checks and balances so that the public health and safety are assured. Engineers have a special responsibility in this matter, because of the critical importance. of core cooling systems designed to act in an emergency. One must never lose sight of the fact that nuclear power plants constitute a hazard unique in the history of engineering. Ralph E. Lapp 7215 Park Terrace D r . Alexandria, V a . 22307 Economic Snow Job?
to reclaim it, reuse it, recycle it, regenerate it, oxidize it, heat treat it to your specifications. It’s our lab unit Calciner for heat treating material continuously at high temperatures (to 2100OF) in an oxidizing, inert or reducing atmosphere. If your reuse problem involves: regenerating a catalyst: reclaiming precious metals and metallurgical powders; reducing mineral or metal oxides; or drying (fine) materials in a recycling process. . . start here in our lab with our Calciner and let us help you find the answer. Or consider a Bartlett-Snow indirect heat Calciner for your pilot plant operation.
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656 Environmental Science & Technology
A BANGOR
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DEARSIR: The article, “Pyrolysis of refuse gains ground,” that appears on page 310 of your April 1971 issue, in addition to presenting Enviro-Chem’s Landgard system for the pyrolysis of municipal refuse, offers some rather philosophical comments attributed to Curtis Snow. Mr. Snow states, “What good does it do to recover goodies from solid waste if you can’t find a home for them in the economy?’ Experimental work done at West Virginia University shows that the pyrolysis of solid waste materials could result in supplying the equivalent of 10-15% of the daily natural gas requirements for each person in the United States. Conserving our natural gas resources would appear ‘to be an adequate “home” for these “goodies.” Mr. Snow further states, “There are lots of wonderful things you can do with science, but you can’t always afford to do them.” We are seeing enough results of this attitude of placing economic values above environmental considerations. There are lots of wonderful things you can do with science, and you can’t always afford to ignore them. Mr. Snow apparently places little value on the opinions of ecologists, politicians, and the average citizen. According to Mr. Snow, “Recycling and recovery hold a lot of fascination fm politicians and the lay mind. There’s been a lot of garbage generated about garbage.” It is this type of attitude which has placed our ecological system in its present condition, and we certainly do not need another Snow job. R. C. Bailie Robert S. Burton III Dept. of Chemical Engineering West Virginia University Morgantown, W . Vu. 26506
