Document KGX3YrMkX5MOLLnbezb538GbK

FILE NAME: ZK/L DATE: DOC#: BO/L DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: d:Z ENGINEERING and HEALTH BY HARVEY N. DAVIS -,. "'. FRIENDS rhe doctors belong roan appealing profesJon. They deal with human suffering and work mira. s of relief. The prncticing physician touches rhc ;s patients and their families in cimc~ ofminor or ma bringscalmcompetenceforthcm to lean on, initiates \l1CtiYit} <'1hen the urge to do something is espccidly : d renews and strengthens the courage of all eon;(The hospital provides, sometimes o. lirtle too imy, but nevertheless clfcctivcly, a kin<l of care that the ousehold c;,n but seldom affocd. The research worker 1cioc wins drama.de ,ictoric:s over One disease :irtcr ~y methods tnat the eduC'1ted l"ymun can <:ompr,:cn if he cannot fully undersraml the detail of the 1,cbnique. To che gcucral public it all seems like a rersonification of scie~ce nt its best: ,~orking _untir. the benefit of nunkmd. Perhaps lt 1s for ch,s rea' at least in reasonably pt'ospcrous times, gcncrousliico aad women Me so easili ~rsuadcd to make liberal ))los.pitals, medical schools, :md institutes for medical professioo commo11ly makes no such cmorioml ap~ clay public. Our achicvctncors arc too often thought .\iog an induscrid rather than a human significance. )n the street admires and trusts the engineer in a blind 'mes extravagant fashion, but tliis admiration tends ):plJ aad imprsona) as th:Lt which he accords ro one of 9>ioes. Docs not the engineer deserve .t warmer and .. caiolla.tc .tppreci:uioo? I.f only we could make clc,~r to : and to the public some of _the things we ate Jou,g or <;to do, that touch inrimardy the personal Jives of men, jl'lt not hope rhzc the rcspecr now commonly accorded us :ringed with more, of the emotiou-stitring loy~lty that : inspire ac rive cooperntion? . ith this thought in mind th,.c I have chosen to inquire ,i exte t the engineer ca}t be thought of a, rivaling the n in the prommion of hc-:1lrh_ In appraising this competition, let us our forger rhat, ,..bile the engineer's cots are never as dr:unaric, S?Xtacul:tr, or individua.1- ;,is the sa,ing of a life or the rc,coracion of a sufferer giirous effecthencss, the en1>ioeer deals, not with indi:, as do most physicians, buc wirh the gro-it mMses of (!, men1 :i.nd chilarcn th~t constiturc inmic.rn communi- ' then, the inccasit)' factor of his health work is, perjess than that of the pliysidan, ics quantity factor is, in '., immeasurably greater. Due any 3.pprais:<l of the effec: of 1oy sort of work, in pllysics Ot in life, depends oo ."gaitudc of a prodllct contai11ig both an intensity and a .)y fuccor. rr, ..1.i....u, d:c. ir..!er;:-;fry facror~ Df th('" v:,ti()uS eaing acri,itics that p,omote health arc, fowid to be far : than that tcro wb.icb :,lone could nullify the sisnificant ~ct, it is, perhaps, nor unreasonable ro sugi;cst that the en . of today arc cont1ibuting quite as much to the promo' hcolth as are rlle physicians. ~ ,nose obvious, hccnuse the most dirccc, contributions of ;ecrs to the promotion of health lie, of course, in the field er 11ddtess dc:11\cre<l 2t the s~mi..An.c.u:a.l ~.fecting. Se. Louis, 'J,1nc. 2.lr-2.J. 19J8, of Tns A~rnF..1C.-..N" Socun-Y OF Mu:H,\NfCAL ~. a.$, of sanicatioo. By bringing abumla.nt supplies of pure water into towns and cities, a boon that only those who have Hved or trndcd in arid regions can fully appreciate, by building sewers and sewage-disposal planes, by modern methods of rcfosc collecrioo aad disposal, by rhc invention and fabrication of modern plumbing fixtures which make cleanliness c;1sy, and by a p.~tient persevering fight against atmospheric and stre.tlll pollution, engineers have 11ndoubredly saved rnnny lives and relieved chc world of much suffering. While the medical men have had to k.~d the way in attacking such diseases as !iookworm, maloritt, and yellow fe"cr, ic has been the sanit.~ty work ofcnginccrs that h.s put this hard-w,>11 knowle<l.gc into practical effect on a large scale over consi<lcrable areas. Indeed in the whole lield of public-health work :,nd of preventive medicine in which so many forwal'd-lookiog physicio.llS are actively engaged, engineers :tl'C th.cir indispensable allies. The tremendous influence which these various s:initary :ind ocher advances have had on the general health level of the population as compared with that which prcv:r.ikd in the middle.tgcs is coo striking to require further comment. ln the important marcer of dice nlso, che work of rhe cuginecr has been of imporoince. By the devclopmem: of tin plate and of intricate machines for fashioni11g it, he has made possible rhc canning of food on a tremendous scale, rbus broadening and enriching the diet of rllc nation, and mocking o.vail:tble ar all seasons, and in the most our-of-the-way places, foocls rich in vitamins and hormoacs. The dcvclopmc.llt by engineers of ufrigeratinn on ships, na trains, in cold-storage warehouses, and in the home, including tlie newest methods ofqu[ck frce:<ing, has contriburcd to the s"me end. Irrigo.tion, often involving engineering projects of enormous magnitude, h:is helped the farmer to produce food in grea.rcr abund:rnce and often of finer qudity, Still more fondame.11cally, the ships, trains. <Lnd motor trucks, by menns of which most of the fo0<l of the nation is brouglit co those who consume it, were invcnt"d and developed, and are fabric.teed :uid mainraiucd by engineers. Wirhout them no modem urb:rn popuhttion could exist. Dy tl1ese me:tns engineers have profoundly affected the dietary habits of whole n..tions and ha,-c: made possible che climinarion of dc- ficicnc)' discases a.nd of the lowered resistance to infection that malnutrition causes. In the matter oi housing, :tlso, engineers have pbyed their pare. Thq have improved the materials and methods of consrrucrion, an<l therefore both the av:i.il:i.bility and the usefulness of buildings of every sort. They h:tve flooded houses, offices, and workshops with eye-s:tving light. They have p,ovi,,kd the ccutcal hcariug plant rli.-it insu!'CS a uniform controllable temperoicure throoghout a house. Air conditioning is iust around rhe corner. By dc,doping transportation they have enabled an urban population to find over n fa.-flung area mote healchful living condirions th:1n were ;W.til:tblc even to the \\'ell todo of, Ictus s:i.y, r,vo ccntl.I.rics:i.go. ln all rhcsc obvious ways engineers have contributed t0 the maintenance and improvement of the h~.tlth of vnsr numbers of people. This is, however, by a() me-.1.ns the whole story. There 2.rc ccrta.in other activities of engin~ers chat h~ve :111 even .ruore sigoilicnot effect on the henltll leyel of o n:nion. Co,,sider first~ all tha.c is involved in ,vhat is callcJ a natio al 663