Document 06b1Dmgj7eLjKm1mmRXK5BNVx

JANUARY, 1945 Industrial Hygiene Digest (Vol.9, No. 1) Hitelatuie Gbsfaacts * I MEDICAL | ENGINEERING I LEGAL - - - decisions and trends UnduMal HealthTletos '!V. - M MmMf By INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE FOUNDATION#! . r 4400 FIFTH AVENUE ' PirTSBUBSHasi.PA. ** (HDU*T9tlAL MYOIINI FOUNDATION FOUNDATION FACTS Foundation Facta la a monthly nowa-lattar taauad'^ to InduatHal coneorna holdlno mombarahtp Induatrial Hyolane Foundation. Tha Foundation"" la a non-profit aaaoctatlon of Induatrlaa for tha advancement of healthful working condition*. Vol. 7 JfflHary* I94& No. 1 Veterans Panel No* 2 Published ..... The panel discussion* "Putting the Disabled Veteran Back to Work*II", a * feature of the Foundation's Ninth Annual Meeting, has just been published and is now being mailed to Member Companies and-,,Subscribers. This is a continuation of the panel discussion inaugurated at the foundation's Eighth Annual Meeting in 1943 and which was issued a year ago* separate from the regular Proceedings* These companion publications are hailed by authorities on veteran rehabilitation as two of the most practical and valuable reports yet issued on the subject* - Other Publications In Press Instead of printing the Proceedings of the 1944 Annual Meeting in obe pub* iication* as in the past,' the material will be published in several separate report, to aako for more efficient circulation. The veterans panel constitutes Part 1* The next part will be the panel discussion on "Sickness Indemnification*" This will bo.-; followed by the Legal Section of the program at the annual meeting and the Medical ; .^nd Engineering Sections. The insurance and legal reports will be published shortly*^*. New Book , on Industrial VnVIrftTmftTft k * J.M. DallaValle* a member of the Foundation's Engineering Committee, has completed a book, "The Industrial Environment and Its Control," which is to be pub-^v, Llshed this Spring* The book is divided in two parts, (a) The Worker's Environment,"" (b) Control of the Environment. For further information address the Foundation or v; Dr. DallaValle at 70 Pine St., New York City. . l.- Reprints Available on Medical Service in Industry The Council on Industrial Health of the American Medical Association has^v-;' at our request, provided the Foundation with a supply of reprints of its recently revised report, on "Medical Service in Industry, Industrial Health Examinations.*'. v't"* . Members interested in equipment and procedures for physical examinations should ' ' t1 : have 'this report. Copies may be secured from the Foundation. The Council has cancelled its annual Congress on Industrial Health, which! was scheduled for February 13-15 in Chicago, in compliance with the recent order O'f;*'^ t*h* e ' OJA J.fafi*ce oAf DeAfense_ mT.r. a_ _n_ .sporX.tai.t1io_ n re_ specJt.Jing n.aXtIioanuaall WmA >eetings. ' ` -h- Membership Certificates' ? V ly-- V . Membership Certificates for 1945 are now being lettered and Members will receive the certificates as rapidly as they can be completedv-^lla^v ^ompanius .arb^ `^ requesting sufficient copies to post in their various plant`s or iftH^ddiiffffberreennt'tS'' bgbr tions of a single plant. Members may secure as many cerlftfica&bZgb?g^^re$ ^ their heeds. - ( n.^,, l.v t ........Maintain Manpower! .... \ ,' _____ ' -r.' U Pit Industrial Hygiene Digest - 19 January, 1945 . do not inhibit the development of fibrotic nodules in the- tracheobronchial lymphnodes of mice. The tissue of these nodes, therefore, reacts differently from the lung tissue of rabbits. -- Author's summary. g? Contribution to the Diagnosis of Pulmonary Silicosis by the Investigation of Silica in the Blood and Sputum. H. Oyanguren and JE. Bartholin. Rev. mod. de Chile, 71_, 464 (May, 1943) The diagnosis of silicosis has been confirmed by demonstration of silica in the sputum and blood of 40 individuals. Silica which is conveyed to the lungs by in halation is taken up in greater part by the lymphatics and the remainder is ex pectorated. Silica interferes with, the lymphatic circulation, producing a fibrous proliferation which eventually results in the inclusion of the particles them selves. But before this occurs the silica which is inhaled passes through the blood and may be excreted in the urine. Silica may normally be found in the blood but if the quantity is less than 8 mg. percent as determined by the colorimetric method, it is believed to be of no clinical significance. Quantities from 12 to . 