Seminars

Classified Ads

Deadline information

Where to send seminars and classified ads

New research may help
bring drug dealers to justice

For some time, news stories have reported that many of the dollar bills circulating in major U.S. cities are literally "drug money" -- believed to be heavily contaminated with cocaine. As a result, defense lawyers often claim that cocaine on their clients' hands proves nothing because all money is contaminated.

Researchers at Argonne have helped to pin down the numbers, while also shedding light on the facts behind casual contact with contaminated money.

"Seventy-eight percent of the one-dollar bills in the suburban Chicago area are contaminated with cocaine," said chemist Jack Demirgian of Argonne's Chemical Technology Division. "The number is about the same for paper currency circulating in Miami and Houston, although the currency there tends to have more cocaine on it.

"But it turns out the lawyers are wrong," he said. "The cocaine gets imbedded in the currency fibers and doesn't rub off easily on the fingers of people who handle it."

The research was done in collaboration with the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC), U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and with support from the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

"We wanted to find out how much money is really contaminated," Demirgian said, "and whether an uncontaminated person can pick up cocaine just by handling contaminated money."

Demirgian and his colleagues also concluded that while currency is contaminated by direct contact with cocaine, people are not contaminated by normal handling of even highly contaminated bills.

"When a bill comes in contact with cocaine, there is initial surface contamination of the money, most of which falls off, but some of it penetrates the surface," Demirgian said. "Since it penetrates and is imbedded in the fibers under the surface of the money, when you touch it, you're not contaminated."

Cocaine transfer from currency to people requires heavy rubbing against the skin or touching a freshly contaminated bill. Casual handling of money should not result in human contamination unless the bill recently came in contact with cocaine, Demirgian said.

Since previous work had shown that cocaine contamination was more prevalent in lower denomination bills, the researchers studied $1 and $2 bills.

Bills were collected from 12 different sites in the western suburbs of Chicago and from one site in Wisconsin. Sites included one grocery store, three restaurants, two banks, and three area high schools. The bills were divided into categories based on their level of wear -- new, used, old and very old.

To simulate the transfer of cocaine, the bills were wiped with filter paper which was then sent to HARC and analyzed using ion mobility spectrometry (IMS). IMS is a technique used to detect and characterize organic vapors in air.

"IMS analysis takes seconds and is a good representation of how bills are handled," Demirgian said.

Researchers then extracted the bills in methanol. The methanol solution was then partially evaporated and analyzed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, which allows researchers to separate and identify specific substances in a mixture, thus revealing the total cocaine content of each bill.

Examination of the highly contaminated bills with a scanning electron microscope showed cocaine crystals imbedded in the cross-fibers of the currency.

Of the 278 Chicago area bills tested, 78 percent tested positive for cocaine. More than half the bills contained low levels of cocaine. Fewer than 10 percent had very high levels of cocaine. The highest quantity of cocaine detected on a bill was 1.04 milligrams.

The bills that were the most worn contained the highest levels of cocaine. All of the new bills that were contaminated had low levels, indicating that bills gradually accumulate cocaine.

The same tests also were conducted on random samples of money from the Miami and Houston metropolitan areas. While the money from both Miami and Houston was more contaminated than the money in Chicago, the percentage of contaminated bills in circulation was about the same.

Arts At Argonne to stage
benefit concert April 12

The Encore Chamber Orchestra comprise the best musicians of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra (CYSO). The concert is a benefit to raise funds for an upcoming seven-concert European tour.

Three of those 35 musicians are cellist Jonathan Moncton, son of Associate Laboratory Director David Moncton; violinist Chan Park, son of J.H. Park (ET); and cellist Natasha White, daughter of Alan R. White (HEP).

The concert will include works by Mozart, Saint-Saens, and Beethoven.

Tickets are $12.50 and all proceeds will benefit the CYSO's fundraising efforts. Additional (tax-deductible) donations are welcome and will entitle the donor to preferred seating in the auditorium.

Tickets will be on sale in Argonne-East's Building 213 cafeteria at lunchtime during the two weeks prior to the event and any remaining tickets will be available at the auditorium box office prior to the concert.

The concert is sponsored by Arts at Argonne.

Special dinner

The Argonne Guest House restaurant will offer a special pre-concert dinner for $18.50 per person. Reservations are requested; call 739-6000.

Children under 18 can join the musicians at a spaghetti dinner at the Guest House Restaurant, starting at 6 p.m. the evening of the performance. Cost is $9.95. Reservations are requested.

Japanese honor Argonne science program

Bornstein received the award and a citation lauding the success of the U.S.-Japan International Exchange Program. Bornstein directs the exchange program at Argonne.

Masayoshi Hayashi, president of the Japanese scientific society, presented the award, which includes a medal and $1,000.

The U.S.-Japan exchange program is part of a larger international science student exchange program sponsored by the American Nuclear Society, Argonne, the University of Chicago, and the U.S. Department of Energy. Under the 20-year-old program, American students study and work at research institutions abroad while Japanese and European students study and work at Argonne.

Since the program began in 1977, Bornstein said, approximately 400 students have taken part. "The international bonds created by this program are bonds of culture and friendship, as well as science. Nearly all our students have gone on to graduate school to further their science education, and all prove to be outstanding ambassadors for their countries," he said.

During the exchanges, students work at many of the world's leading research institutions, including Argonne in the U.S., Kyoto University and the University of Tokyo in Japan, the Julich research center in Germany, and French Atomic Energy Commission research centers in Paris, Cadarache, and Grenoble.

Bornstein told the University of Tokyo audience that he and other American officials especially appreciated "the way in which the people of Japan have treated the American students. Our students have talked often of the many courtesies and acts of kindness from people here who have gone out of their way to help these young scientists."

