Terrorism Bill and chemistry at universities

The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is concerned about a clause (6) in the Terrorism Bill which, if enacted, would put university chemistry lecturers and staff in an unacceptable position and also threaten essential research.

Dr Neville Reed, RSC director of membership, said today: "We are worried about the unintended consequences that will result if the present draft of the bill is unchanged.

"Its current wording could potentially result in aspects of routine chemistry teaching, and those doing the teaching, falling foul of the legislation, resulting in the curtailment of legitimate scientific teaching and knowledge transfer."

He added: "Applications of science are overwhelmingly for the public good and the unacceptable use of science for terrorism is thankfully rare. If the bill were to criminalise any dissemination of knowledge that can be used for illegal purposes this would prevent teaching and research in areas of science where the aim is to benefit society, including the prevention of terrorism."