Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-09-14
BY THOMAS r. HENRY
science Kditer Of The star

Ozone, the highly stimulating
and, in large amounts, highly
poisonous form Of oxygen which
exists In Q thin blanket high
In the atmosphere. is being
formed continuously in the all
around us by the action Of sun
light on the debris Of civiliza-
tions-auto exhaust gases. smoke
from burning rubbish and out
pourings from factory chimneys
This fact has been demon
strated by means Of o new In.
strument, the ultraIong- path
infra-red spectrometer. Or
Philip L. Hanst Of the Franklin
Institute Of Philadelphia re.
ported today to the American
Chemical Society. meeting ct the
University Of Minnesota.
In the high atmosphere ozone
also is created by the action Of
sunlight on oxygen molecules
A thin layer Is formed about 81
miles high which traps the ex-
tremely short ultraviolet ray.
Of the sun. Without It no life
could exist on earth. But 1t Il
different at close range. Ozone
is q highly corrosive material
perhaps the major dangerous
element in the heavy smogs
which have struck the Nation
at various times. It Is ten times
more abundant in the notorious
Los Angeles srnog than in the
atmosphere at large.
Detects Small Amounts
The new instrument, Or
Hanst said, detects extremely
minute amounts Of any atmos-
pheric impurity and usually it is
possible to identity it. The
work is part Of an oil industries
research project: several other
possibly poisonous products are
formed by sunlight striking in
dustrial fumes.
It is notable. DR.. Hanst pointed
out. that the amount Of ozone
falls almost to zero at shutdown,
More than is million tons OF
sulphur dioxide gas are poured
into the atmosphere of New York
every year. This is probably
typical OF most American cities,
although in some the situation
Is much worse.
This gas is an odorous. eye
srnarting substance. 1t results
from exhaust fumes from auto
mobiles and factory and house
chimney smoke, it was reported
by Morris B. Jacobs of the New
York Department Of Air Pollu-
tion Control. The gas has been
blamed for irritation to eyes and
respiratory passages. damage to
growing plants, peeling of paint
and corrosion of metal roofs.
The amount in the atmos-
phere is increasing not only
with growth Of cities but with
rapid shift from coal to fuel
oil for use-heating oil contains
disproportionately large amounts
Of sulphur from which the gas
Is formed. The best hope may
lie in. the eventual replacement
Of fuel oil by natural gas and
atomic fuels, DR.. Jacobs believes.
These. however. may introduce
even more harmful elements.
Varies with Time
The concentration Of sulphur
dioxide-so far as New York is
concerned and probably in most
cities-yaries greatly with time
of day, season. weather condi-
tons and surroundings, summer
abundance is less than q third
that of winter. 1t is highest
from 6 to 10 am, falls until
2 pm. increases in late after
noon. and then decreases until
2 am. This follows the pattern
Of fuel consumption in most
cities.
The effect is greatly increased
during periods Of temperature
which act as blankets
which prevent the pollution from
blowing away. The lower the
blanket the greater the effect.
When under 500 feet in altitude
that may increase the concen-
tration 80 to 40 fold.
IA 200 fold increase in the rate
Of recovery Of certain uranium
by-products Of the Florida
fertilizer industry has been made
possible by q chemical which
helps separate water from finely
divided solid material. Drs.
Charles o. Beckmann and Muriel
Roger Of Columbia University
told the society.
The mountaineering shines
form tremendous artificial lakes
surrounding phosphate fertilizer
plants. They contain a large
proportion Of fine particles known
TO contain uranium but they
cannot be filtered out because
they tend to clog up any type OF
filter. The new chemical causes
these particles not only to clump
together but to stick together in
balls like chewing gum. Then
they can be removed quite easily
There are a vast number OF
unknown Organisms" so minute
that they cannot be detected even
with the most powerful electron
microscope at work within the
human body.
New Theory Advanced
This thesis was presented be-
fore the society by DR.. Gustav j.
Martin, research director Of the
National Drug Co., who advanced
q theory Of biological RELATIVELY