Word: nitrogenated
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...prevailing view among environmentalists is that if the world does not end with a bang, it will expire with a strangled cough. Ecologist Kenneth Watt says that with auto exhausts increasing nitrogen in the air, "it's only a matter of time before light will be filtered out of the atmosphere and none of our land will be usable." A positively dissenting view comes from Rene Dubos, brilliant microbiologist and experimental pathologist, author of 15 books and still-working professor emeritus at Manhattan's Rockefeller University. Last week he explained his outlook to TIME Correspondent Alan Anderson...
INDUSTRY emits most sulfur oxides and particulates (soot, fly ash, heavy metals). Clean air now means a maximum 80 micrograms of sulfur oxides per cubic meter of air and 75 micrograms p.c.m. of particulates as an annual mean. Both sources emit about the same amounts of nitrogen oxides, which the rules now limit to .05 p.p.m. of air. Both also contribute to photochemical oxidants, which are formed by the action of sunlight on hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxidants. The new rules limit photochemical oxidants to .08 p.p.m. of air. All this could sharply reduce present levels of air pollution. CO levels...
Though the detergent industry continues to defend the use of phosphates, manufacturers are casting about for a substitute cleaning agent. NTA, a nitrogen-based ingredient, seemed briefly promising until it was found to be a potential health hazard. A return to soap chips is not feasible because they would literally gum up the works of most automatic washing machines...
Despite such doubts, domes are mushrooming in a dizzying array of skins-from the wood and metal favored by kit manufacturers to brick, stone, cement and plastic. Kahn has experimented with domes of plywood walls insulated with nitrogen-filled vinyl pillows, aluminum frames covered with Plexiglas, and wood covered with burlap then sprayed with quick-hardening plastic foam. Perhaps the most interesting new project is one involving the use of Mylar plastic film coated so that one side reflects light while the other is transparent. Outsiders thus see only an opaque dome, but those inside have an unobstructed view...
...precaution against such an electrical buildup, some tankers now carry inert gases, like nitrogen, in their empty tanks, but that is an expensive technique. As an alternative. Pierce suggests using chemicals that would prevent the buildup of a dangerous charge, and monitoring the tanks with electrical sensors. Some action is clearly necessary. There are about 4,000 tankers at sea, and shippers are ordering construction of even larger ones to increase their profits. The bigger the tanker, the greater the potential for explosion-an unfortunate example of more bang for the buck...