Document 2q0wOM43K7k8DBKD6neD0Gz8b
FILE NAME Newspaper & Magazine Articles NMA
DATE 1959
DOC NMA117
DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION Wall Street Journal - Technology's Advance Boosts Job Health Problems for Industry
Technology's Advance Boosts Job Health Problems for Industry
BY JERRY E.
BISHOP Staff
Reporter of TILEWALL STREET JOURNAL
Wall Street Journal
Current file Apr 7 1959 ProQuest Historical Newspapers The Wall Street Journal 1889-19 1889-19
pg
|
1889-19
Technology's Advance
Boosts Job Health
Problems for Industry
Perils
Include
Rocket
Fuel
Radiation
Scientist
Links
Some Cancer to Industry
BY
JERRY
E
BISHOP
Start
Reporter
of
THE
WALL
STREE JOT URNAL JOURNAL JOURNAL
The
nation's
nation's
advancing
ing
new
job
health
technology problems
is
bring-
At
the
same
time
industrial
health
experts
are
worrying
about
some
hazards
from
tra
ditional
occupations
that
may
have
gone
un-
noticed
until
now
A
California
public
health
official
yesterday
released
findings
indicating
that
a small part
of the increasing incidence
of
lung
cancer
in
the
nation
may
stem
from
occupational
environment
Dr
Lester
Breslow
of
the
state's
Bureau
of
thiomic
Diseases
says
a
study
of
some
500
lung cancer patients in California indicates that
such
workers
as
welders
and
other
handlers
of
hot metals steamfitters working with asbestos
ed
ed
zinc
and
copper
miners
commercial
cooks
and
painters
normal
incidence
of
may
have
a
the
disease
higher
The
number
of
cases
that
develop
in
these
extremely
small
however
he
occupations adds
is
Elaborate
Safeguards
Newer
jobs
created
by
technological
prog-
ress
are
bringing
other
hazards
Chemical
companies
are
setting up
elaborate
safeguards
to protect
workers
against
accidental
whiffs
of
toxic
rochet
fuels
and
atomic
energy
firms
already
extremely
radiation
haza'ds
safety
conscious
because
of
have
brought
under
control
a
disease
resulting
from
the
growing
use
of
beryllium
a
metal
used
in
atomic
weapons
The industry of
the
future
with
its
empha-
sis
on
automat
on
electronic
and
chemical
op-
erations
and
nuclear
energy
may
introduce
numerous
physiologics
pathologic
and
psycho-
logic health problems
Some
of
these
problems
may
have
more
far
reaching effects than those
of
the
past
says
Dr.
Henry
N
Doyle
as
sistant
chief
of
the
occupational
health
pro-
gram of the US
Public
Health
Service
no
These cause
problems doctors
for
public
alarm
quickly
explain
In
most
cases
are in-
dustry's
expanding
cilities
are
able
to
medical
and
research
fa-
spot
and
prevent
health
hazards
before
a
worker
is
endangered
Most safer on
doc'ois
the
job
agree
too
Americans
ate
now
than
ever
before
These
new
problems
are
spectacular
and
attract
tention
the
are
of
concern
but
in
terms
at of
the
average
individual
worker
coming
to
harm
they
are
not
too much of
moment
says Dr.
B
Dixon Holland
secretary of the
American
Med
jeal
Association's
Council
on
Industrial
Medi-
cine
Spreading
Hazards
There's
----
question
however
that
the
newer hazards are spreading In the early days
of
atomic
energy
for example only a handful
of
plants
and
laboratories
had
to
worry
about
radiation
dangers
Now an estimated
1,600 com-
panies
are
authorized
to
use
radioisotopes
for
industrial
purposes
and
have
to
undertake
the
elaborate
precautions
to
guard
against
acci
dential
exposure
of
their
workers
-
Occupational
diseases
long
have
been
a
problem
in industry
of
course
These ailments
which
do
not
include
job accidents
gen-
erally
ate
such
illnesses
as
skin
allergies
from
contacting
toxic
chemicals
chemicals
lung diseases
diseases
from
inhaling
harmful
dusts
and
polluted
air
and
poisonings
such
as
from
lead
and
carbon
dioxide
An
estimated
50
million
work
days
a
year
are
lost
because
of
illnesses
of
occupational
origin
A.
