What was going on when I was born?

Officers of major chemical companies, reversing their longtime position, joined members of Congress today in calling for stricter Government controls over toxic air pollutants. The calls for controls were made at a Congressional hearing to examine the extent of toxic air pollution in this country in light of the poison gas leak at a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, last December that killed more than 2,000 people. At the hearing, Warren M. Anderson, chief operating officer of the Union Carbide Corporation, called for amendments to the Clean Air Act ''to improve regulatory control over hazardous air pollutants.'' Uniform Standards Proposed He also urged Congress to provide ''uniform, nationwide and coordinated standards'' to assure the right of communities to know what chemicals used in their vicinity might endanger residents' safety and health.

A Washington dispatch yesterday, on evidence that Iraq recently used chemical weapons, at one point misidentified the nation cited in American accusations last March. The officials said Iraq had been using nerve gas and that it was developing a capacity for full-scale chemical warfare attacks.

Bernhard H. Goetz, after days of conflicting statements by his lawyers about whether he would appear before a grand jury, refused yesterday to testify. As the grand jury considered bringing new charges in Mr. Goetz's shooting of four young men on a subway train in December after one of them asked him for money, his lawyers negotiated for two weeks with the Manhattan District Attorney's office over whether and when he would testify. Because he would have been testifying voluntarily, Mr. Goetz would have had to do so without the immunity ordinarily granted to witnesses called by the prosecutor. On Sunday his lawyers said he would, and at 8:30 yesterday morning Mr. Goetz arrived at the District Attorney's office with one of his lawyers, Barry I. Slotnick. But he emerged two hours later in a crush of reporters, photographers and television crews.

Reagan Administration officials said today that they planned to continue negotiations on improving relations with the Soviet Union despite the slaying of an Army major in East Germany by a Soviet soldier. Taking their lead from President Reagan, the officials said the shooting on Sunday of Maj. Arthur D. Nicholson Jr., who was on patrol in East Germany, should not be permitted to become a new obstacle to progress in the various negotiations now taking place between Moscow and Washington. On Monday, Mr. Reagan was asked if the shooting, which Washington said was ''totally unjustified,'' would lead him to drop his hopes for an early meeting with Mikhail S. Gorbachev, the new Soviet leader. ''No,'' he replied. ''It would make me more anxious to go to one.''

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 1985 International Improved U.S.-Soviet ties will continue to be sought by Reagan Administration officials, they said, despite the slaying Sunday of an American Army major in East Germany by a Soviet soldier. (Page A1, Column 1.) A speedy pullout from Lebanon is planned by Israel, according to Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Prime Minister Shimon Peres said the withdrawal might occur ''a lot faster'' than most people think. (A1:4.)

''America has sent a message, loud and clear, that we back our negotiators, and we will continue to do so.'' - President Reagan, after the House backed his MX plan. (A1:6.)

Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin said today that Israel intends to get out of Lebanon ''as soon as possible,'' and Prime Minister Shimon Peres said this withdrawal may take place ''a lot faster'' than most people think. The remarks by Israel's two most senior Government officials were the most explicit indications yet that the Israeli Government has abandoned its gradual approach to pulling out of Lebanon. Only last month Cabinet ministers were saying the withdrawal would take until August or September but now Israel intends to pull up stakes as fast as the army can be redeployed and a new security zone and fence be established along the border. Senior officials now say they hope to have the army all the way out of Lebanon - in either one final withdrawal or two rapidly executed phases - by early to mid-May. The third anniversary of the Israeli invasion is on June 6.

The birth of a normal, healthy child is not an injury for which parents are entitled to damages, New York State's highest court ruled yesterday. In a unanimous decision, the Court of Appeals rejected a claim for child-rearing expenses made by the parents of a baby girl who was conceived about a year after her mother underwent a sterilization operation. The decision marks the first time New York's highest court has defined the liability that doctors and hospitals face in such ''wrongful conception'' cases. With it, New York joins the majority of states whose courts have ruled on the issue in saying that the birth of an unwanted but otherwise normal child cannot be considered compensable.

Edward Bernays originated the field of public relations about 60 years ago, and when he looks about him now and sees all that he has wrought, sometimes he thinks maybe he should have gone bowling instead. The elfin 93-year-old was showing little remorse yesterday, however, accepting a plaque for his achievements from Dr. John Brademas, president of New York University - where in 1923 Mr. Bernays taught the first course anywhere in public relations - and basking in the applause of a lecture hall filled with the next generation of highly trained public relations people. ''Image is the most important thing you have,'' said one of the students. ''Face it.''

COOKBOOKS have been more successful than ever in recent years, and while old standbys such as ''The Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook'' continue to lead in steady sales, books with fresh approaches are flying off the bookstore shelves. They include works by experts, such as the best- selling ''Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen,'' elegant guides such as Martha Stewart's ''Entertaining'' and a cultural foray, Diana Kennedy's ''Cuisines of Mexico.'' But many of today's most popular cookbooks apparently never make it to the kitchen. Instead, lots of people curl up with them. Carol Berglie, an editor at Barron's, said she agrees with the common belief that ''people are reading cookbooks the way they would a novel.'' ''They're armchair cooks,'' she said. Inside they often find a friendly narrative voice, rich colored photographs and fine line drawings, and insights into cultures as close as the American South and as far away as Thailand. There are recipes, but they're likely to include yellow peppers, white eggplants and other newly available foods. Add a high-powered publicity campaign and you have what it takes to make a best seller, according to a number of major cookbook editors interviewed recently.

Nicaragua has become the first country ever to fall six months behind in repaying loans to the World Bank, according to information contained in one of the bank's publications. The debt problems reflect Nicaragua's deteriorating economy, for which it largely blames the United States-backed rebellion against the Government. The arrears will also make it more difficult for Nicaragua to get help from other institutions or banks. The World Bank document, a 45- page information statement released two weeks ago, states only that it has placed on ''nonaccrual status'' the debt of ''one member country,'' which it does not identify. But the debt figures of this unnamed country exactly match those of Nicaragua listed elsewhere in the same report.

A member of the Tulane University basketball team was under arrest tonight, accused of shaving points to affect the outcome of at least two games this season. One other student was under arrest and two other Tulane players were being sought.