Concerns regarding the safety and environmental impact of large-scale chemical manufacturing facilities

were also raised during this period. Silent Spring, published in 1962, alerted its readers to the harmful
effects of DDT, a potent insecticide. The 1974 Flixborough disaster in the United Kingdom resulted in 28
deaths, as well as damage to a chemical plant and three nearby villages. The 1984 Bhopal disaster in
India resulted in almost 4,000 deaths.

Mike Solomon, a chemical engineer at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, is leading a team that is
developing a method of controlling crystals using light and chemistry, which could make clothing or cars
change color on demand.

A landmark in the development of chemical engineering was the publication in 1901 of the first textbook
on the subject, by George E. Davis, a British chemical consultant. This concentrated on the design of
plant items for specific operations. The notion of a processing plant encompassing a number of
operations, such as mixing, evaporation, and filtration, and of these operations being essentially similar,
whatever the product, led to the concept of unit operations.

Chemical engineering combines a background in chemistry with engineering and economics concepts to
solve technological problems. Critical skills needed in chemical engineering are an in-depth
understanding of chemistry, mechanical engineering and fluid dynamics. Additionally, manufacturing
facilities can be quite large, and structural considerations must be taken into account. For this reason,
chemical engineers often need knowledge of structural engineering.