5 minute read
RES History - February 1976
RES News - Rochester History
Back to Table of Contents
A Sampling from the Archives of the Rochester Engineering Society. 1897 - 1976 by Lee M. Loomis
Continuing with the historical sampling of the earlier writings on behalf of the Rochester Engineering Society, the years following "The Great War", into and through the “Great Depression”, continued to be a time of reaching out for the maturing Society, both locally and nationally. The meeting minutes describe a series of technical discussions and presentations intended to broaden the technical horizons of the membership (especially the CE's, ME's and EE's). The RES affiliated itself with a number of National technical societies, adopted local Affiliated Societies, frequently held joint meetings with them and continued taking action on a growing list of public matters. Certain issues of standardization, some crucial to public safety, became the responsibility of the RES and its affiliates. In the pervasive economic downturn of the “Great Depression”, the magazine offered classified advertising for unemployed engineers, technicians and draftsmen and took other steps to try to deal with the crisis. Still, it continued its effort to shape the function, focus and infrastructure of the City of Rochester, and beyond. World War, again affected the Society, taking away many of its leaders while providing opportunities for others to step forward to fill these vacancies. In an effort to provide even greater perspective on the happenings and concerns of the day, a synopsis, featuring selected items from "The Rochester Engineer" has become an integral part of this series. The Second World War, the Korean Conflict, and the Vietnam War are now history. These experiences have changed the face of and will, no doubt, influence the future of the community. The Rochester municipal leadership and the industrial community have become immersed in the cold-war, growth economy.
“The Rochester Engineer” (January 1976) Editor’s note: Recent editions of the RES magazine have presented a discussion/critique of the electric utility industry. Articles and responses have focused on energy conservation, affordable utility rates, equitable rate structures, responsive elected officials and regulatory agencies, safe and clean alternative energy sources, and community control of utility services. The manner in which these articles were presented in the magazine had been criticized as lacking in a “pro and con”
format. Consequently, the February RES Board meeting would receive a report from the Executive Committee specifying and recommending new editorial guidelines for “The Rochester Engineer”.
February 18, 1976 (Board Meeting, Chamber of Commerce)
The Board approved applications for seven Regular Members, two Associate Members and one Junior Member. RES President Jack Schickler read from the NY State and the City of Rochester proclamations for February 22-28 Engineers’ Week. Engineer’s Joint Dinner Chair, Lee Loomis announced that Deputy County Manager, Thomas Mooney, would be speaking on behalf of County Manager Lucien Morin, at this year’s event. Jack Schickler reported that he had attended a productive meeting with RES
Member, Dr. Brian Thompson, Dean of the U of R College of Engineering and Applied
Science, toward developing closer ties between engineering schools and industry to facilitate student training in the business world. Dick Rice, of the RES Civic Affairs Committee, reported
12 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER NOVEMBER 2022 res news - history
that three major projects were underway; BiCentennial Energy Self-Sufficiency Contest, Advice to the County of Monroe on Improvement of Salt Application & Snow Removal Protocols, and a Technical Appraisal of Monroe County’s Pure Waters Division. In his capacity as the
Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) representative and a member of the Civic
Affairs Committee, Mr. Rice also reported that he had met with City Engineer, Lawrence Gassman and the City Council, to discuss the possibility of the City’s acquisition of Rochester’s street lighting system from RG&E. In conjunction with this, Jack Schickler reported that he had been asked by Rochester’s Mayor, Thomas Ryan, for an “official” RES position on the street lighting system acquisition. Since this, in his opinion, would be primarily an economic decision, and NOT a technical one, President Schickler had declined to offer an opinion by the Society. Jack Schickler also reported that the Executive Committee had met with the Publications Committee Chair and with Ed Stevens, RES Executive Director, and that new editorial guidelines for “The Rochester Engineer” had been drawn up and agreed upon. (OSHA) setting a VC exposure limit of 500 ppm. Further research, over the next several years, lead OSHA to further lower the standard in 1975, initially to 50 ppm and gradually to 1 ppm by the end of 1976. One by one, US corporations; General Tire and Rubber, Georgia-Pacific, B.F Goodrich and others announced their ability to comply with this standard. During this period (1949 – 1974) numerous efforts to down-play the severity of exposure to VC and PVC production chemicals were reported, many by industry leaders. Much controversy eventually developed over, “What the industry knew, and when it knew it”. Nevertheless, it was an industry doctor (from B.F Goodrich) who reported findings of a possible causal relationship between PVC workers and angiosarcoma to the National Institutes of Health (NIOSH) that led to a rapid (20 month) plant exposure reduction to minimal levels. Quoting Ralph L. Harding, President of the Society of the Plastics Industry, in 1975, “Never before in occupational health history has an industry labored so arduously, rapidly and successfully to eliminate a recognized hazard”.
This issue of the magazine was given over to the subject of vinyl chloride (VC) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and their association with the occurrence of various cancers in workers who are regularly exposed to these chemicals. First developed and commercialized in the US in 1927, by 1938 acute animal toxicity was first reported from high doses of VC and PVC. In 1949 high incidence of liver damage was reported among workers in the Soviet Union, and in 1961 Dow Chemical Corporation began conducting experiments on animal subjects and then limited human exposure in all of its own plants to 100 ppm. Continued worldwide reporting in 1964, 1965 and 1970 led to the US Occupational Safety & Health Administration
res news - history Subsequent articles in this series will describe the RES' continuing outreach to other technical societies as it considered its role in this and the larger community, along with more of the activities of the RES as it moved to be of greater service to its membership, especially those suffering from current economic crises, and adopted a greater role in shaping the future of the City and its environs. Noted also, will be the contributions made by RES members in the struggle to meet the challenges coming out of World War II and the Korean Conflict, as well as a hoped-for period of post-war growth and prosperity. These articles will also feature an impressive array of RES activities in support of post-war re-emergence of Rochester area industry, and the continuing prosperity of the second-half of the 20th Century. We welcome your questions and comments on this series.
NOVEMBER 2022 The ROCHESTER ENGINEER | 13
