ABSTRACT
Satisfactory factory compounds may have to be modified, often because of the unavailability of some ingredient. A compounder's activities involve health and safety concerns in three general areas: warehousing and laboratory storage of the ingredients, laboratory environment conditions, and characteristics of the rubber products formulated. All these areas are extensively regulated by the US government, and many foreign countries have similar restrictions. Apart from ambient atmosphere and scrap regulations, the compounder must be aware of restrictions placed on compounds that may be in contact with food products. Good compounding comes with experience, that intimate knowledge of the properties of the materials being worked with and their interactions. Difficult compounding problems might involve a buyer's specifications written around or even provided by a present favored supplier's product, or certain products for which usage is very rough and the ambient conditions varied and uncertain, such as blowout preventers in oil drilling.
