Abel Wolman
Abel Wolman was a prominent engineer and advocate for public health, particularly known for his pioneering work in water quality and sanitation engineering. Born in Baltimore, he graduated from Baltimore City College in 1909 and later earned degrees in arts and engineering from The Johns Hopkins University. Wolman's career began at the Maryland State Department of Health, where he focused on improving water supplies and wastewater treatment, significantly contributing to the reduction of waterborne diseases like typhoid through the introduction of chlorination methods in municipal drinking water.
Throughout his career, Wolman held various influential positions, including chief engineer for the Maryland State Department of Health and chairman of the Water Resources Committee. His foresight in environmental issues included warnings about nuclear waste disposal and the impact of nonorganic contaminants on public health. A respected editor and author, Wolman played a vital role in advancing the field of sanitary engineering, receiving numerous accolades, including an honorary doctorate from Johns Hopkins. His legacy is marked by a commitment to ensuring safe and plentiful drinking water for all, advocating for environmental responsibility, and standing up for underprivileged communities.
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Abel Wolman
Sanitary Engineer
- Born: June 10, 1892
- Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland
- Died: February 22, 1989
- Place of death: Baltimore, Maryland
Identification: American sanitary engineer
Wolman was a pioneer in the field of sanitary engineering. His innovations and advocacy influenced the establishment of sound water-resource management strategies by American cities during the twentieth century.
Abel Wolman graduated from Baltimore’s well-known high school Baltimore City College in 1909. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from The Johns Hopkins University in 1913 and then completed a bachelor of science degree in engineering at Johns Hopkins two years later. While he was working toward his second degree in 1914, he took a job as an engineer with the Maryland State Department of Health.
While working in the health department, Wolman began to pioneer the use of engineering methods to improve public health. He was specifically concerned with water supplies, wastewater treatment, and sewage disposal, addressing the dangers of such waterborne diseases as typhoid. In 1919 Wolman worked with chemist Linn Enslow to standardize techniques to chlorinate municipal drinking-water supplies. Many people believed that chlorine in any amount was poisonous, but Wolman convinced officials to adopt the procedure by explaining the disinfectant benefits of chlorination. His efforts in this area are considered to be among the most influential improvements in water management for public health, resulting in decreased death rates from waterborne diseases.
Promoting a regional approach to water supply and sewage disposal, Wolman helped consolidate the Baltimore area into one water-supply region. Named chief engineer for the Maryland State Department of Health in 1922, he analyzed municipal water-supply needs and evaluated how best to recycle wastewater. In 1935 U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Wolman as chairman of the Water Resources Committee of the Natural Resources Planning Board, which was in charge of managing the federal government’s water resources projects.
During the 1950’s Wolman predicted possible environmental problems from unsafe disposal of nuclear wastes when private companies were granted access to nuclear energy through the Atoms for Peace program. During his service on the Reactor Licensing Board of the Atomic Energy Commission, Wolman insisted that concrete containment structures be built for the first commercial nuclear power plants in the United States. During the 1960’s Wolman stressed the dangers of nonorganic environmental hazards to public health, noting that new technologically produced chemicals and contaminants had been introduced to water sources. He warned that humans must be held accountable for how they alter the environment and must envision how to protect resources.
Wolman served as editor in chief of the Journal of the American Water Works Association (1921-1937) and the journal Municipal Sanitation (1929-1935) and as associate editor of the American Journal of Public Health(1923-1927). The Johns Hopkins University presented Wolman with an honorary doctorate in 1937 when he established a Department of Sanitary Engineering at the university; he held the position of department chairman until he retired in 1962. Wolman received numerous awards, including the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement. He was a prolific author, and his major articles were collected in Water, Health, and Society: Selected Papers, edited by Gilbert F. White, in 1969.
Wolman offered his environmental engineering expertise worldwide as a consultant, and he emphasized the responsibility of engineers to protect environmental quality. An advocate for the poor, Wolman testified against landlords who did not provide clean water for tenants. The Baltimore Evening Sun promoted environmental engineering during the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade in the 1980’s by eulogizing Wolman: “[He] envisioned a world in which the most basic of necessities, water to drink, would be safe and plentiful to all peoples of the world.”
Bibliography
Melosi, Martin V. Effluent America: Cities, Industry, Energy, and the Environment. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2001.
Rogers, Jerry R., ed. Environmental and Water Resources: Milestones in Engineering History. Reston, Va.: American Society of Civil Engineers, 2007.