The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is crowing this week about a settlement it “reached” with a gray iron foundry, involving a comparatively small fine (easy for me to say; I don’t have to pay it) but a notable development in regulatory policy for foundries.

The agency now has precedent for ruling that baghouse dust from gray iron foundries is a hazardous waste. I’m going to add this to the list of things to worry about.

When I left CastExpo last month I had two ideas running in my head: first, I was encouraged and impressed with the number of novel and interesting products and technologies that metalcasting suppliers have made commercially available.

But, being human, metalcasters are carrying around a lot of doubt about the present and future of their industry. In the exuberance of a trade show, I was surprised to hear (without much solicitation) how much anxiety there is in the minds of metalcasters. Is it warranted?

I tend to think it’s not, and that much of the anxiety is the influence of external circumstances and events. But, to be certain, I started noting the anxieties that people bring to my attention — and trying to categorize them for clearer understanding.

• I wrote about the problems involving metallurgical coal and coke in a recent entry. It’s a serious issue that affects ferrous foundries. It’s part of the larger, global raw materials and energy crunch. Coal and coke are also, obviously, factors in debates that involve environmental regulations and fuel/energy shortages. I think people are right to worry about these matters, though I’m not convinced these conditions are permanent.  

• A lot of anxiety relates to economic issues. Global competition is a long-standing problem for domestic foundries. While some operations have been helped by the declining value of the dollar, slow-downs in demand from the automotive, construction, and other consumer-driven markets are discouraging. I’ve offered my thoughts on this subject, too, in an earlier entry. I think it’s a serious issue … but I think it’s one that could be addressed the right economic policies.  

• Politics is the subject of many metalcasters’ anxieties. In general, they’re unenthusiastic about the “change” being promised in the coming Presidential election, regardless of who may win. They expect the new Administration and the next Congress to implement stricter environmental standards (see above), to implement laws and regulations that strengthen organized labor, and to foster taxation policies that will make businesses less profitable and individuals less inclined to spend money on consumer goods.

Each of these subjects is serious in its own way, and much more detailed than I’m implying. But, this column from earlier in the week framed the whole matter in helpful way. There rarely is just one issue influencing how we feel or what choices we face.  Technology has expanded our understanding and heightened our awareness of the larger world — and exaggerated the sense that because we know more we should be able to do more, to matter more.  I think, that is something to worry about.