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FILE NAME Brakes BRK DATE 1972 DOC BRK304 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION OSHA Journal Article - Asbestos Airborne Danger as eee ee te ee ed ; safety safety safety standards standards aan : : June 1972 Vol 21 No. 3 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Occupational Safety and Health Administration ' os o Target Health Hazards * 00917 _ wet, ot gos - r hed SA Atlee Pa 7 wee eae stee _ a toe a 163 Pet = ies bbe on ig pares yer, OS men Sera Se Ae cans 8 Pg = 7 * x Jeet sha Bea Lt rn A Re mpegs Ass Ke oo Scovi ee ae Se 2 ge Sak Ss Wie i es BOP SSEr: ger Basta AY TRPH ee ETE GOREN sei 7 ar cerca Dhtn Se ae tegkt acne % me - eet a Ae Me wt VO t ya - SiLuerte: EAP AIRNEe OY tree B atts ate ROTTS We athe 98 RS codo ten en tk et - ER YEO ett y 2 pe ue oe eWgae ePT t Pee a aarags wAln okie, SEs ie inthe LR Prag ey others Na ten at PL SaaS ak Hite Pet och ate cra ti s th ientesS . et ie one BO eee iEatwsnhtscasthSetP Me rene 3 ' noe Rey ees on by S a ar be fa i .exhibtsckr.om Nee cree ee em Rt eee eo e r eke oe ~ ae mee rs AEE gem RR) come emg ne nen a tm _ ae ce The Quality of the Work Environment Human history has been defined as a record of man's attempts to master his environment The struggle began early with primitive man's attempts to control conditions he did not create and could not comprehend The attempt to control environment continues today and is no less desperate in that the forces man seeks to understand and direct are largely of his own making A separate chapter in man's attempt to control the conditions of his life began about a century ago when a new social awareness focused on the need to improve working conditions A century of progress though often slow and halting has taken us closer to the goal of providing decent conditions of employment for working men and women The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 with its purpose of assuring safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women takes us a step further Literally the Act means that no employee must risk death injury or illness to do his job But the Act is rooted in a tradition that has aimed not just to establish decent working conditions but to make the work environment liveable humanize it This is a goal that cannot be won in a short time nor can it be won by the few for the many The renewed struggle for safe and healthful working conditions must be a common endeavor involving every working man and woman every employer every union member every state and federal government official Focusing upon the need to create healthful working conditions the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in January 1972 initiated the Target Health Hazards Program The emphasis is on five hazardous workplace substances lead silica cotton dust and carbon monoxide The approach is the ancient first to understand the exact nature of the dangers then to control and finally to prevent them It is an objective within reach for occupational diseases can be prevented It has been said that the Target Health Hazards represent only the tip of the iceberg That well may be If so what more logical place to begin This issue of Safety Standards magazine begins a series of articles on the Target Health Hazards with asbestos as the first topic Once highly regarded as a mineral with remarkable qualities asbestos is now widely recognized as one of the most hazardous of air contaminants Asbestos workers and the general public share the common danger That the workplace and the environment in general do not always divide into separate compartments may be seen by glancing at the back cover The photo shows asbestos insulation being sprayed on the steel girders of a building under construction But 25 percent of asbestos spray enters the atmosphere threat to other construction workers and to the community Reducing the risks of asbestos will benefit not employees but also society in general It is an instance where improving the work environment and improving the quality of life come together REGIONAL ADMINISTRATORS Region 1 Donald A. MacKenzie John F. Kennedy Federal Bldg Government Center Room 308 Boston Mass 02209 Telephone 617 223-6712 Region it Alfred Barden 341 Ninth Avenue Room 920 New York N.Y. 10001 Telephone 212 971-5941 Region III David H. Rhone Regional Administrator Penn Square Bldg Room 410 1317 Filbert Street Philadelphia Pa 19107 Telephone 215 597-4102 Region IV Basil A. Needham Jr. 1373 Peachtree Street N.E. Suite 587 Atlanta Atlanta Ga 30309 Telephone 404 526-3573 Region V Edward E. Estowski 300 South Wacker Drive Room 1201 Chicago til 60606 Telephone 312 353-4716 Region VI John K. Barto Texaco Bldg Floor 1512 Commerce Street Dallas Tex 75201 Telephone 214 749-2477 Region VII Joseph A. Reidinger 823 Walnut Street Room 300 Kansas City Mo. 64105 Telephone 816 374-5249 Region VIII Howard J. Schulte Box 3588 Federal Bldg 1961 Stout Street Denver Colo 80202 Telephone 303 837-3883 Region IX Warren H. Fuller Box 36017 U.S. Department of Labor 450 Garden Gate Avenue San Francisco Calif 94102 Telephone 415 556-0534 Region X James W. Lake Smith Tower Bldg , Room 1804 506 Second Avenue Seattle Wash 98104 Telephone 206 442-5930 Fam weave vee J. D. Hodgson Secretary of Labor George C. Guenther Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health M. Chain Robbins Deputy Assistant Secretary Administrator SAFETY STANDARDS is the offi- cial monthly magazine of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration U.S. Department of Labor It is available by subscription at 1.00 a year 1.25 for foreign addresses 20 cents a single copy from the Superintendent of Documents Government Printing Office Washington D.C. 20402. Expressions of opinions in articles outside the U.S. Department of Labor do not necessarily represent the views of the Department Use of funds for printing this publication approved by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget February 5 Change of Address Write to Superintendent of Documents Government Printing Office Washing ton D.C. 20402 Front cover In recent years as- bestos has been recognized as one of the most dangerous contam- inants in the workplace The asbes- tos worker on the front cover empties a bag of asbestos mix into a container and raises a cloud of aie asbestos dust that others on the worksite endangers eaet e Picture Credits Environmental Control Management and Safety oe Insulation Industry Hygiene Re- search Program Environmental Science Laboratory Mount Sinai School of Medicine Library of Congress National Institute of Safety and Health Oc upational Occupational Plasterers and Cement Masons International Association of the United States and Canada Power Systems Inc. Smithsonian Institution U.S. Department of Labor Marcia Hovey editor William C. Russell associate editor Nancy L. Nelson assistant editor Richard Mathews art director Iwi, ei Ax yrrrietit TY G safety standards UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Occupational Safety and Health Administration ARTICLES Asbestos Airborne Danger . New regulation cuts risks for workers First in a series on Target Health Hazards Prospects Bright in Occupational Nursing Needed more nurses on the jobsite NIOSH Team Sets Goals An interview with Dr. Marcus Key Director National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and Edward J. Baler Deputy Director OSHA Opens Training Institute School for safety officers sets high standards Alice Hamilton Industrial Health Pioneer Profile of the woman who crusaded for em- ployees right to a healthful workplace They Take Their Safety Straight Construction firm overcomes bad good safety record terrain sets DEPARTMENTS Safety Spotlight For the Record News from NIOSH Publications ae pa RT Oe Ww - =e ee mene emery er wt eee Parent meee 8 7 i pape! ee Sren e zoe we osne sorte Br are Poo tee eed iteeRe ty KO apRr - oa ae AS Oak 3. on, to ie seesees Enact tegriet a . Cans oe Sie tmUetpd eweera aicpeeyoPrutsees . eaten 12 Fy