Fallout & Hangovers

Such human problems as the effects of fallout on pregnancy and the aftereffects of hard liquor were considered last week by researchers at the American Chemical Society meetings in Boston. Items:

Sr-90's Little Brother. In the hullabaloo over fallout, scientists have concentrated on strontium 90, neglected its little brother, strontium 89, though they are similar in emitting damaging beta rays. Main difference: Sr-89 decays faster, losing half its activity in 54 days, v. 20 years for Sr-90. But of the two, Sr-89 may be a greater hazard to the unborn child, warned Dr. Arthur R. Schulert of Columbia University's Lamont Geological Observatory, because an atomic fission bomb produces 160 times as much of it, and 20 times as much as appeared in milk after weapons tests. While Sr-89 does not remain active long enough to harm an adult, it may be a threat to children (a Canadian boy has been found with three times as much Sr-89as Sr-90 in his bones). A pregnant woman may get Sr-89 in milk or other fresh foods, so the danger is greatest to the unborn, said Dr. Schulert, "since the growing fetal skeleton reflects the diet of the mother," and the fast-growing fetus is especially vulnerable to damage from radiation.

The Congeners. Experts have long known that some of the unpleasant results of drinking hard liquor are caused by infinitesimal amounts of contaminants technically known as "congeners." The hangover victim who argued, "It isn't the alcohol, it's the congeners," was largely right, but chemists did not know which congeners were to blame. A new technique for separating minute amounts of congeners, said Consultant Robert Carroll, working with Connecticut's Perkin-Elmer Corp., has made it possible to identify eight congeners already, with more to come. Definitely harmful among those identified are acetaldehyde and isoamyl alcohol.

Carroll's intoxicating vision of the future: synthetic liquors, produced more quickly and cheaply than by present fermentation processes, with just the bouquet that the connoisseur wants, and far less risk of hangover. More important, a congener may be a big factor in the "just one more" reaction leading to chronic alcoholism, and this one could be left out. Meanwhile, Carroll noted that vodka is lowest in congeners; next purest is gin, then Scotch, then bourbon. Blended whiskies vary according to their proportions (and there are differences among brands). The drink with the most: rye.

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