Chemical World This Week - C&EN Global Enterprise - ACS Publications

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Chemical world This Week

In Brief Action has commenced to bring aid to unemployed scientists and engineers with new programs 9

The pollution control business has not yet shown spectacular growth but chemicals will play a big role 10

Serum hepatitis caused by blood transfusions may be checked with the first federally licensed reagent to screen donor blood 10

Profitability will be more important than growth for CPI in the 1970's. Average growth per annum for the decade will be about 7% 11

The least romantic or dramatic part of construction-pipingtakes on added importance through a new Du Pont computer drafting system 11

March 8, 1971

JOBLESS SCIENTISTS AIDED Employment problems of scientists and engineers were tackled on two fronts last week. In Washington, D.C., Dr. Edward E. David, the President's Science Adviser and director of the Office of Science and Technology, chaired a day-long working conference on employment problems of scientists and engineers in the aerospace and defense industries. In Massachusetts congressmen met with state and regional officials to discuss unemployment problems caused by defense and space cutbacks. At a press conference following Dr. David's meeting, the science adviser revealed a new experimental program, funded jointly by the Department of Labor and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, to retrain 400 unemployed scientists and engineers to work in public areas of need on city, state, and local levels. No timetable has yet been set for start of the $1.2 million program. At the same time, in Massachusetts congressmen led by Rep. F. Bradford Morse (R.-Mass.) embarked on a campaign to bring the full resources of the Federal GovC&EN: Fred H. Zerkel

National Agricultural Chemicals Association will recommend several changes to Administration's pesticides legislation 12

Neutron radiography can provide surgeons with means to determine presence of cancerous tissue in bone specimens 12

Science Adviser David

ernment into a coordinated effort to provide jobs for unemployed scientists and engineers. The Bay State congressmen also reviewed pending legislation introduced in both houses to deal with defense cutbacks. Among other actions, the legislators want to recruit, train, and place in municipal jobs as many as 2000 unemployed scientists, engineers, and Vietnam veterans. They also want to retrain unemployed scientists and engineers for environmental jobs. The Washington meeting, which was called by President Nixon, dealt largely with what the Government is doing to meet unemployment problems of scientists and engineers. But the meeting also illuminated the extent of the problems. The more than 60 participants included government representatives, a few people from private industry and academia, and leaders of professional scientific and engineering societies representing about 60% of the nation's scientific and engineering community. ACS President Melvin Calvin represented the Society; former ACS Board Chairman Milton Harris was one of four industry representatives. A plethora of statistics underscore the extent of unemployment problems. Secretary of Labor James D. Hodgson notes that the unemployment rate for scientists, engineers, and other professionals has doubled in the past year. Specifically, the unemployment rate for engineers increased from less than 1% in November 1969 to more than 2.5% in November 1970, according to Malcolm R. Lovell, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Manpower. The unemployment rate for the nation as a whole increased during this same period from 3.5 to 5.8%. But in New England, the Rocky Mountain area, and the West Coast, unemployment of chemical engineers exceeds 3%, says Dr. Joseph J. Martin, president of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, in reporting results of a survey of MARCH 8, 1971 C&EN 9

Chemical world This week one quarter of AIChE's 35,000 memor services specifically oriented bers at the AIChE meeting last week toward water and waste water Chemicals hold strong share in Houston. The median unemploytreatment—instrumentation, spe3 of water treatment market ment rate is 1.7%. cialty equipment, and bulk and specialty chemicals. Chemicals acThe Labor Department estimates millions of dollars counted for about $320 million, a that between 50,000 and 65,000 sciBulk chemicals Specialty chemicals little more than half the market. entists, engineers, and high-level By 1975, Mr. Putnam goes on, the technicians who formerly worked market will have grown to a healthy in defense and aerospace jobs are $975 million, of which chemicals now unemployed, Mr. Lovell says. will account for about half the toBut layoffs of scientists and engital (see charts). neers have just about ended, he contends. Dr. Calvin points out that Chemical companies have become Mr. Lovell is referring only to layincreasingly prominent in the envioffs at hard-core aerospace and deronmental management field, Mr. Special equipment Instrumentation fense-related companies. Layoffs of Putnam says, not just because they scientists and engineers will probsell chemicals, b u t because they ably continue during the next few have "considerable internal technimonths in the chemical industry cal capability, are willing to try new and in those industries dependent approaches, and are taking an inteupon aerospace contracts, Dr. Calgrated systems approach to the vin says. Further, he notes that this problem." The anticipated insummer an additional 35,000 to 40,crease in business over the next 000 scientists and engineers will be five years will bring improved profadded to the job market from the alncludes only products and services specifically its, he concludes—but only to those oriented toward water and wastewater treatment. 1971 crop of graduates. About 12,firms that can offer proprietary ^Predicted 000 will be chemists and "at most products or services, or that can Source: Arthur D. Little, Inc. there will be 3000 to 4000 jobs availdemonstrate a real technical or sysable for them," he estimates. tems capability. "Just numbers don't tell you about the magnitude of the prob- Mr. Putnam. It starts with "aware- SERUM HEPATITIS: lem or what to do about it," Dr. Da- ness of events," and progresses vid says. Although the Government through stages of citizen arousal, Reagent screens blood has a variety of programs under enactment of legislation, and de- The incidence of serum hepatitis transfusions way to assist unemployed scientists velopment of organizations and pro- caused by blood and engineers, including the Na- grams to a fifth stage—significant could well be cut by thousands of tional Registry for Unemployed Sci- acceleration in activity—that is just cases yearly with the first federal entists and Engineers (C&EN, Oct. now beginning. In many ways, he licensing of a reagent to screen 19, 1970, page 35), none is a panacea notes, the progress of the national donor blood for the liver disease. for the unemployment problem, he effort in pollution abatement par- Spectra Biologicals, Oxnard, Calif., a division of Becton, Dickinson and says. He urged participants to sug- allels the level of federal funding. gest additional means for assisting Singling out the fields of water Co., will make its product, known antibody unemployed scientists and engi- and waste water treatment, Mr. as hepatitis-associated neers. Dr. Calvin is currently draft- Putnam estimates that an invest- (anti-Australia antigen, human), ing on behalf of ACS a letter to Dr. ment of $60 billion to $70 billion commerically available under a liwould be required to achieve by cense from the National Institutes David with suggestions. 1980 the "reasonable goals" of pro- of Health. Transfused blood causes more viding full secondary treatment of ENVIRONMENT: municipal and industrial waste wa- than 30,000 cases of overt hepatitis Little headway ter and of maintaining the nation's with 1500 to 3000 deaths resulting Despite growing public concern fresh water treatment capability. Testing blood samples for hepatitis about environment, the effort to He predicts, however, that capital abate pollution has made little head- spending for water and waste waway, Bruce Putnam, a consultant ter treatment facilities should infor Arthur D. Little, Inc., told mem- crease about 7% per year over the bers of the Chemical Marketing Re- next five years to a level of $5 bilsearch Association at their meeting lion annually, for a five-year total in Chicago last week. He said also of $21.5 billion. If this growth rate that the pollution control business is extended through 1980, the total has not yet shown spectacular comes to about $52 billion—far growth or above-average profitabil- short of what will be needed. ity. Now, however, it is approachStill, Mr. Putnam says, environing a period of "healthy growth," mental management is already big and chemical companies are in a business: Capital and operating good position to share in an expand- costs for water and waste water ing market. treatment totaled about $5.5 billion Environmental management is an in 1970. Of that amount, he identievolutionary process, according to fies some $600 million as products 10

C&EN MARCH 8, 1971