ed vm, 7. hate Ieee Riek! eRe an leet: . BEA Target Health Hazards Asbestos Airborne cry. of ee - t. ea oawhe ry by Nancy L. Nelson Two thousand years ago when the first use of asbestos was recorded it was a sacred object a curiosity of kings and nobles a magic mineral The Greeks who used asbestos for the wicks of their temple lamps were enthralled when flames did not consume it but burned unceasingly Amazed they called it asbesta which meant the unquenchable the inextinguishable Now that asbestos has been integrated into our industrial world fireproof drapery and floor tiles to the corrugated steel used in heavy construction term used by the Greeks has been found to apply to another attribute of this min- eral No cure now exists for the diseases caused by inhaling asbestos fibers once established these disorders too have so far proved to be inextinguishable In the last few years asbestos has been recognized as one of the most hazardous of air con- taminants in the workplace Employees exposed to asbestos include an estimated 100,000 insulation workers 50,000 workers in manufacturing products 60,000 using end products and uncounted thousands in construction Labor unions have Miss Nelson is the assistant editor of SAFETY STANDARDS 2 pushed for stricter standards governing its usage and the Occupational Safety and Health Adminis- tration has listed it as one of five target health hazards in a new program aimed to crack down on health hazards in the workplace Recent studies such as those conducted by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the National Research Council have produced some disturbing statistics on the mortality rates of workers using Sinai asbestos Dr. Irving J. Selikoff of the MountSinai School of Medicine discussed the implications of these studies At present one in every five deaths among insulation workers is due to lung cancer peritoneum one in ten to cancer of the pleura or one in ten to scarred lungs of asbestosis Since insulation workers receive relatively light exposures to asbestos compared to some other occupa- tional groups these results are even more sombre What disturbs researchers about diseases linked to asbestos is that many cases they are presently encountering result from exposures dating back to the 1930's when asbestos was not used as extensively as it is today Thirty years ago world pro- duction was approximately 50,000 tons annually; today it has skyrocketed to 3 million tons The effects of exposures occuring in the 1970's probably Safety Standards wre ane Lsadlhunta tan od teinendiamnaniintattieatins ctetaliamemaian hao ibanen:ushen adie 2m een ne rarest ie oe TPA a BEE Fee, RE re K TR AMI 2mm fay x ee aver ow o 11 na a ere. eat oe ae aie oak Tt at . bat ree ae Bae egy + 4 eee Seow te. ate ssmined eap ee Be span ema Dr rane i Bey ee ae x a om nteathy, aCages aa bates AE AP Sas we Sa pkentccsgs dis ha t se a cMinatg n cPedciNy sdoseLsy will not be known until the end of the century but the high mortality rates of today suggest what may be expected in the future If working conditions are not significantly altered asbestos exposure can lead to 17,000 deaths from lung cancer 10,000 deaths from cancer of the pleura and peritoneum and 10,000 deaths from asbestosis according to projections by Dr. E. Cuyler Hammond of the American Cancer Society The first case of asbestosis did not come under medical attention until 1900 22 years after asbes- tos was mined on a large basis The victim British textile worker had inhaled the asbestos dust stirred up by the carding machine he had operated for 14 years Ten other men had been his ' workers in the carding room All died before their thirtieth birthdays Since the recognition of asbestosis 72 years ago the disease has been widely studied the world over from the mines of South Africa to the mills of Quebec Today experts believe that asbestosis is one of the most debilitating of the pneumoconio- lung diseases caused by dust inhalation tye Erupting 20 to 30 years after the exposure period the disease exhibits no warning symptoms to mark its early stages Many studies have uncovered cases of the disease in which the exposure was relatively light and did not continue over an extended period of time 2d! ee ey Ra et e ep e Gras an eminNaw at gn SPN eaf b Although four varieties of asbestos are used commercially chrysotile asbestos mined primarily in Quebec accounts for 95 percent of world production Under high magnification chrysotile fibers resemble fine polished wire or strands of silk Strong soft and flexible they can be woven into fabric Chrysotile however is dangerous medically When inhaled the needle fibers become trapped in the lower bronchioles of the lungs Normally protective cells called phagocytes destroy SAP G $ tbe rf ire ST iss) et > heya ea | e ae 4 The usbestos worker mixing cement is partially protected by a respirator The asbestos fibers in the air however endanger his fellow employees just as his laden clothes are u menace to his family New OSHA standard requires that asbestos materials de mired in closed containers June 1972 3 latenl iesieh tien ate ed A = errr Wy eaertren geateer wom Mare ey errr mer oat mm ak eee mney ee eu ee ee tae ee Dae ee cee ele ae re ee et be dee Ree ee Te te me te ene The effects of exposures occurring in the 1970's probably will not be known until the end of the dade century but the high mortality rates of today suggest what may be expected in the future 9 1 ts ort ato.er ene such irritants But asbestos fibers are indestructi- of lung cancer at more than five times the expected or ble in lung tissue The phagocytes form a heavy rate Although most cancers linked to asbestos de- dumb eey coating around the fibers In time a velop in the lower portions of the lungs where the shaped structure known as a ferruginous body concentration of fibers is heaviest cancer may also ec begins to form develop in the gastrointestinal tract Asbestosis develops when the scar tissue that The peril of lung cancer from asbestos exposure re forms around asbestos fibers slowly spreads is increased by smoking Tests conducted by Seli- oLe r throughout the lung and pulls it out of shape The koff and Hammond have shown that asbestos in- Cn working space for air exchange is reduced and sulation workers who smoke have 90 times the blood flowing through the lungs is not replenished incidence of lung cancer compared to smokers with with a sufficient amount of oxygen Breathlessness no asbestos exposure hanes becomes pronounced and in advanced stages can Mesothelioma formerly a rare cancer afflicting be disabling Other symptoms are loss of weight only one out of 10,000 people is now appearing at coughing weakness and pain in the chest or be- an unprecedented rate Researchers are linking it tween the shoulders The strain on the heart caused to asbestos exposure however slight This fatal by the lack of oxygen may cause heart failure cancer attacks the pleura the membrane lining the Recent studies indicate that asbestos also may lung and chest cavity or the peritoneum the ET be a potent carcinogenic or producing lining of the abdominal cavity In his study Seli- Sane agent A major stumbling block to researchers in koff noted that 10 out of 124 deaths of insulation 3 establishing the connection between asbestos and workers were caused by mesothelioma cancer has been the length of time between ex- Workers in many occupations encounter serious Le posure to the substance and the appearance of asbestos exposures Among the establishments most cancer symptoms But in the last few years studies likely to have asbestos risks are those manufactur- have shown that workers exposed to asbestos die ing asbestos textiles value packings asbestos vat aa ern e ner piemn hasnt Rd Wrong Spraying asbestos mixtures on steel girders releases vast amounts of asbestos dust into the atmosphere Asbestos insulators who smoke have 90 times more lung cancer than smokers with no asbestos exposure dae, a 2 Ay. Se et eee. sae ad A yas wey & este SopP e ay - Saget nees fy der