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increased attention in specifications to can be avoided, whereas there are Charles Goodyear health and safety considerations and to often far fewer options available with environmental protection, in many synthetic rubbers. The inherently high Medal for Professor cases in response to national and strength of means it can European legislation.3 tolerate much higher levels of diluent Alan Thomas Some of the pressures are coming additives than most synthetics, a real from other standards. Notable among benefit if specifying bodies need to these are the ISO 9000 series of qual- consider the potential for using recy- ity assurance and quality management cled material. specifications, and the more recently Opportunities should also arise for launched BS 7750 on environmental thermoplastic natural rubber systems if management systems. The publication recycling becomes a key part of a in the UK of the multi-part BS 5760 specification. With a greater emphasis on the reliability of systems, equip- upon the need for a more reliable esti- ment and components also serves to mation of product performance, manu- remind manufacturers of the increas- facturers and designers will continue to ing importance which consumers now appreciate the depth to which natural attach to reliability engineering, and rubber compounds have been evalu- specific quality-approved design aids ated, as for example in the unique sucb as failure mode and effects Engineering Data Sheets. No other analysis (FMEA). rubber has been characterized to such Many end-users, led in particular an extent, especially in terms of tests by the automotive industry, now intended to facilitate product design. expect their suppliers to adopt a Natural rubber cannot rest on its 'cradle to grave' philosophy in their laurels. The Malaysian Rubber PROFESSOR ALAN THOMAS (pictured component design and manufacture, Research and Development Board has above), UNIDO consultant to the and this too is bound to influence the long recognized the need for both Malaysian Rubber Producers' Research nature of product specifications. MRPRA and the RRIM to play an Association and a professor at Queen Indeed, the recently established active role in national and interna- Mary College, London, has been ISOATC 207 (Environmental Manage- tional standards work. It is now over awarded the Charles Goodyear Medal ment) has set up a working group 40 years since MRPRA staff first for 1994. The very prestigious medal, devoted to environmental aspects in became involved with ISO/TC45, the awarded by the Rubber Division of the product standards.4 It is likely that committee for rubber and rubber prod- American Chemical Society for contri- specifying bodies will eventually be ucts, an achievement few other organi- butions to the science and technology asked to consider not just product per- zations have been able to match. The of rubber, was presented to Professor formance but how the choice of design Laboratory has also had a long associ- Thomas during the Division's 1994 and materials will affect maintenance, ation with the British Standards spring meeting in Chicago. reuse, ease of recycling, product dis- Institution and is well placed to play a Professor Thomas retired from his posal, and energy recovery. In future key role because its staff chair the two position as Head of MRPRA Applied a material will not just be specified on technical committees responsible for Physics Group in 1986, and then the basis of its performance, but also physical and chemical test methods for became a consultant. For his contribu- on its environmental friendliness. Life rubber. MRPRA is also a member of tions to rubber physics he received the cycle assessment will become a key several product-specify ing commit- Mobay Award in 1961 (with Professor consideration. tees. Alan Gent) and the Colwyn Medal in How will natural rubber be affected 1978; for services to Malaysian nat- by all these developments? There is References ural rubber he won the Kesatria much in its favour. It is much more 1. Sommer, J. G. and Yeoh, O. H., Mangku Negara award in 1983. environmentally acceptable than most Tests and specifications, in During Professor Thomas' 40-year of its competitors - its production Engineering with Rubber, ed. A. career he has published an impressive accounts for far less energy consump- N. Gent. New York: Hanser list of over 80 scientific papers on a tion, in some cases (for example the Publishers, 1992, Chapter 10. variety of subjects, ranging from frac- toy balloon) its relative ease of 2. Broadbent, F., The European ture, , diffusion of liq- biodegradation can be exploited, and approach to rubber standards. uids and solids to the mechanics of when recycled (to whatever form) it Standards and Quality in the elastic foam, creep, adhesion, friction. poses much less of a environmental or Rubber Industry, November 1992, abrasion, air springs, leaf springs and health and safety threat. The relative Crain Communications Ltd and seismic mounts. ease with which natural rubber can be Rubber Consultants. Dr Cris Baker, Director of identified by chemical analysis is also 3. Lohwasser, H, Regulation affect- MRPRA, was also honoured at the a distinct advantage when disposal or ing product development and prod- spring meeting as Chairman of the segregation is being considered. The uct applications, Standards and best symposium at the 1993 fall meet- versatility with which natural rubber Quality in the Rubber Industry, ing in Orlando, Florida, for the session can be compounded can also be put to November 1992, Crain Commun- titled 'Advances in natural rubber'. very good use. Thus potentially haz- ications Ltd and Rubber Consultants. Kevin Jones, who was presenting a ardous materials, such as nitrosamine- 4. ISO tackles the environment, ISO paper at the spring meeting, received generating accelerators, Bulletin, 1994, 25(2), 6. the award on Dr Baker's behalf.

