INDUSTRIAL SCIENTISTS AND PUBLIC DEBATE

The 1960s was a period of awakened awareness about scientific issues for which there were no generally accepted answers. The need for answers was filled by ''instant experts'', who often lacked sufficient scientific background and flooded the scientific world with ''expert'' views on a wide range of topics. Often these experts would present widely varied views, creating a public lack of confidence in science. Coincident with the birth of ''instant experts'' has been the growth of instant government regulations, that frequently lack sufficient background studies and create more problems than they solve.Research and development, which has been greatly hampered by the recent flood of government regulations, can counter the movement with 4 basic ideas to reestablish public credibility: 1. providing more self regulation, 2. supporting stringent penalties for violators, 3. involvement in regulatory reform, and 4. improvement in the flow of information to the public.