ANALVTICAL EDITORIAL
April 1972,Vol. 44, No. 4 Editor: HERBERT A. LAITINEN
EDITORIAL HEAD UARTERS Washington D C 2086 1166 S i b St' N.W. Phone: 202-737d37 Teletype: 710-8220161 Managing Editor: Virginia E. Stewart Assistant Editors: Andrew A. Husovsky Alan J. Senzel PRODUCTIONSTAFF Production Manager: B a d Guiley Director of Design: Joseph Jacobs Art Director: Norman W. Favin ArtlProduction : Judy Bitting Associate Production Managers: Lero L. Corcoran Charrotte C. Sayre Editorial Assistant:
Nancy J. Oddenino
NEWYOREOFFICE 733 Third Avenue New York, N.Y. 10017 212-867-3161 Associate Editor: Josephine M. Petruzzi EDITORIAL PRODUCTION OFFICE, EASTON,PA. Assistant Editor: Elizabeth R. Rufe
ADVISORY BOARD: Norman G. Anderson, Fred Baumann C. G. Enke Henr M. Falea James S. Frit;, Jeanette brassek, Walt& E. Harris, Theodore Kuwana, Edwin P. Przybylowicz Wfliam C Purdy Eu ene M. Sallee, Donald T. Say er, h o y b R. Snyder Samuel M. T u t h J , Harold F. Walton'
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 1166 16th St., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 Frederick T. Wall, Executive Director
Books a n d J o u r n a l s Division Director: John K Crum Head, Business Operations Department: Joseph H. Kuney G r o u p Manager, Publications: D. H. Michael Bowen Assistant to t h e Director: Ruth Reynard
REGIONAL EDITORIAL BUREAUS CHICAGO Ill 60603 36 South Wab&h Ave. S A N FRANCISCO, Calif. 94104 67 Post St. HOUSTON Texas 77002 614 Main Bidg. 1212 Main St.
Analytical Measurement Services (Chem. Eng. News,January 31,1972, p 24) of commercial analytical services by two large chemical com-
T
HE RECENT ANNOUNCEMENT
pariies, D u Pont and DOW,represents an important new development in the analytical field. I n earlier days, the cost of analysis largely represented the salary of the analyst and the overhead necessary to support his share of laboratory space and administrative cost, With the advent of increasingly complex instrumentation, two new elements have entered into the cost picture. First, the investment in equipment, the space required to house it, and the added cost of maintenance have become increasingly important. Second, the investment in increasingly skilled and specialized personnel to operate the instruments has increased the cost of operations. Whenever a large instrument lies idle and whenever a skilled operator is engaged in tasks below his highest competence level, an element of waste can be encountered. Considering the fact that large companies with a full complement of instruments and staff are likely to encounter periods of underusage, and coupling this with the fact that small laboratories cannot justify all available instrumentation, the new measurement service appears to be an entirely logical development. Yet, it by no means should displace the small, independent analytical laboratory which has long been on the scene. Such laboratories are geared to efficient and reliable handling of a large number of samples under conditions of moderate overhead cost. Often, when the problem has once been clearly defined by a sophisticated and penetrating study, the actual monitoring can be greatly simplified and operated with less complex instrumentation and less skilled personnel. Accordingly, while the new measurement services will undoubtedly represent an element of competition to the smaller independent laboratories, they will not be geared to the same type of service. With the increasing emphasis on analytical measurements in many fields, it appears that both types of commercial analysis will serve essential functions in the future.
LONDON W C. 2, England 27 John AhamSt.
Adwrtising Management CENTCOM, L T P . (formerly Century Communications Corp.) (for Branch Offices, see page 135 A)
For submission of manuscripts, see page 4 A . ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 44, NO. 4, APRIL 1972
649
