Millennium Bug

This chapter examines the business of the chlor-alkali industry. Without a need for chlorine there is no chlor-alkali business. This industry is now in its second century and having passed the millennium bug without any serious interruption, the future can now be examined. In this chapter there is an emphasis on chlorine rather than alkali as the alkali industry is thousands of years old and has been documented extensively since the time of the ancient Egyptians. 

In the approach to Year 2000, regulatory authorities tended to survey and monitor the preparations being made by pharmaceutical and healthcare companies to cope with the feared millennium bug rather than conduct detailed computer validation inspections. This factor seems to have delayed comprehensive inspections of computer vahdation. A few sporadic citations for the noncomphance of isolated computer systems arose in 1999, but there were no prominent censures in this area. 

By the time this book is in print, the full impact of the inherent quality defect known as the millennium bug (Figure 15.6) will be well known around the globe. While further speculation on the impact is fruitless at this late stage, it is vital to reemphasize that the phenomenon is at heart a software QA issue. It is also a critical business issue. However, these two statements have, until now, not been associated in the mind of industry and commerce at large. If... 

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