sex!tend FS ERAT " Safety Standards * - wea penenyh epee et een SO aOR mr arememess em yTmrnmae ran te - - Since the recognition of asbestosis 72 years ago the disease has been widely studied the world over from the mines of South Africa to the mills of Quebec Today experts believe that asbestosis is one of the most debilitating of the pneumoconioses diseases caused by dust inhalation sheets brake linings boiler blankets building materials and appliance cords Plasterers who spray an asbestos mix on the steel foundations of buildings have heavy exposures to asbestos A thermal insulation and fireproofing agent the asbestos mix prevents the steel from buckling in case of fire Plasterers can apply it without interrupting construction activities and the asbestos mixture hardens in eight hours without cracking or shrinking Not only steel buildings but ships and boats are treated in this manner ' Now that asbestos has been recognized as a major health hazard the alarming facts about this practice are being reviewed Three million pounds of the fireproofing mixture 30 percent of which is chrysotile asbestos was sprayed in 1970. Twentyfive percent of the material sprayed does not adhere to the steel but goes directly into the atmosphere The plasterers manning the spray guns as well as the construction workers toiling near inhale excessive amounts of asbestos during this operation to 50 million fibers in an eight hour day But the hazard does not end with contruction A large amount of asbestos is expected % to be set free during demolition of the buildings and ships treated in this manner Asbestos spraying has been banned in some cities but continues unabated in others The use of alter- nate methods of application a wet mixture of asbestos on the foundation or wrapping insulation around the steel in the form of blan- kets being encouraged to reduce the hazard Brake mechanics must also cope with significant levels of airborne asbestos Valuable because of its resistance to heat and its ability to withstand abrasive force chrysotile asbestos makes up 50 percent of brake lining material However the fric- tion breaks asbestos fibers away from the fabric Many mechanics remove the asbestos fibers that have accumulated around the brake drums and as- semblies with a compressed air hose This produces a cloud of asbestos dust around the mechanic and anyone in his working area Alternate cleaning methods are needed; for example a vacuum clean- ing device reduced the hazard in recent tests in England Insulation workers are the largest single occupational group to handle asbestos on the job Their Right Troweling a wet asbestos mia on pipes for insulation purposes effectively reduces the hazards 2 eee ae had Roh i oes 53 pe ee = senilHied BLaehtpiS: June 1972 Oe Re NT aA tree Rep er bg yee Stat tee re smear Doe ee Te een a ae = Tt I Mae dV en a - ay mw . tom . Woononaacer as cer cad oo etn e sow mmr emer tts_ ea t nr LS DO peat wet mbm eel fcr taut Mf nberee e antady . wo. le Bebadee ee . te ae BN ae edt ae!cel > a ee kh OR : era) .Oe ewet Me an gtAlte sMppacs Ba AL sake Tate ee - te e e z ae . tems ee te Wrong Sawing asbestos materials oreates dust in the work environment The respirator affords the employee some protection but the accumulation of dust remains a threat to others on the worksite Right A saw with a local ventilation system sucks up asbestos dust into a container The OSHA standard specifies that hand or operated tools that produce asbestos dust must be equipped with local exhaust ventilation and dust collectors exposures however are relatively light In most types of insulation asbestos is used primarily as a binding agent and makes up only 15 percent of the material Then too insulators working with asbestos on a daily basis are encouraged to take precautions good housekeeping measures tools equipped with local ventilation systems and respirators for dusty work are safety precautions stressed by their union When insulation workers install materials con- taining a high percentage of asbestos they often use a water spray on the cloth while unrolling it or uncovering it Some insulation workers even cut asbestos on disposable tarpaulins in order to allow the excess material to be discarded without stirring up dust This eliminates the need to sweep up insulation debris after a job Usually a dusty process sweeping is discouraged because it holds a risk for the workers still on the construction site Bricklayers carpenters sheet metal workers and boiler makers also install insulation at various times but often they fail to take the precautions used by workers who handle asbestos on a daily basis The licensing of workers who install insulation much like the licensing of plumbers and elec- tricians has been suggested as a safeguard to in- sure that asbestos handlers are both informed and equipped to work safely 6 Asbestos contamination holds an increasing threat to the general public Both the dusty manufacturing processes and the spraying of structural steel emit vast amounts of asbestos fibers into the atmosphere threatening those living near asbestos factories Unsuspecting passers in the vicinity of construction sites or families of workers who return home with dusty clothing are among those exposed to this hazard The emergency OSHA standard for asbestos issued on December 7 1971 lowers the permis- sible concentration of asbestos fibers in the work atmosphere from 12 fibers to five fibers greater than five microns in length per milliliter This is based on the average exposure during the eighthour work day Concentrations of asbestos that range from five fibers per milliliter to 10 are permissible for 15 minutes every hour but the sum total of such exposure must not exceed five hours in an eight work day The standard also lists engineering controls- enclosures vacuum sweeping and local exhaust ventilation When these measures are not feasible or do not reduce the asbestos concentration to per- missible levels the standard requires that workers be provided with personal protective devices Protective respiratory devices must be worn by workers exposed to the spraying of asbestos or Safety Standards ne ee een of ae es eee a Pr ne ren a ne See ne em tan ee meres nner eS mn ee ec - ~ to the demolition of pipes structures or equipment previously sprayed with asbestos The emergency standard requires that the employer check the respiratory devices for proper fit and train employees in their correct use Periodic inspections proper cleaning repairing and storing of the respiratory devices are responsibilities of the employer The standard also specifies that hand or poweroperated tools that produce asbestos saws scorers abrasive wheels and drills be equipped with local exhaust ventilation and dust collectors When asbestos is mixed with other products as cement mortar grout or plastic mixing must be done in closed containers Cleaning up the debris by dry sweeping or blowing it away is prohibited Any accumulation of asbestos dust must be removed rapidly by vacuum cleaners Asbestos waste must be disposed of in sealed containers The OSHA Standards Auvisory Committee for Asbestos has recommended an exposure limit of two fibers greater than 5 microns in length per cubic centimeter This proposal based on a NIOSH criteria document would not be effective for two years in order to allow the installation of " the necessary engineering controls The committee representing government labor and industry also suggested that the future standard include a program of comprehensive medical surveillance requiring employment medical examinations of applicants periodic medical evaluations of workers and medical records to be kept by employers for the use of OSHA and NIOSH The research and mortality studies of today have tarnished the reputation of this magic mineral once the object of fabulous tales One legend revolves around the tablecloth of Charlemagne the century ruler of the Holy Roman Empire When the cloth woven from asbestos fibers was thrown into the flames it was