPA documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

Were asking the EPA to investigate Solvay for apparently hiding test results that show their replacement PFAS chemical is as toxic and bioaccumulative as PFOA or PFNA, Andrews said, referring to a similar compound included in the 2005 phaseout agreement. Solvay kept its lab reports secret while at the same time publicly participating in the EPAs PFOA Stewardship Program, which was intended to end the use of toxic and bioaccumulative PFAS. Hiding this data likely enabled and prolonged the use of PFAS, significantly endangering human health and the environment.

PFOA, PFNA and other long chain PFAS are calledforever chemicalsbecause they do not break down in the environment. Some have been linked to cancer,reproductive and developmental harms, andreduced effectiveness of vaccines.Solvays chloroperfluoropolyether carboxylate compounds are among the short chain chemicals the chemical industry claims are less harmful, although some studies show they may be just as bad.

Although the severity of the hazards caused by newer PFAS replacements, such as the chloroperfluoropolyether carboxylates, is unknown, the EPA must have all the relevant toxicity data in order to accurately assess the health risks posed by these chemicals, said Olga Naidenko, Ph.D., vice president for science investigations at EWG. The health studies for every PFAS compound should be made public. Confidentiality claims that hide a chemicals identity are a public health threat. Each time we look for these forever chemicals, we find them.

A peer-reviewed study by EWG researchers estimates that more than 200 million Americans could have the toxic PFAS in their drinking water at a concentration of 1 part per trillion, or ppt, or higher. Independent scientific studies have recommended a safe level for PFAS in drinking water of 1 ppt, a standard endorsed by EWG.

There is no national requirement for ongoing testing and no national drinking water standard for any PFAS in drinking water. The EPA has issued an inadequate lifetime health advisory level of 70 ppt for the two most notorious fluorinated chemicals, PFOA and PFOS, and although the EPA has made a final determination to set drinking water standards, that effort will take many years.

EWGs petition asks the EPA to enforce the provisions in TSCA that call for mandatory and timely reporting of health studies. Reflecting the severity of Solvays failure for more than five years to submit the results from the 2005 rat study showing that its replacement is more toxic than PFOA and PFNA, EWG recommends that the manufacturer pay the maximum penalties called for under TSCA a criminal fine of $102.5 million and a civil fine of $76.875 million. For Solvays eight-year delay in reporting the worker studies, EWG also recommends the maximum penalties of a $146 million criminal fine and a $109.5 million civil fine.

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The Environmental Working Group is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action.

Kapolei oil refining facilities fined over chemical safety, hazardous waste violations – KHON2

Posted on February 12, 2021 by Danzig

Posted: Feb 11, 2021 / 12:36 PM HST / Updated: Feb 11, 2021 / 02:27 PM HST

HONOLULU (KHON2) Par Hawaii Refining has been fined $219,638 over chemical safety and hazardous waste violations at its oil refining facilities in Kapolei.

[Hawaii news on the goLISTEN to KHON 2GO weekday mornings at 7:30 a.m.]

On Thursday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced settlements with the company for violating the federal Clean Air Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act at its oil refining facilities on Malakole and Komohana Streets.

We are acting to ensure that oil refining facilities reduce the risk of releases of toxic substances, and properly store, manage and dispose of hazardous wastes to protect local communities and the environment,Amy Miller, EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Director of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said in a news release.

As part of the settlement, Par Hawaii must carry out changes to reduce the risk of chemical accidents at its Malakole Street facility where EPA inspectors found violations of prevention requirements in 2019. These included process safety errors and operating procedures that were unclear and not current, such as an outdated emergency shutdown operating procedure in the control room.

The company must also conduct sampling at its Komohana Street facility to determine whether improper management of hazardous wastes contaminated local soil. In 2018, EPA inspectors found that the facility improperly managed hazardous waste from its refinery processes. They also documented an oily residue being released onto an unlined asphalt pad and into nearby soil.

As an energy company and critical part of Hawaiis energy infrastructure, we strive to conduct business in a safe and environmentally protective manner, Peter Boylan, Par Hawaiis Director of Government & Public Affairs for Par Hawaii, said in response to EPAs news release. We are pleased to have resolved the EPAs concerns regarding certain alleged documentation deficiencies at our Par West Refinery, as well as the alleged release at our Par East Refinery, and refer you to the respective Consent Agreements for further details. While we disagree with the EPAs assertions, these two settlements resolve this matter for the benefit of all parties, and we look forward to continuing our support of the states transition to its clean energy goals.

This settlement is part of EPAs National Compliance Initiative: Reducing Accidental Releases at Industrial and Chemical Facilities. Click here to learn more.

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Kapolei oil refining facilities fined over chemical safety, hazardous waste violations - KHON2

The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking) | Review – Chemistry World

Posted on October 16, 2020 by Danzig

Katie MackAllen Lane2020 | 240pp | 20ISBN 9780241372333

Buy this book on Amazon.co.uk

It can be difficult impossible even to truly comprehend the sheer scale of the cosmos. It is so vast and ancient that trying to imagine the science holding it all together can be overwhelming to our tiny human minds, and contemplating its eventual conclusion is yet more mind-boggling still.

