Chemistry International
2001
Chemistry International
is the news magazine of IUPAC. News about IUPAC, its chemists, its publications,
its recommendations, its conferences and the work of its commissions
and committees is published bimonthly in Chemistry International.
Index
2001
Issues
No. 1 (January)
Quality
of Chemical Measurements - International Evaluation Program
Reveals True Situation
Chemical measurements form the basis of many important economic, political,
environmental, medical, and legal decisions. Each day, millions of such
measurements are carried out throughout the world. The real basis for
decisionmaking and implementing regulations depends on the comparability
and reliability of the results of these chemical measurements. The European
Commission requires that measurements performed in one Member State
must be acceptable to all other Member States in the Union.
No. 2 (March)
Risk
Assessment Terminology
The problem of "risk" and "hazard" terminology has bedeviled discussions
relating to the safe use of chemicals, because there have been different
usages, although aconsensus position, and we think that the methodology
applied is of considerable interest and agrees with that used by IUPAC
terminologists.
No. 3 (May)
NIST
Celebrates its Centennial
The
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) celebrates its
centennial this year. NIST, formerly known as the National Bureau of
Standards (NBS), was established in 1901 by the U.S. Congress to maintain
custody of the national standards of measurement and to develop new
ones as needed by the countrys rapidly expanding industry. NIST/NBS
has grown from a relatively small laboratory with approximately 12 employees
to a major research laboratory. NIST has also had a long involvement
with IUPAC in many areas of chemical research.
No. 4 (July)
Chemical
Education in Eritrea
In Eritrea, one of the worlds newest countries, chemists and
educators are probing structures, learning from oral history, and equipping
young people to understand and shape the opportunities presented by
new and existing chemical processes. Eritrean chemical education is
coming into its own in the new millennium, mirroring the emergence of
the fledgling nation from European colonialism and Ethiopian annexation
to independence in 1993.
No. 5 (September)
COCI
Visit to China
The primary goal of the visit was to spend some time in Beijing with
SINOPEC, which last year gained representation on COCI in the person
of Dr. Jinliang Qiao, Deputy Director of the Beijing Research Institute
of Chemical Industry. SINOPEC, an acronym for China Petrochemical Corporation,
is a giant petroleum and petrochemical enterprise group, established
in July 1998 by the State on the basis of the former China Petrochemical
Corporation, with 95 wholly owned enterprises, sales over USD 28 billion
in 1999, and well over 500 000 employees.
No. 6 (November)
"Heavy
Metals" - A Meaningless Term
Over the past two decades, the term "heavy metals" has been used increasingly
in various publications and in legislation related to chemical hazards
and the safe use of chemicals. It is often used as a group name for
metals and semimetals (metalloids) that have been associated with contamination
and potential toxicity or ecotoxicity. At the same time, legal regulations
often specify a list of heavy metals to which they apply. Such lists
may differ from one set of regulations to the other, or the term may
be used without specifying which heavy metals are covered.