withdrawn not only intact but whiter and cleaner than before Charle- magne used this piece of witchcraft to mystify his guests as well as to intimidate his enemies in order to win psychological battles The jump from ancient legend to contemporary knowledge about asbestos is a tremendous adexcept in one area Our ability to combat the disasterous effects of asbestos on the human system is still negligible The mystery surround- ing asbestos continues today but the price is not in lost battles but in lost working lives O Na Aer eR z ee a 4 NY ae _* at wre w x 2 oN ye era oa ~, oO: ier . Fat Wrong Asbestos dust collects with other debris on a construction site The cleaning and sweeping process raises clouds of asbestos dust endangering the employees and the community June 1972 Right The new OSHA standard requires that asbestos debris be removed in closed containers or plastic bags a eT etne ad eh et eaeee eee. a ee ed prin ete, Tite gM A ee a ee Bee te Nader wo dttteyte 8, use"a aete pe ye er Pe eat tes on ~ Careers in Safety and Health . ee Wat | a Il IN = Wt ridas o i itile A ead ymoslt ag ar OCCUPATIONAL by Virginia Reinhart ee For the first time there is a federal law stating immunization programs keeps absenteeism statis- that no worker's life should be shortened endan- gered or lost because of hazards in his work envi- tics selects safety and health films to show workers and does a dozen different kinds of nursing ronment In the next few years there will be a each day ees growing need for occupational nurses and ex- Unlike hospital nurses whose job is caring for Oe panded opportunities for those in the field the sick the occupational nurse spends most of Mary Louise Brown chief of Occupational her time preventing illness This emphasis on pre- Health Nurse Training of the United States Pub- vention is not new Florence Nightingale expressed lic Health Service thus explains the impact the it when she said Nursing is not only a service to Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 will the sick it is a service also to the well We have have on the nursing profession to teach people how to live o Today there are more than 20,000 nurses in The first occupational nurse in the United States factories office buildings and stores Businessmen was hired specifically to teach people how to have found that nurses can save the company live In 1895 the Vermont Marble Company in money as well as improve the morale of employees Such preventive measures as flu shots paid for by the company and administered by the nurse reduce illnesses and absenteeism saving com- Proctor Vermont hired Ada Mayo Stewart to give home nursing services to employeesemployees and their families Her job was to visit employees homes to attend any sick members and to teach health panies large sums of money in compensation to school children Since 60 percent of all employee complaints about working conditions involve health factors more employers are becoming aware of the need to improve existing health facilities or to create health centers where none exist A health center can be a small room a where first expert basic medical supplies More often it is an office Occupational nurses today work at the employ- actively ment site leaving Ada Stewart's tasks to visiting nurses and school nurses But they are still actively engaged in teaching people how to live Because modern man spends nearly a third of his life on the job the occupational nurse now brings health services to him where he works where a registered nurse attends to accidents plans A visit to an occupational nurse shows the kinds Mrs. Reinhart is a lance writer of health services she provides and how preventive 8 Safety Standards ey en aN De OR ON ee S L Ee Sa ew mee fo ae mee Ser .. .. .. .. er ee eee oo at? here times ee reve my oath ~ WU dn aceon trees BR eg tad mate ew I ee ole Been oe ede a te ene ek ee eet er oa medicine works Mrs. S. is the supervisor of an infirmary that serves more than 4,000 employees all who already is overworked; it saves the time of the - worker who can leave his desk for a short time of them office workers except for the maintenance and it reduces employers costs for sick pay com- rs staff The infirmary is beside the elevator which pensation and lost production ce can save precious time in case of an emergency The walls are covered with posters urging workers to An elevator operator needs some kaopectate a secretary wants the address of a dental clinic a take a glaucoma test telling when and where immunization shots will be given and warning Drugs Are a Bad Scene young man comes in to discuss a personal problem None of these is an industrial accident case but each is a matter of employee health So is the cam- A plump young typist enters with a bleeding finger cut on an envelope Mrs. S. cleans and bandages the finger and asks the girl how her dieting is going The girl groans that it's not going well at all and Mrs. S. urges her not to give up Earlieirn the year the typist had participated in a glucose tolerance test to detect diabetes When she tested high the nurse had given her the diet prescribed for potential diabetics Mrs. S.'s care of the finger is first aid her inquiry about the diet is preventive medicine An older man comes in with a headache Mrs. S. paign Mrs. S. started to provide a kidney machine for a ghetto clinic and the posters she hung giving the address of the nearest VD clinic Mrs. S. has given emergency care to a cardiac attack patient she is prepared to handle an epidemic of mass food poisoning she hopes never happens and she can help an employee find mental health counseling which she often does Those outside the profession think giving first aid is the only task of the occupational nurse It's not even half of it Another nurse at a large printing and engraving plant is part of a safety and health team that has greets him by name talks briefly and gives him aspirin She explains If this man came to me often with headaches I'd refer him to the doctor who works here time It would be dangerous to ignore symptoms like regular headaches . Deciding when a headache is a headache and when it is the signal of a more serious illness is typical of the responsibility an occupational nurse carries Three women enter to weigh themselves One four nurses a time doctor and a safety officer working to eliminate accidents and to cope with any that occur Because of the many hazardshuge presses chemical shops flammable materials constant moving of heavy loads establishment seems to have most of the potential dangers an industrial society can offer in one workplace Accordingly the safety and health team emphasizes prevention Every employee gets a em- decides to sign up for a test to detect cervical cancer Mrs. S. notes that two of the women are overweight Lots of our girls are overweight Sitting at a desk all day plus the coffee breaks doesn't help We are trying to arrange a minuteday fitness program during one break If management can find us a room and if the employees are willing to give up their break perhaps we can help them stay away from the vending machines An older woman executive comes to the nurse to have her blood pressure checked Because she Sy suffers from hypertension her family doctor had asked the health office to check it each week Today she is fine but if her pressure were high the nurse x3 f would notify the family doctor The infirmary also gives allergy shots at the instruction of private physicians This cooperation between private doctors and the occupational health service profits everyone It saves the time of the private doctor If ene pers June 1972 460-913-72 2 2 Ne ee et oe old a eee eee er ow tee ee em eet e et ee ee fe a ee 1 Th ee ee oer ee nen Pa Sr otest'- ee -FSp,al ee eh ee ete Shem cet gt i el en A Ed a rs roe ee ees ad Businessmen have found that nurses can save the company money as well as improve the morale of Such preventive measures as flu shots paid for by the company and administered by the employees and absenteeism saving companies large