J
Hayes
president
of
the
Interna-
tional
Association
of
Machinists
recently
told
a
gathering
of
industrial
medicine
experts
at
Chicago
American workers
lose
a
minimum
of
420
million
in
wages
every
year
because
of
occupational
illnesses
this
does
not
include
the
he
asserted
and
inevitable
losses
in
production While a
workmen's
and
profit
major part of
compensation
industry's outlays
awards
are
for
for on-
job accidents a significant increasing
amount are for occupational diseases
Com-
pensation
awards
disease
caused
by
for
silicosis
alone
a
years
of
inhaling
dust
lung such
as
quartz
dust
are
probably
more
than
10
million
a
year
now
that's
probably
a
gross
underestimate
says
one
S.
Public
Health
Service
official
The
growing
amount
of
health
insurance
costs being borne by
ening
interest
in
corporations also is sharp-
warding
off
threats
to
employe
health
year
shelled
out
Health
insurance
plans
last
a
record
4.8
billion
in
bene-
fits
an
increase
of
14
from
1957
E.
J.
Faulkner
president
the
Woodmen
Accident
& Life Co.
stated
at the
Chicago
meeting
The
flood
of
new
chemicals now estimated
Please
Turn
to
Page
13
Column
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Further reproduction prohibited without permission
Advancing Technology Increases
Industry's Job
ContFriomnFiurstePadge
at 4,000 new compounds a year is proving a
major problems for industrial health experts
For example inhaling two of the new boron compounds used in rocket fuewilllsproduce a
cough a tightness of the chest headache and
dizziness
possibly chills
and drowsi-
ness Overecouxldpbeosersiouus drocteors
say Inhaling beryllium compouonvedr sa period can produce berviliosis a
lung disease characterized by chills fever
profuse perspaindra paaitnfuil cooungh
Only a relatively few cases of poisonings
poisonings
from such compounds have bothered industrial
firms most of these coming before it was
realized the compounds were dangerous Once spotted however companies quickly institute
safety measures
Dr. F. J. Weissmiller of the Stromberg-
Carlson division of General Dynamics recalls
that another instrument company not long
ago began using a powerful epoxy resin glue
Health Problems
serious injuries from the waves but it is sus-
pected they may cause such troubles as cata-
racts of the eye Both industry and the armed
forces have taken precautiagoainnsst a such
pos ibility
posibility Studies are now under way to find
out if the waves have any range hereditary
effects on humans
Ironically the most dangerous of the new
health problems radiation from the mushroom-
ing atomic energy plants so far has been one
of the least damaging doctors say Since 1956
there have been only two or three accidental
including including
exposures exposures to radiation
one fatality
at Los Alamos that made headlines a few
months ago Considering the number of per-
sons working in the field and the hazard in-
volved doctors say that record is rather re-
markable
Many firms now call in their medical de
partments before installing new processes or building new plants Our medical department is in close liaison with our engineers and is
proamob ng tlhe weorkmers
A final indication of the lengths to which
induhass tgonre yto protect its workers 15 reflected in the numbers of health experts it
now employs The American Medical As90-
ciation estimates that 5.000 doctors now work
to stick component parts together The work
required the highly skilled employes to handle
the glue for a few moments before it dried The workers suddenly began breaking out in
rashes and burns on the hands and around the
eyes As a result the company had to insti-
tute the costly procedure of putting rubber
gloves on the workers and then having them stop work for a half hour every two hours
When Stromberg recently began us-
ing the glue to assemble electronic parts Dr.
Weissmiller explains instruments were devel-
oped to handle the glue without workers hands touching it ventilating hoods were put in overhead and a wash basin was put next to each
worker The company has no trouble at all
he says
.
While toxic chemicals long have been a prob-
lem lead poisoning for instance has troubled industry for decades health problems
are from new sources
Doctors say there is some question about the effects of energy radio waves being
used for radar and other military purposes
So far there have been no known deaths or
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