20 mg. percent are expressed as 1 plus, from 20 to 50 mg. percent 2 plus, and above 50 mg. percent 3 plus. Positive chemical reactions for silica in the spu tum may be obtained in all cases of silicosis. The positive reactions in the blood correspond to the amounts of silica contained in the sputum and positive chemical reactions are found only in those individuals who have been exposed to silica-bearing dust. The specific chemical reaction used is that described by Oberhauser and depends on the reaction obtained with nitromolybdonate of ammonia. This may be used equally on the blood and sputum and is a more certain test than the spectrographic methods. -- Am. Rev. Tuberc. 68 The Asbestos Corn. H.S. Alden and T,V.M. Howell. Arch. Dermat. and Syph., 49, 312 (May, 1944) The author describes corns or warts peculiar to asbestos workers, first noticed by Dervdtz in 1930. They have no relation to asbestos of the lungs. One charac teristic is that they appear and feel as if a foreign body were present, none is ever found. It is probable, however, that one is present in the very early stages, 69 Asbestosis and Pulmonary Carcinoma. H.W. Yfedler. Deut. mod. VVochschr., 69 , 575 576 (Aug. 6, 1943) Gorman. * " The author has collected the published autopsy records on asbestosis from various countries and finds that there have been 14 instances of malignant disease of the lungs and pleura in 92 post-mortem, examinations (16 percent). This is in excess of the proportion of lung carcinomata in autopsies generally (2-6 percent). Car cinoma as a complication of asbestosis occurred most frequently in males between 35 and 41 and was generally in the part of the lung most affected with asbestosis. Development of the lesion was slow but corresponded with the length and intensity of tiie exposure (12-42 years). There was often a long interval between the- ces sation of exposure and the development of the cancer, -which, in the- author's view, must now be regarded as an occupational cancer. -- Bull. Hyg. Skin Diseases and Burns 70 A Hew Protective Cream. J.G. Downing, L,M. Ohmsrt andM.J. Stoklosa. Arch. Der mat. and Syph.,49, 436 (June, 1944) In industries where workers are exposed, to dermatologic irritants, and where it '-lovp.q. v.rotective creams help to minimize cutaneous irshni * f r*': -T rv I voitJL December. 19.45 No. 12 X-Ray Diffraction Laboratory Established Announcement is made of the establishment of a Department of Research in Chemical Physics at Mellon Institute which will be available to Industrial Hygiene Foundation ana further augment the foundation's services to member companies in maintaining good physical working conditions. This new division includes x-ray diffraction equipment which is essential for the accurate evaluation of factory dusts inasmuch as this method is more dependable than the older chemical or petro graphic methods. Dr. Harold P. Klug, formerly of the University of Minnesota, heads the new department and will serve as a consultant to the Foundation. The new laboratory is located cn the same floor as the Foundation in the Institute. The availability of facilities for x-ray diffraction analyses is another important development in the Foundation's work of refining the measurement of dust hazards in the workplace. The I-H-F Composition Sampler permits the Staff to rapidly collect large dust samples from factory air for comnosition analyses. All dust samples are separated into portions above and below five microns to gain more accurate knowledge of the concentration which workmen may actually breathe. Coming Publications ` The Transactions of the Management Section of the program for the Tenth Annual Meeting will be sent to member companies in the near future. Practically all the papers presented at the annual meeting are now set in type and the pro ceedings, in four parts, will be published as rapidly as possible. The Management Section will be followed by the Veterans Panel discussion. Meanwhile, a summary covering highlights of the Engineering Conference, held here on November 13, the day prior to the opening of the annual meeting, will be sent to member companies in a fe?