sums of money in compensation nurse cut back on illnesses ployment physical which includes specific tests for particular jobs For example the doctor and nurse measure the amount of energy a worker uses to move heavy drums onto dollies The test helps determine whether the man is strong enough to move heavy drums all day long By this test they can prevent weaker men from taking the job and later developing back ailments and hernias The nurse assists the doctor with the medical examinations writes up the medical histories and follows up on any referrals the doctor may make When the plant doctor sent a security guard to the hospital with a heart condition the nurse was in- formed When the man returns to the job she will check with his family doctor about restrictions on his activities and whether he needs medication Miss A. one of the plant nurses explains Some of our employees would not go to an eye doctor for glasses if we didn't check back after they had taken our eye test Things like faulty vision can cause accidents Checking back is another form of preventive medicine Because this plant uses lead in some of its ink manufacturing processes the medical team runs a special blood test for lead This routine procedure for men in that department prevents permanent damage to their health If the level of lead in their blood becomes too high they are removed to an- - other department The health team is also assisting the National Institute of Health by collecting data on cholesterol from workers who volunteer Employees throughout the nation as well as prisoners in jails have helped medical research projects in this way The nursing staff of a large department store has one nurse who works in all its suburban branch stores visiting each one in turn She tries to get a medical history of each new employee Since there is no regular nurse on duty daily she sets up a first station in each store On each visit she checks to see that the kit is complete Many industries are like the suburban depart- ment stores small to need a time nurse or doctor It is possible to hire medical help on a time basis or to join with other establish- ments to create a joint health service In suburban Washington a publishing company and a nearby printing plant share the services of a nurse Any registered nurse can become an occupa- tional nurse There is no special educational program but they usually must update update their skills and learn new treatments The chief difficulty in pro- viding this service education to working occupational nurses is explained by Miss Brown of the Public Health Service . Since 80 percent of the occupational health nursing positions are on staffs of five or fewer nurses and these are considered to be too small to have an organized service educational program such a program has to be developed and conducted by an agency other than the nurse's employer To meet this need for more training the Indus- trial Health Foundation and the National Insti- tute for Occupational Safety and Health NIOSH have set up courses for industrial nurses In 1971 NIOSH offered a week course Fundamentals of Occupational Health Nursing Practice in six cities Nurses studied legal aspects of occupational health nursing workmen's com- pensation the Occupational Safety and Health Act records and reports relationship of the nurse with management employees physicians safety engineers and industrial hygienists and the nursing responsibilities associated with giving care to employees They were given a study assignment to be done at home Several weeks later they returned for a seminar to discuss their assignments A second course Nursing Practices and Occupa- tional Mental Health covers personality develop- ment crisis intervention suicide drugs and alcoholism This course concentrates on interview- ing and counseling techniques The Industrial Health Foundation also offers a course in Mental Health occupational nurses in which Training This is a study program the student reads the material takes the tests then checks her own work If she has made too many Safety Standards 10 et sa ae ~ ret ee rT bane daa errors she repeats the sections before continuing to the next chapter As Miss Brown reports This approach offers an avenue to close the gap between the need for train- ing and the absence of opportunities to learn It makes possible learning at home at the student's own pace for some married women and certain occupational health nurses who work as their company's only nurses it may be the only way More information on courses on occupational nursing can be obtained by writing to Division of Training National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 1014 Broadway Cincinnati Ohio 45202 or Industrial Health Foundation 5231 Center Avenue Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 15232 Two of these three courses deal with mental health new emphasis in occupational nursing There is strong evidence for the need of such training In 1962 a Cornell University study estimated that mental illness cost industry approximately 3 billion a year in direct and 12 billion in indirect costs This study estimated that 20 to 25 percent of the work force has a recognizable mental health problem Social Security data for the same period showed that 30 percent of all disability allowances to covered workers were made for mental psychoneurotic and personality , disorders NIOSH has recognized the need for more re- search on the effects of stress situations on the worker's mental health and on his job safety record range projects funded by NIOSH will gather data on such topics as the effects on workers of noise frequent changes of work shifts long vigils monotony and rapid geographic relocation Another study still in the planning stage will be to devise a model safety program based on accepted psychological behavioral and motivational principles The shortage of doctors coupled with the increase in population and the greater demand for _ medical services has led the medical profession to take a closer look at the work nurses can do For years dentists have employed dental assistants to relieve their work load Now the American Medi- cal Association AMA has begun to develop a similar new profession physician's assistant Dr. Walter C. Bornemeir president of the AMA has cited two sources for these assistants from the armed services and registered nurses The special training a nurse would take to become a physician's assistant would qualify her to give physical examinations in many occupational health centers The New York Telephone Com- pany already has begun a program to prepare . nurses to give physicals The Nurse Clinician Pro- gram a course developed by the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center has been so successful in preparing nurses to perform this function that it is now an established part of the company's medical program New York Tele- phone's doctors are now free to use their skills in diagnosis and treatment and their nurses get new . opportunities for advancement The outlook for occupational nursing is bright As the drive for job safety and health gathers momentum the need for occupational nurses will increase There will be more the training as well as more opportunities to learn a specialty and rise in the profession A British physician summed up the challenge of occupational nursing when he referred to it as the easiest job in the nursing profession to do badly one of the hardest and most satisfying to do well ol aed June 1972 11 eg eee ie eee see + . ~- e ee POINTO VIEW a POINTO kaeelede Bae We eles oy rents,enre Pre a Marcus M. Key Director BEY MEV SSeReYr E paSyTE aeSs wee Wrens vem gTZe PPS expr ae Edward J. Baier Deputy Director National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Commenting on the achievements of the Na- Health Hazards Survey and training an adequate tional Institute for Occupational Safety and supply of manpower Health NIOSH of the Department of Health Q. What exactly is NIOSH's role in standards Education and Welfare