
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, February 24, 1991                   TAG: 9102240225
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MANASSAS                                LENGTH: Short

VA. COMPANY CLEANS UP IN GULF

A product that causes oil to mold into a gummy form that can easily be skimmed from the water's surface may make a name for a small Manassas company that invented and manufactures it.

On Jan. 31, just one week after the huge spill in the Persian Gulf, Thomas Scambos, chief executive officer of General Technology Applications Inc., accompanied a 20,000-pound shipment of Elastol to Saudi Arabia.

Scambos said Elastol has prevented oil from sinking below the gulf's surface and contaminating desalination plants along the shore.

Elastol is a powder composed mostly of polyisobutylene, the ingredient that makes chewing gum chewy. Unlike dispersants, substances that spread the oil until it seems to disappear, Elastol prevents oil from mixing with water, where it threatens aquatic life and beach ecology.

Elastol cuts cleanup in half the time and is completely recyclable, unlike oil mixed with dispersants, company officials said.

But Mark Bombre, a spokesman for the Canadian Environmental Protection Service, said the product's effectiveness on large spills on the ocean is questionable because of the availability of oil-gathering devices, like booms and skimmers, on the open sea.

General Technology Applications, which invented Elastol four years ago, has not made a profit since shortly after it was founded 14 years ago, company founder and President Jerry Trippe said.

Recent attention to the firm has sparked several inquiries from people who are interested in investing in the closely held, private company. Because of the interest, company principals are considering selling stock to the public.

by CNB