/ days. Industrial Health Codes The Ohio State Health Department recently announced a proposed code on industrial health and toxicity which contains "maximum allowable concentrations" for a long list of gases, vapors, dusts and fumes. Copies of the proposed code are available to Members upon request. A somewhat similar code was recently adopted in Oregon and such regulations are under consideration or have been recently enacted in several other States. Trustees Meeting! A meeting of the Foundation's Bpard of^TeuStees will be held late in January. iV-r ,-y ;; " _/ ! ^strial Hygiene Digest - 10 December, 1945 pericarditis was found. It is believed the silica particles found their way into the pericardial cavity through the small superficial lymphatic channels of communication between the pericardial -:-nd pleural cavities. The fact that the firmest attachments were at the site of the densest pleuro-pericardial ad hesions, at which point the pleura end both viscer'-l and parietal pericardium were :>s one, was the major evidence in favor of this view. -- J.I.H.&T. -'58 Silicosis - Its Prevention and Treatment. D.,4. MacGregor. v'. Va, Med. J., 41, 25 pp. (Sept., 1945) The paper is a general discussion of silicosis, including a summary of recent work on aluminum therapy and aluminum prophylaxis. *3 Paligorskite. a Possible Asbestos Substitute. fl.B. Fisher, R.L. Thorne and C. Van Cott. D.S. Bur. Mines, Inf. Circ. No. 7315, 5 pp. (Mar., 1945) Paligorskite is probably s. variety of asbestos usually termed mountain leather. A deposit of paligorskite has been found on an Alaskan island, md it may find ?- number of uses if present in sufficient quantity. '40 gome New Aspects-and Approaches to the Problem of Dust Diseases. C,U. Demehl and C.A. Nau. Texas Bepts. on Biology end Med., 3, 227-237 (Summer, 1945); Ind. Med., 14, 744-754 (Sept., 1945) Hie authors review progress on dust disease during the past few years, includ ing (l) evidence from several sources refuting the silica solubility theory of ' silicosis; (2) aluminum therapy; (3) pulmonary lesions produced by cotton dust; (4) welders' sidorosis. A dust exposure apparatus is described by means of which it has been shown that antimony trioxide is many times more toxic when inhaled as when administered intraperitoneally. Their experiments will be re ported later in gra- ter detail. ;41 Health and Environmental Conditions in the Iron Industry. G.F. Kentinge and N.M. Potter. Brit. J. Ind. Med., 2, 125-141 (July, 1945) j A brief description is given of modern iron-founding methods. Environmental studies were carried out in two foundries employing over 200 workers. Those j studies included a survey of ventilation and heating, and the dust hazard. To j assess the dust hazard in a foundry knowledge is required of (a) the dust con- j centration in the work atmosphere, (b) the duration of work spells, (c) the j chemical composition of inhaled dust, and (d) its particle-size frequency. It : is shown that fettlers of medium ind large castings hove the dustiest occupa- ! tion in the foundry, end the dust here consists largely of silicc particles. ; It is estimated that the silica hazard of the fettler of large castings i-s i fifty times that of a worker in the general body of the foundry; medium fettling j has a nine times greater hazard; and pneumatic mould-filling five times greater; ` workers in the core shop have the least exposure. The simplest way to maintain routine control of atmospheric pollution in a foundry is by mass concentration estimation of 'ir-"borne dust at breathing height. Sickness and accident rates among foundry workers as compared ith those in the constructional department ; showed that: (l) the number of cases of respirator disease wes less although i the average number of days lost per case was higher, and while some lungs ! showed evidence of "dust change" there was no case of silicosis; (2) skin af\ fections were greater, "ith the most dermatitis among the core workers; (?) the | incidence of rheumatic disease was greater: (4) accidents causing injury were I fewer end caused less lost time; and (5) among foundrymen heat cramps are un~ | common but not unknown. Preventive measures against accident md ill-health | are (p) pre-employment medical examination, including chest X-ray; (b) improveI ment of ventilation by modem construction methods; (c) proper cloak-room, f washing and bathing facilities; (d) attention to floors; (e) by adequate pro- tective equipment for the individual worker; and (f) prevention of fumes and i b ' fr U'' i pq i i`