Representative William development Steiger author of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 stated Their efforts are providing a solid foundation for the health aspect of the Act I have said on many occasions that health in the long run would be most important . but let us recognize that it is the more technical more complicated part of an inseparable whole Key We don't turn out standards ourselves turn out criteria documents The criteria package on asbestos was the first example The Department of Labor sets the standard based on the health criteria that NIOSH provides and on other avail- able information There are four considerations in setting stand- The officials responsible for guiding the NIOSH campaign to control health hazards in workplaces are Dr. Marcus M. Key Director of the Institute and his newly appointed Deputy Director Edward J. Baier In a recent interview they discussed ems current NIOSH aims as well as future directions ety : ards These four are health effects feasibility economic impact and national interest On the HEW side we consider the health effects of the exposure and as much feasibility informationthe practicalities involved in controlling the exposure we have available Then we rely on the Department of Labor to add the other con- e in occupational health siderations and to make a final determination Me Q. NIOSH has many responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act research training criteria development and hazard evaluations What functions do you consider the most pressing in the first year of NIOSH's existence NIOSH has committed itself to develop criteria packages for specific chemical substances and physical agents that are hazardous Unfortunately we have had difficulty in meeting our proposed deadlines for criteria packages this year primarily Key At present we have internal priorities and because we haven't had the resources In staffing external priorities to consider during the first year By internal I mean responsibilities for get- ting organized up and finding facilities suitable for research The external responsibilies those dealing with the outside world developing criteria for standards initiating the National the Institute we have been hindered by employment ceilings and average grade controls and only recently have we been allowed to start recruiting professionals again Q. You mentioned that the second major priority is the National Health Hazards Survey What kind Dr. Key and Mr. Baier were interviewed by Nancy L. Nelson assistant editor of SAFETY STANDARDS of information will this investigation provide 12 Safety Standards ee ee ee Ee NO RRR Ot _ e e e e oo oe Key The need for the National Health Hazards Survey was brought out repeatedly during the hearings that led to the passage of the Occupa- nation as a whole For the first time NIOSH will be able to determine which hazards really need more attention tional Safety and Health Act of 1970. At that time we were able to talk about the 14,000 deaths and the 2.2 million disabling injuries resulting from work accidents These events can be measured- they are dramatic But on the health side we really didn't know how many occupational diseases there were nor did we know what the health hazards were that produced these diseases Eventually NIOSH will be provided with statis- tics on occupational diseases by the Occupational Illness and Injury Reporting system operated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics But we still won't have a good idea of what the health hazards are that produce occupational diseases gap that the , survey is designed to fill Baier The investigators for the National Health Hazards Survey are going to define for us what Baier A primary concern of the surveyors will be the hazards associated with the occupation it- self One example might be a plant that has a degreaser a tank containing a solvent used to remove grease from objects When you consider hazards associated with the degreaser you generally think in terms of the degreaser operator and whether or not the degreaser is adequately controlled by covers and ventilation systems to pre- vent exposure But then you discover that machin- ists who work all over the plant periodically come in dip something into the degreaser and carry it back to their worksites So if you are looking at occupations you say this fellow is a degreaser operator therefore he is exposed to trichloroethylene But if you investigate further you discover that machinists also are exposed to tri- occupational groups have potentially dangerous chloroethylene and probably have more serious ex- exposures We don't have this information at the posures than the degreaser operators So you see tear present time If you asked how many people in the National Health Hazards Survey is identify- the United States are potentially exposed to lead ing the health hazards that workers in different fumes we couldn't answer that because we just types of occupations are exposed to as well as the don't know While some electricians who solder degree of that exposure wires are exposed to lead other workers who burn massive amounts of lead pigs have even greater exposures One worker is dealing with ounces of lead and the other is dealing with tons So it's not only exposure to a substance but to how much Q. Surveys of this kind always require the skill of professionals but I understand there is a tremendous manpower shortage Just how crucial is the shortage and what is its effect on health conditions of it that counts Some of the exposures are shocking because they are so unexpected You don't even realize that some workers come in contact with hazardous substances because you would never suspect that their jobs involve dangerous exposures Q. How were the industries to be investigated by the health hazard surveyors selected Key I think it is elementary thaitf you don't have qualified industrial hygienists safety engineers occupational physicians and nurses toxicologists and analytical chemists drive for healthful workplaces will make few gains If an effort is not made to train more professionals the companies concerned aren't going to have the manpower to comply with the standards Key The Bureau of Labor Statistics has given us and to maintain a safe and healthful workplace a sample of approximately 8,000 representative States are not going to have the capabilities of en- industries The surveyors are going to conduct forcement and neither is the federal government thorough through examinations of the indus- And we in NIOSH are not going to have the re- tries in the sample investigating them from the search potential viewpoint of an industrial hygienist The results It takes a long time to develop educational pro- of the survey will provide the basis for determin- grams and new job categories as the safety ing the potential exposure to health hazards in the and health professional that we have tried to June 1972 13 et me ee cee ee ee ee er a pe ee mei + ke alebirae ren job categories educational educational time develop It takes takes a long time to develop programs and new job categories as the safety and health professional that we have tried to create Curriculum planning alone requires one or two years Then you have to wait until students enter the program and graduate to four years later be ae eek ta be create Curriculum planning alone requires one or Baier Then these five parameters are weighted Tene two years Then you have to wait until students according to relative importance te enter the program and graduate to four Key Professional experience is also an ingredient DAML years later After the chemical substances and physical agents ae The entire process takes a long time There will are rated and rank ordered the list is sent to pro- Whe we be an acute shortage among professional cate- fessionals as the National Advisory Com- gories for several years to come mittee on Occupational Safety and Health The Baier Practical job experience which takes another year or two is also