A Progress Report T H E Section of Analytical Chemistry of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, organized at the meeting of the union last September in Amsterdam, has just announced its membership. The president is C. J. Van Nieuwenburg of the Delft Technical Institute, Netherlands, the European secretary is Paul E. Wenger of 1’ Ecole de Chimie de 1’Universit6, Geneva, Switzerland,and the American secretary is Samuel E. Q. Ashley of the General Electric Company, Pittsfield, Mass. The vice president is I. M. Kolthoff of the University of Minnesota, long associated with the activities of the International Union. Other members of the section as reported to this publication are: Fritz Feigl of the Laboratorio da ProdupLo Mineral, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Edward Wichers of the National Bureau of Standards, Washington, D. C.; Jan Gillis of the University of Ghent, Belgium; Shanti S. Bhatnagar of the University Chemical Laboratories, Lahore, India; R. C. Chirnside of General Electric Co., Ltd., Wembley, England; F. E. Beamish, University of Toronto, Canada; N. Strafford of Imperial Chemical Industries, Ltd., Manchester, England; and G. Charlot of 1’Ecole de Physique et de Chimie, Paris, France. This membership will function until the union again meets, this time in the fall of 1951 in New.York City. At the present time the section membership is concerned with the establishment of two new commissions, one on physicochemical constants and the other on the expression of analytical results. The Commission on New Analytical Reagents and Reactions, which has functioned for many years and has provided the most direct contact for analysts with International Union activities, will continue under the sponsorship of the Section of Analytical Chemistry. Despite the fact that the membership of the section as a t present constituted is considered to be temporary, the international reputation of the members and their long-sustained interest in union affairs lead us to,believe that the section will maintain a most active status between now and the 1951 meeting in New York. The new policy of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry of establishing sections is a vast improvement over the former organizational structure. So far, Sections on Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Applied Chemistry have been established. Under the new organizational structure, much
broader approaches can be made to scientific questions of international interest than was possible under the more restricted and narrow commissions setup. It has been felt by analysts interested in the International Union that the Commission on New Analytical Reagents and Reactions failed to provide an opportunity to discuss many problems pressing for an international agreement. With the organizational machinery ’ now available, more rapid progress can be made. The editors of this publication will continue t o keep its readers informed on all future developments of the Section of Analytical Chemistry. The American secretary will be delighted to receive suggestions from American analytical chemists interested in furthering the progress of the Section of Analytical Chemistry of the International Union.
Analysts and Public Safety ANALYTICAL chemists are guardians of public health, yet this aspect of their contribution to society is rarely indicated. How to bring about such recognition on the part of the public constitutes a challenge to the profession that should no longer be ignored. Several possible courses of action should be considered. First and foremost, there is a crying need for some highly qualified analyst with broad experience and a flair for popular style writing to write a book which will humanize the analyst and, a t the same time, portray the important role he plays in’ protecting the public’s health and general well-being. Food, shelter, and clothing are but a few of the prime essentials of life requiring in one form or another the stamp of approval of the analyst. The services of the medical profession will be weakened if the quality of the products used by physicians, surgeons, and dentists is not maintained a t the highest possible levels. Perhaps the time has arrived when we should sponsor a series of symposia for each of the more important fields where quality control touches directly bhe health and safety of the American public. In certain activities, as, for example, atmospheric contamination, considerable original research work must be done in developing quick and accurate analytical methods. It will be very difficult to solve many of the problems of air pollution until analysts can provide considerable necessary fundamental information about the form and concentration of the products causing the contamination of the atmosphere in many industrial areas. 733