Such is the task faced by Katie Macks The End of Everything. The book sets out to explain how the universe became, and the various ideas we currently have of how it might one day, someday, come to its end. For each of the five universe-ending scenarios, Mack explains what it would entail, why we think its a possibility and how we obtained the data that led us to that conclusion. All of this is simplified down to a level that is at least somewhat more accessible to the average reader than the quantum mechanics and general relativity that are actually going on in the background.

As dark and depressing as the subject matter might seem, Mack sells it brilliantly. Its always enjoyable to hear someone talk about something theyre passionate about, and its obvious on every page that Mack adores the field she works in. Even in places where her explanations become bogged down in dense calculations and theories, her enthusiasm for the science shes discussing is front and centre, and it can be infectious regardless of your actual interest in the particular topic. Combined with Macks humour and the way the book talks directly to the reader, the overall impression is a very friendly, engaging experience that carries any sections that may be too in-depth for the casual reader.

Mack has also taken care to be extremely honest in her summary of the current science. In areas where our collective human understanding of the universe is insufficient, she takes the time to explain our best guesses, how we came to make them and why we cant currently be sure what the actual solution is. For other topics where we have a better understanding of things, the book not only explains current theories, but also how we were able to figure them out. As a result, readers end up with a much clearer idea of the principles being discussed and how they can start to fit into the wider picture.

That being said, this isnt a book I would recommend to anyone who doesnt already have a grasp of general scientific principles. Mack does a fantastic job of explaining some very complex science in a way that is understandable to a non-cosmologist, but to do so she largely skips past explaining more basic concepts like atomic structure, excited states and the four fundamental forces of nature.

Beyond that, if you enjoy contemplating your own insignificance in the face of an uncaring universe or, perhaps, marvelling at the sheer power of the cosmos, this is definitely worth a read.

This book features in our book club podcast, which you can listen tohere.

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The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking) | Review - Chemistry World

Pragmatic and Proportionate Enforcement Expected for Future Chemical Regulation in the United Kingdom Post-Brexit – JD Supra

Posted on January 3, 2021 by Danzig

Following years of negotiations and missed deadlines, the United Kingdom reached agreement with the European Union on post-Brexit trade on December 24 2020. A sigh of relief for industry as we move into 2021 as there will be no new tariffs with respect to chemicals traded between the European Union and the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, the United Kingdom will carry on with the independent chemicals regulatory regime, doubling compliance efforts and cost for industry. This alert provides a brief overview of the deals provisions in relation to chemicals (sold on their own or present in mixtures and articles) and answers some outstanding questions on UK REACH which comes into force on January 1 2021.

Technical Barriers to Trade for Chemicals

The Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom (TCA) agreed on Christmas Eve will provisionally apply from January 1 2021. Though now ratified by the UK parliament, the agreement must still be ratified by all EU Member States. The information in this alert is based on the draft TCA published on December 26 2020 (here). Despite its length, in many areas the TCA does not provide full details of the new relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom, but rather establishes the basis for new rules and regulations.

The level of cooperation between the European Union and the United Kingdom varies between industries. Part 2 of the TCA covers trade in goods and addresses product regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures, referred to as technical barriers to trade (TBTs), including regulation of chemicals (Annex TBT-3). In relation to chemicals, the TCA falls short of the level of cooperation seen in other areas (for example for medicinal products, where the TCA provides for mutual recognition of Good Manufacturing Practice, inspections and certificates).

From January 1 2021, the United Kingdom and the European Union will operate independent TBTs and will have two separate and independent chemical regulatory systems, which will give rise to additional barriers to trade. The provisions in Chapters 4 contain commitments from each party that aim to minimise disruption caused by TBTs on trade through various measures, for example by providing for TBTs to be based on international standards. In the case of chemicals, both the European Union and the United Kingdom agree to recognise that international organisations and bodies (such as the OECD) are relevant for developing scientific and technical guidelines with respect to chemicals.

The Old New UK REACH

As already discussed in detail in our previous alert, the domestic chemicals regime that will operate in the United Kingdom from January 1 2021 will be known as UK REACH (although it only applies in Great Britain as Northern Ireland will remain within the scope of EU REACH. References to UK and UK-based entities should therefore be read as excluding Northern Ireland) and HSE will take over the role of ECHA as the UK chemicals regulator. Companies wishing to supply chemicals to both the European Union and the United Kingdom will need to comply with both sets of regulations.

Guidance on UK REACH from HSE has been lacking in practical details. The IT system replacing REACH-IT in the UK (Comply with UK REACH) has been tested by a limited number of industry members but will go live on January 1 2021, leaving no time for companies to familiarise themselves with the platform before they need to use it. HSE also held a few webinars and prepared a draft Q&A document on UK REACH, however it has only been circulated amongst select industry members, not the wider public.

Fortunately, UK regulators recognise that there is a high level of uncertainty due to information not being made available to industry in advance and intend to take pragmatic and proportionate enforcement as the new rules take effect (as noted by HSE in their webinar address to chemicals industry on 16 December).