necessary We are really talking about a wait of five or six years before the effect of the bachelor's degree in the new occupa- professionals may say for example that based on their experience or their company's experience a substance is too high on the list They may recom- mend that it be given a lower priority tional safety and health program is felt Until then you have to take someone who has a degree in engineering or life sciences for example one who understands the jargon through the training provided by the situations you Q. So in setting priorities you do get some kind of consensus view? - Key That's right It's a quantitative system but there is an attempt to get consensus also produce so to speak a health professional Baier The weighing and the professional opinion a Q. With the shortage of manpower it seems even are important For instance a substance may be more important to put researchers to work where extremely toxic but you might find that it hasn't they will have the biggest impact How do you been used for the last five or six years Should determine for example which of the known haz- you develop criteria package for it At the ards require immediate attention most there might be six or seven people in the United States that have contact with it On the % + es Key To determine priorities for standards we other hand a substance might be a little less serious use a quantitative system based on five parame- in terms of effect but you find that 22,000 people therosm ters One is the incidence index number of are exposed to it So you don't really say This reported occupational diseases associated with that is the rankest poison known to man and this is et particular exposure Information on this factor has what we must whe non one is exposed to it + been inadequate but once the occupational illness What we are really concerned with is prevent- and injury reporting system goes into operation this should improve The second factor is the rela- tive toxicity or the severity of the occupational whether it causes a dermatitis that just produces a little itching or whether it produces lung cancer that does the fellow in The The third factor is tonnage or poundage of the particular chemical produced or used each year and the fourth is the population at risk The fifth consideration is a trend index based on estimates of increased or ing occupational disease Our primary thrust is toward protecting the worker It is toxicity versus hazard A chemical in a jar can be very toxic without causing a hazard but when it is taken from the jar you have a dangerous exposure The over objective is to eliminate the hazard so people who are working for a living do not get an occupational disease Q. It seems that the major job right now is amass; decreased usage ing this kind of information Safety Standards 14 a eee me Inn eee oO en ee Te wre tee mT we2e 2 . 4 Key This is why we attach so much priority on getting information from programs like the National Health Hazards Survey This is going to give us a better input into our quantitative priority list Q. Was a similar system used to determine which hazards to include in OSHA's new Target Health Hazards Program Key Yes we worked closely with the Department of Labor in determining the health hazards to be included in the program NIOSH also aided in presenting the program to interested and affected groups Q. Once you compile the information that is required and the pressing criteria packages are out of the way will there be a shift in NIOSH's ; priorities Baier Plus whether or not you get along with the fellow at the next work bench Key Right You have heard the old saw It's not unsafe conditions as much as unsafe workmen that produce injuries Before the Act was passed management's thesis was that workers were as much at fault in causing accidents as the company not more so Well I think there is room for improvement in both areas but we have to do the research that shows what makes the worker act unsafely And until we come up with some practical preventive ideas from this type of research I don't think we will make much greater inroads into the prevention of occupational accidents There will be some of enforcing standards will produce a big effect But if we go all the way we must identify the preventable human factors By using conventional methods of preventing occupational mechanical guarding personal protective equipment and educational programs can go just so far in preventing accidents If we are going to go any further we must have research into what motivates people what are the aspects of the human factors that cause accidents Key We expect to be doing more research into human factors and motivation in regard to accident prevention We are specifically directed to conduct research in this area by the Act By using conventional methods of preventing occupational mechanical guarding personal protective equipment and educational programs can go just so far in preventing accidents If we are going to go any further we must have research into what motivates people what are the human factors that cause accidents Baier This psychological aspect of research is very important For instance one basic question is does the job fit the man or does the man fit the job Key And then there are the additive effects stress noise fatigue drugs So there is a crossover between human factors that produce stress chemical and physical factors and factors outside the workplace like medication and drugs June 1972 Baier So the basic understanding of why an accident occurs becomes important Q. Can you make any other predictions about what the future priorities of NIOSH will be Key Yes another emphasis for the future will be the search for new or unsuspected causes of occupational diseases probably in the pneumoconioses or cancer area Studies will even be done on factors that shorten life The industry studies are important in this respect Groups of workers will be studied and compared to a controlled working population that does not have the same occupa- tional exposures These studies are currently underway for about 1.5 million workers In other words we don't have to study everyone in a particular plant we can study % of the workers and project these findings to the rest The real payoff of our activities in NIOSH lies in prevention and this I think is the real sig- nificance of occupational health OD 15 [aR ee O Ae UE ta rane, TRA ST ee A TORTS wingnuts er er cr een TANT LOT gt TER eh:cat, a ae ee? ^' os un safety officers sets high standards January 17 1972 marked the formal opening Six week comprehensive training classes set for new federal and state compliance of- Occupational of the Training Institute of the Lo- are ficers and industrial hygienists The schedule also Safety and Health Administration OSHA to O'Hare includes 11 week refresher courses for com- cated in Rosemont Illinois adjacent officers Other classes will be offered to Field outside Chicago the Training Institute will pliance in the maritime and construc- play a major role in helping OSHA fulfill its compliance officers under the Williams Oc- tion fields responsibilities and Health Act of 1970. Its The Training Institute has a staff of 18 in- > cupational Safety theme is high quality professionalism cluding 10 safety professionals It supplements its staff with OSHA field personnel and George C. Guenther Assistant Secretary of and Health said teaching experts from the National Institute for Occupa- Dr. Earl ee Labor for Ocwciulplathiaovneal tSraafineetdy more than 1,000 tional Safety and Health NIOSH the facility e specialists by June 30 augmenting activities of In Heath Director of the Office of Training and Edu- cation for OSHA says NIOSH personnel al- the OSHA Office of Training and Education Guenther said Illinois was ready have conducted orientation classes for sevand compliance the opening ceremonies of its eral OSHA industrial hygienists selected for the initial training site because in attitude toward the program and officers We intend to seek their participation progressive the heaviest concentration developing methods and training programs because the region has The Institute is using methods such as team of employees anywhere in the country demonstrations case studies role play- The impact of the training program will reach classes lasting teaching ing practical exercises field visits and group dis- made of audio- far beyond Chicago Forty to four weeks are being offered to com- cussions Extensive use also is being from one and state visual aids particularly videotape pliance officers industrial hygienists per- are not the sole reason for sonnel from all parts of the country Included also Training programs establishing the Institute Frank Valentino chief are 15 courses for construction instructors Safety Standards . 