I Rubber Developments vol 47 no 1/21994 FRICTION Central & East European Rubber Companies and WEAR Database Standard Friction and Wear Test Machines and A revised, computerized database con- Procedures developed to address problems in a taining a wide range of information about wide range of Materials, Automotive and companies based in both Central and Industrial Applications Eastern Europe is available from Rubber Consultants. The new database has been assembled from a wide variety of information sources, and is packaged with Rubber Consultants' own user-friendly information retrieval software, MORPHS.

Until now, there has been a shortage of information about rubber processors in Central and Eastern Europe, making communication with them difficult. This is especially frustrating for those organizations wishing to sell materials, machinery or know-how; it is also easy to NEW Machines for testing the friction overlook the wide range of competitive properties of rubber products, developed in products which are already manufactured collaboration with Rubber Consultants. in these countries. The database entries include all or most of the following data: corporate Worldwide representation and product support. name or names, postal address, tele- Please contact your local agent or Plint head phone, fax and telex numbers, the range office for information and advice. of products manufactured, date of estab- lishment and number of employees. In Australia: N & D Industrial Tribology 03-700-3979 some cases extra information on the elas- Belgium: 3E Enterprises 03-3246144 tomers processed, details of ownership Brazil: Panambra International 011-22766722 and ties with other organizations is also France/Spain: Deltalab SA 76-50-04-54 recorded. Germany: Anglo'Euro Scientific 09721-32632 The MORPHS software makes plain Greece: A B Sangari & Sons 01-882-4474 language searching possible, and a full Harvey, Main &. Co. 5281487 Hong Kong: HELP facility makes the system extremely India: RCG Instruments 212-438552 Indonesia: P T Tamara Overseas Corp. 021-6262760 user-friendly. Information from searches japan: R Fukuda & Co. 03-5565-6817 can either be output on a local printer, or Korea: Shinhan Scientific Co. Ltd. 02-561-2431 the whole search can be downloaded for Malaysia: Apparatech (M) Sdn Bhd 03 7742189 transfer to another system, such as a word Singapore: Smitech (S) Pte. Ltd. 3395277 processing package. The data is exported Taiwan: Shining Glory Co. 023214021 as standard ASCII text. Software which Thailand: Kinetics Corp. 02 4579892 will enable the user to update or USA: Fafex Corp. 708-851-7660 customize the database is available as an option. The cost of the single user version is RLIN £250, the network version costs £450 and & PARTNERS LTD the updating software £500. OAKLANDS PARK, WOKINGHAM For further information, contact either Kevin BERKSHIRE RG11 2FD, ENGLAND Jones or Kristina Lawson on +44 (0)992 TEL: +734-781898 FAX: +734-772281 584966 or fax +44 (0)992 554837.

Rubber Developments vol 47 no 1/2 1994 COPYRIGHT © MALAYSIAN RUBBER BOARD