Below we explore some issues which caused the greatest amount of confusion to industry members and that have been clarified by UK regulatory authorities since our previous alert.

Who can Appoint an Only Representative?

HSEs draft Q&A states that non-UK suppliers of chemicals to UK-based entities can appoint an Only Representative (OR) in the United Kingdom to fulfil their UK REACH importer responsibilities.

Whilst industry members understand the term suppliers includes chemicals manufacturers as well as traders and distributors, Article 8 UK REACH specifies that only manufacturers and formulators of substances (on their own or in mixtures) or producers of articles can appoint an OR. We have also received confirmation from HSE that the term supplier does not include traders and distributors.

Therefore, OR appointment will not be an option for any non-UK traders and distributors (such as EU REACH registered importers) wishing to supply products to UK-based customers. These suppliers will need to either rely on their customers fulfilling the role of UK REACH importers, or set up a UK subsidiary to act as the UK REACH importer and take responsibility for import.

Who can Carry Out Downstream Users Notifications (DUINs)?

UK REACH contains transitional provisions for existing UK-based downstream users of EU REACH registered substances. UK-based downstream users can notify HSE by submitting a downstream user notification (DUIN) through the Comply with UK REACH IT system.

A non-UK manufacturer, formulator or article producer can also appoint an OR to submit the DUINs on behalf of the relevant UK downstream users who become importers under UK REACH. This absolves the actual downstream users of the need to notify when an OR has done so on their behalf. However, it is not possible for an EU REACH registered importer (or any other third country exporter of substances to the United Kingdom that is not a manufacturer) to submit a DUIN on behalf of their UK-based customers to HSE directly.

Therefore, non-UK traders and distributors who cannot appoint an OR will need to rely on their UK-based customers notifying HSE or, if they wish to retain control over UK REACH compliance, will need to set up a UK subsidiary to act as the UK REACH importer.

What is the Process for New UK REACH Registrants?

HSEs publicly available guidance is most lacking in relation to the process for the new UK REACH registrants (i.e. either first time UK REACH importers/manufacturers or UK-based importers established specifically for complying with UK REACH). UK REACH transitional provisions only cover existing supply chains from the European Union into the United Kingdom and there are no transitional provisions available for new UK REACH importers or manufacturers.

If a UK-based company manufactures or imports a substance for the first time after the end of the transition period (i.e. from January 1 2021) and they establish that they have a registration obligation, then a registration under UK REACH will be required prior to manufacture/import reaching 1 tonne per year. There are no staggered registration deadlines similar to those provided by EU REACH when it first came into force.

As explained in our previous alert, in principle the UK REACH registration process will be very similar to the one under EU REACH. The first step in registering a new substance under UK REACH will be submitting an Article 26 inquiry to HSE. This will be done using the Comply with UK REACH IT system which will go live on January 1 2021.

Following a successful inquiry, new UK REACH registrants will be put in contact with any other registrants of the substance, including those who have grandfathered their existing EU registration into UK REACH, with a view to sharing data and making a joint submission. However, there is no legal requirement to form a substance information exchange forum (SIEF) under UK REACH.

If the substance has not been grandfathered, then legally the inquirer will need to prepare a dossier of information on the
substance depending on the tonnage band before manufacture/import of 1 tonne or more per annum can commence. This is the case even where there is a new registrant of an existing substance (i.e. there are grandfathered registrants) but the group has not fully formed with respect to data-sharing/joint submission.

Before the UK Government announced its plans to extend the full registration deadlines to October 27 2023, 2025 and 2027 (depending on tonnage band and hazard properties), we understand HSEs intention was to use the Technical Completeness Check (TCC) process provided in Articles 20(2) and 21 of UK REACH to formally flag potential dossiers as incomplete and set a deadline for completion to coincide with the deadlines for grandfathering registrants and former downstream users. Placing on the market of substances with incomplete UK REACH registrations would have been allowed during this period (unless HSE specified otherwise) and the new UK REACH registrants could have joined any joint submission in a similar way to those that are grandfathering EU REACH registrations or utilising the DUIN process. However, the extension to the transitional deadlines meant that such an option would leave the new registrants being unable to provide their customers with UK REACH registrations for a significant length of time, as no pre-registration phase is foreseen under UK REACH.

HSE is currently looking at the policy implications of such an option (i.e. utilising TCC), but this issue is certainly not getting resolved before the end of the transition period, leaving new UK REACH importers or manufacturers in uncertainty with respect to how quickly they will need to UK REACH register.

In Conclusion

Whilst the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement prevents the extreme disruption that could have been caused by a no-deal Brexit, it does not substantially reduce the compliance costs and efforts that will be required from the chemicals industry. Any companies supplying chemicals to the United Kingdom will be required to familiarise themselves and comply with the new UK regulatory regime. HSE is aware of the issues and uncertainty surrounding the practical implementation of UK REACH and it is expected that the UK regulator will be receptive to industry feedback as companies venture into the New REACH Year.

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Pragmatic and Proportionate Enforcement Expected for Future Chemical Regulation in the United Kingdom Post-Brexit - JD Supra

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