UP FRONT 01
EDITOR’S LETTER
Those of us fortunate to have come of age in the 1970s may
It was around this time that Storck Verlag, which had
(if we try hard) remember a time when anything felt possible.
begun publishing Gefärhliche Ladung in the late 1950s
We had our own music to listen to, much of it unlike anything
to keep the German chemicals sector up to date with the
else heard before – reggae, glam, Krautrock and, perhaps
changing transport regulations, decided it would be a good
less successfully, prog rock. We also had colour TV and it was
idea to offer an English-language equivalent so that
a time when colour was everywhere, thanks in no small part
professionals who did not speak German could benefit from
to the efforts of the petrochemical industry in coming up with
the same service.
new synthetic fabrics and dyes.
That set the stage for Hazardous Cargo Bulletin (HCB),
This freedom of expression was only made possible by the
which was established towards the end of the decade and
struggles that many young people had gone through in the
sent out its very first issue in January 1980. This year, then,
1960s, protesting against governments that they saw as square
marks 40 years of continuous publication – extended now
and old-fashioned, holding them back from being themselves
to include online and electronic versions – and in this issue
or taking their part in a society they wanted to change.
we have reached out to some other organisations of a similar
Change was happening anyway, not least in the high-hazard
age to give us their views on how things have changed over
industries. But immense growth in chemical manufacturing
the past four decades and, perhaps, where we are going
and other process industries was coming at a cost to the
in the coming years.
environment and to the safety of personnel. After a succession
Trying to think about the future is still difficult: many of
of high-profile accidents, governments started to take action:
us are still working from home and not getting together
the 1970s saw the formation in the US of the Environmental
with our colleagues, except on one of the new meetings apps.
Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health
Conferences and training are increasingly going online during
Administration; the UK’s Health & Safety Executive started
the lockdown and one has to wonder whether we will ever get
work in 1974, and other European countries were putting
back to doing things the old way. If we don’t, I certainly won’t
similar agencies in place.
miss all the hours sitting in airports, but I will miss the chance
All this brought with it more regulation and industry had
to get out and hear directly from industry and regulators.
to adapt in order to comply. It is perhaps no coincidence that
But, as we keep hearing, today’s young generation are
several of the industry’s leading trade associations were also
apparently already geared up to working that way. They may
formed during what we might call the ‘long 1970s’ – the period
end up having the future to themselves, just like we wanted
from 1968 to 1980 – as industry became keenly aware that it
way back in the 1970s.
needed to have a voice in the development of new regulations.
Peter Mackay
WWW.HCBLIVE.COM
