R101 | Plastics: Economic Miracle or Environmental Disaster - Maybe Both | Jim Kronick
Online
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Everyone knows something about the term “plastics;” but many conflate compounds, generalize uses, risks, and benefits. Serious attempts to quantify the risks are only beginning to be developed. In this discussion/lecture format course, participants will raise questions and with the instructor explore the answers, to the extent that we have answers. The field is changing very rapidly and few are the days where there is not a headline that talks about “plastics.”
The course will start with basic definitions, and some of the history and development of both natural and synthetic polymers. We will explore several polymers and their uses including some of the additives used in creating, processing, and fabricating the items we use every day. We will also review the thus far failed attempts towards reuse, recycle and/or repurpose polymer materials. Jim Kronick has worked over several decades on polymers and plastics issues. In his role in manufacturing operations for a major pharmaceutical company he has been involved in design, material selection, fabrication and quality assurance. He has visited over a hundred plastic manufacturing companies including polymer resin production, specialized additive producers and processors, and consulted on the fabrication of the final products. He was a voting member of several plastic related American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) committees and a member of The Polymer Forum organized globally to assist companies to understand the compounds used in resin production. His responsibilities included managing several material testing laboratories to assess the product and package interactions used to produce pharmaceuticals, cosmetic, and medical devices.
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