7. INITIATIVES OF INTEREST TO INDUSTRY
A significant fraction of IUPAC's work has relevance to the chemical
industry. One example is the special issue on "Natural
and Anthropogenic Environmental Oestrogens" mentioned above. The
special issue constitutes an independent and unbiased contribution
from the Union, in its capacity as an international nongovernmental
organization, to the continuing debate about the effect of anthropogenic
as well as phtyogenic oestrogens on the environment and human health.
The chapters, prepared by experts from throughout the world, critically
evaluate various aspects of the subject. This special issue should
be of interest not only to academic institutions, industry, governmental
agencies, and environmental organizations, but also to the public.
A conference on Sustainable
Chemistry, sponsored by IUPAC, was held late in 1998 in Venice,
Italy. This conference brought together academic and industrial chemists
to discuss new chemistry for producing industrial chemicals using
processes that have inherently low environmental impact.
The first
IUPAC Workshop on Advanced Materials: Nanostructured Systems,
described previously, addressed issues of considerable value for modern
industrial applications.
A group of experts, assembled by IUPAC, has written a book on "Drug
Metabolism: Databases and High-Throughput Testing during Drug Design
and Development". This volume brings together information on the use
of metabolism databases in drug design, on metabolism data acquisition
methodologies, and on new equipment. The book was published in the
first quarter of 1999.
A special issue of Pure and Applied Chemistry devoted to the
topic of "Oil-Spill
Countermeasure Technologies and Response Methods" appeared in
the January 1999 issue. This review contains 16 chapters, covering
the full range of related technologies from booms and dispersants
to bioremediation. Special topics such as countermeasures for ice-covered
waters and "How clean is clean?" are also covered.
COCI, with its revised
Terms of Reference, will continue to strengthen its ties with Committees
and Divisions, increase efforts to enroll more Company Associates,
continue Workshops on Safety in Chemical Production, invigorate the
Training Program on Safety, and continue to investigate the feasibility
of new programs.
