Evening star., 1951-07-20
Rust, Rot and Mould
Are Costing Millions
Prevention Center Opens
Here to Push Research
By Thomas R. Henry

By Thomas R. Henry
The Nations rust, rot, mould ans.
bug bill is approximately $4,000, 900 900
year.
Rust accounts for between five and
six billions loss annually. Moth damage
to fabrics, quite aside from all other in
sect depredations, amounts to more than
$100.000,000.
To help check this enormously costly
waste Of the countrys resources deteri-
grafton prevention center has been set
up in Washington by the National Re-
search Council with the object Of CO.
ordinating all research throughout the
world on this problem and to place
new emergencies in the hands of the
foremost experts.
The service is intended primarily for
Federal agencies but. with few excep-
tions, the research results will be avail
able to industry and to individuals. A
good deal of the loss, it is recognized
frankly, is inevitable, but there may be
a possibility of saving few billions.
Raw Materials Supply Cited.
People today find themselves con-
fronted," says an announcement from
the center which is directed by DR.. Glenn
A. Greathouse, with the problem of
protecting from deterioration an in
calculable amount of material essential
to human welfare and happiness in a
complex industrial civilization. Either
we attack the problem actively or resign
ourselves to inexorable decay, an at
titude inimical to our age"
The seriousness Of the problem, it is
stressed, is increased by the dangerously
depleted sources Of raw materials due
to the drain Of two wars.
"Only recently" according to the
statement, "has it come to be appre-
ciated that every deterioration problem
can be explained in terms Of clear-cut
chemical, physical and biological cri-
terra. 1t is a development dating from
the early years Of World War II, when
deterioration Of equipment became a
serious problem for the armed forces.
Operations in that conflict encountered
for the first time in military history
virtually all the extremes Of climate.
This led to deterioration of essential
material at rate and on scale never
before experienced by belligerents.
Equipment with a predictable life Of
months or years in temperate climates
became inoperable in weeks in the
tropics"
Groups of scientists were assembled
who were able to bring about great
improvements, although almost always
falling far short Of the ideal. These
groups now are reconstructed and CO.
ordinated in the National Research
Council set-up.
To date more than $1,000 reports
on deterioration problems Of such ma
terials as wood, leather, plastics, metals
and f1bers have been collected.
"Our industries pay heavily for de-
terioration," says the statement. "and
the individual faces the same problem
directly in the maintenance of his home.
Extending mans span of life has been
a major goal of scientists for centuries.
Oddly enough, extending the period Of
usefulness of the materials Of living
has been given little attention. The
Prevention of Deterioration Center aims
to balance the books"
Making milk and beef out Of saw
dust and electricity now looms as a
possibility. ~,
In other words it appears scientifi-
cally posSible-whether economically
practical is another story-to substi-
tute Sawdust for hay as cattle feed.
Sawdust at present represents one Of
the country's great wastes.
Sawdust for Cow Feed.
1t consists Of two major chemical
ompounds-cellulose and lignin. The
former is easily digested by cow. The
latter is indigestible and makes the
whole composition useless for food. The
problem has been to get rid of the lignin.
During the war Europeans accomp-
1ished this, although rather imperfectly,
by treating the sawduSt with sulfuric
acid. This resulted in cattle feeding ma
terial of a sort.
Scientists of the General Electric Co.
have found they can achieve the same
result, perhaps cheaper and more eff
GENTLY by irradiating the sawdust with
high voltage electrons. This has been a
cooperative project with psychologists
of the State College of Washington.
The tests have been made in test
tubes containing cultures of bacteria
from cows stomach. This was more
satisfactory than experiments with &C
tual cows where there would be many
complications. 1t was found that saw
dust iradiated for about IL minutes has
about the same digestibility as hay, so
far as these bacteria are concerned. So
far as possible conditions inside the
stomach were duplicated. the tubes Of
sawdust and bacteria being kept for
two days at the animals body tempera-
ture
Sawdust is not entirely waste. where
large lumber companies are concerned.
but little use is made of it in the smaller
numbering operations throughout the
country. Transportation costs to process
ing plants have been considerable fac
tor. AS substitute for hay. however it
might constitute valuable by-product.