Japanese exchange students at Argonne during the past year were assigned to projects in chemistry, materials science, nuclear engineering, and technology development.

Lodging facilities to be
managed by Marriott

The change took effect April 3. Confirmed reservations have already been transferred, so no action is required by hosts or guests, said Diana Speh, technical advisor for the laboratory.

Information and assistance with reservations is available 24 hours a day by calling the Argonne Guest House front desk at (630) 739-6000, or by dialing 5-0 on on-site phones.

Argonne Club plans trip to
Wrigley Field's `friendly confines'

The Cubs will take on the Pittsburg Pirates in a night game at `the friendly confines' of Wrigley Field.

Terrace reserved tickets are $7 (half the regular price), and bus transportation to and from the game will cost $3. Tickets will be sold in the Building 213 Cafeteria the week of April 7, starting at 11:30 a.m.

PFS offers services
for spring cleaning

PFS Rigging, Grounds and Custodial groups will be available for special cleanup projects (not including those involving hazardous waste), on the schedule below.

Building managers will be responsible for coordinating necessary Environment, Safety and Health Division surveys and working with the Information and Publishing Division on records and the the Office of the Chief Financial Officer for disposal of excess property.

Building managers should submit requests for cleanup services. For more information, call:

* Rigging services: Lynnie Johnson, ext. 2-9625 or page 4-9625. Rigging costs will be absorbed by PFS during April.

* Grounds services: Bob LeClerq, ext. 206096 or page 4-6096.

* Custodial Services: contact a custodial supervisor.

Locations	Dates
200 area	April 7-11
100 and 300 area	April 14-18
400 and east areas	April 21-25
Final pickup (as needed)	April 28-May 2

1997 Earth Day Forum
to be held at cafeteria

Chicago area organizations participating in the event include Laidlaw Environmental Services, the DuPage County Forest Preserve District, Resource Management, Commonwealth Edison and Argonne's WM&PP Advisory Committee.

Employees are invited to visit the exhibits and learn more about waste minimization, recycling, and pollution prevention.

For more information, call Keith Trychta (EMO) at ext. 2-1476.

Wellness program offers
fitness assessment program

The half-hour evaluation costs $20 and includes measurements of blood pressure and heart rate, aerobic capacity, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility and a body composition analysis.

The assessment is offered to all Argonne and DOE employees. To make an appointment, contact the Medical Department at ext. 2-2811.

Results will be distributed at a seminar on Monday, April 21, at 11:30 a.m. in Building 200, Room J183. There is no cost to attend the seminar.

Colloquium speaker
is OSTP director

The talk will begin at 12:45 p.m. in Argonne-East's Building 402 Auditorium (the Advanced Photon Source Conference Center).

Gibbons is the most senior adviser to the President and Vice President on matters of science and technology policy. He also co-chairs the President's Committee of Advisers on Science and Technology; is a member of the Domestic Policy Council, the National Economic Council and the National Security Council; and is a member of and oversees the National Science and Technology Council.

Gibbons is an internationally recognized scientist. He spent 15 years at Oak Ridge National Laboratory , where he studied the structure of atomic nuclei with an emphasis on the role of neutron capture in the nucleosynthesis of heavy elements in stars.

Beginning in 1970, he pioneered studies on how to use technology to conserve energy and minimize the environmental impacts of energy production and consumption. In 1973 he was appointed the first director of the Federal Office of Energy Conservation and in 1975 was named director of the University of Tennessee Energy, Environment and Resources Center. In 1979 he returned to Washington to direct the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment. He received his presidential appointment in 1993.

Gibbons is a fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

Accompanying Gibbons will be Beverly K. Hartline, OSTP's assistant director for physical science and engineering. Hartline joined OSTP in September 1996. She is on leave from her position as Associate Director and Project Manager at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Virginia.

All employees whose work schedules permit are invited to attend the colloquium.

Tickets still available
for `paintball pursuit'

Paintball is an outdoor game in which participants use air guns filled with paint pellets to eliminate the competition. The paintball site is approximately eight miles west of the intersection of I-55 & Rt. 52.

Tickets will be on sale daily from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Argonne-East's Building 213 Cafeteria until they are sold out.

Space is limited to the first 44 people who purchase tickets. There will be a minimum of eight different games to be played.

The Candlelight Bowl scheduled by the club for April has been canceled and will be rescheduled early next year.

Wellness seminar to cover
children's development

The seminar will take place in Argonne-East's Building 200 auditorium and will be presented by clinical psychologist Marina Eovaldi.

This presentation will help parents develop age-appropriate expectations for their children and will provide new ways to understand and cope with unexpected behavior and explain how parents' behavior affects the child's.

All Argonne and DOE employees and their families are invited to attend.

Blood drive planned for April 22

The drive will be held in the lower level of Argonne-East's Building 617 (the Exchange Club).

Donation forms with scheduling information will be sent to all employees by interoffice mail.

Deadline Information

Story ideas, comments and suggestions are welcome. The Argonne News office is in Building 201, room 2Q-02 (OPA-201). The fax number is ext. 2-5274. Send E-mail to Argonne News editor Dave Jacque.

Seminar listings: Send by inter-office mail to Evie Fagan, Building 201, room 2U-09 (OPA-201). Fax to ext. 2-5274, or send by E-mail.

Classified ads: Please limit ads to 25 words. Send by inter-office mail to Evelyn Fagan, Building 201, room 2U-09 (OPA-201). A drop box is located at the Argonne News office.

Classified Ads sent by electronic mail cannot be accepted!

This page has been accessed * times since Sept. 25, 1996.