16 ye cme ee een eh me ae me were ee eT re me rere ne wpe ay mma rene fe AREY erate ee ese eee em rane o ie) H t SbSeTeEea n e TAGS Se MN SEE AT IE N4 GGT Pe YIM iin a 7 a NCS Ga RYte te ot Mme : is vt 3 . woot : , ua t Representative William Steiger author of the Occupational Safety ey and Health Act of 1970 officially opens OSHI's Training Institute Looking on are Howard Pyle chairman of OSHA's National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health and president of the National Safety Council center and George C. Guenther Assistant BOGE. HE f ag Ae, Sy Secretary of Labor for EE Occupational Safety ie and Health right PEokE ies SMe le Ro NS Secor BERN ree oe : aes Batt aA TioRata sy a4 on ee & Fate Racer athe), El Sakis Soe q age : he we Mba a A eee a : : ; ! ; of OSHA's Division of Institute Operation says The Institute is exploring.other exploring.other possibilities Right now we are looking for the best most expedient way to train and produce qualified compliance personnel This means collecting data on the costs of various training methods as well as developing standards against which OSHA can Representative William Steiger sponsor of the Occupational Safety and Health Act told the trainees that there are two keys to the OSHA program voluntary compliance and professionalism on the part of the compliance officers Work already has begun on expanding the Institute to accommodate more trainees Three additional measure the performance of persons who have study and testing rooms classroom space an in- attended the Institute strument lab and a conference room are being aoa The Training Institute illustrates OSHA's de- built The purpose is clear Not only programs but centralization efforts Aside from procedural also facilities are being redesigned to accommodate ee guidance and program evaluation from the na- OSHA's continuing need for professionals [| ee tional office the Institute is autonomous It does its Gr own recruitment and procurement Its interim manager Edwin M. Hackett deals directly with training coordinators in each of OSHA's 10 regional offices Hackett comments that the Institute has an obligation to respond to national office A Standing in front of the OSHA exhibit with its panel of 100 questions and answers Howard Pyle addresses the Mara PORTE compliance officers at the Training Institute nn nae ee erat Di Ray tt needs and guidelines but there is a great deal of flexibility in the guidelines This allows us to orient ourselves to the needs of the regional and area offices Such flexibility is in keeping with OSHA policy which allows for consideration of local problems conditions and resources Underscoring the mission of the Training Institute Howard Pyle chairman of OSHA's Na- tional Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health and president of the National Safety Council told the first classes of compliance officers at the opening ceremony that the success of this operation will depend on those in the field- you June 1972 vases, ee - ~ oe eee Ct ang ee eet ee Rs ae 7a Sa eee + - + : i t 4 Pee! decat ALICE HAMILTON Industrial Health Pioneer who Profile of a woman crusaded for employee's to a healthful workplace right by Beverly Fazon More than 70 years ago Dr. Alice Hamilton Most accepted the idea that workers in potentidangerous situations operated under assump- began to question the effect of a person's job on his led her ally tion of thaistby accepting the job the em- health and on his life span Her questions of occupational dis- ployee assumed the risks and dangers of his trade thus absolved of the respon- to pioneer the investigation in the United States starting with lead The employer was conditions ex- eases workers sibility to provide better workplace poisoning among Illinois factory When Dr. Hamilton began her work attitudes cept as he might choose to do so Improving workconditions was seen not as a responsibility of ee toward the prevention of occupational diseases ing of benevolence ee negative Many who were owner's but as an act her lifetime to under- were either indifferent or industrial accident or Dr. Hamilton did much in we appalled by a spectacular mine such comfortable assumptions Not only did explosion never considered the workers who were evidence that established the correlation being slowly killed or disabled by exposure to toxic she collect toxic substances and certain substances Popular assumptions made difficult the between exposures to occupational diseases She also helped pave the task of those interested in helping endangered that lead way in this country for what had evolved in Eng- workers Some employers feeling sure before the concept of society's re- poisoning resulted from skin contact and not from land a century for the health and welfare of its breathing laden air blamed sickness on the sponsibility at work failure of employees to wash properly before eat- including people of Edith Hamilton the ing or to clean their fingernails before going home Alice Hamilton sister known scholar of Greek and Roman civiliza- Miss Fazon is a student at Kalamazoo College Kalamazoo - tions was born in 1869 and died in 1970. As young Michigan Safety Standards 18 girl she decided to enter the field of medicine After receiving her M.D. degree from the University of Michigan Dr. Hamilton taught pathology at the Women's Medical School Northwestern University while living at Hull House the social settlement house established in Chicago by Jane Addams Conversations with neighboring workers kindled Dr. Hamilton's interest in occupational pneumonia and rheumatism among stockyard workers lead palsy in painters cases of steel mill workers falling unconscious on the job Through research Dr. Hamilton discovered that the United States was far behind European countries in recognizing and preventing occupational diseases When she began her investigation of lead industries in 1910 the only significant step that had been taken toward controlling occupational disease involved a curb on the use of white phosphorous in making Workers using the white phosphorous process risked pain facial de- formities and death Yet the United States passed legislation discouraging the white phosphorous method only after Europeans had forbidden the process in their own factories and had refused to import matches so made = During the investigations that formed the basis for her classic studies of lead Dr. Hamilton studied hospital records involving lead victims and talked with patients physicians druggists employers and foremen She discovered that workers in 77 occupations in Illinois were victims of lead poisoning Painters enamellers smelters and many others were exposed daily to the dangerous particles In 1911 after the results of her survey were made public the Illinois legislature passed a workmen's compensation law But the new law bogged down in the courts when judges said they could see no . an Bl. dl te makers in this aa 1871 wood engraving heats risked contracting phossy jaw a painful a) disease which resulted in facial disfigurement and sometimes death Legislation halting the use of phosphorous in making was not passed until 1910 Tene eS Sr TS S A al STS SLTET ELS ran a OO A 2 Sontagae RSs een ABS SSP Se SRN oor ; Stet? Jee watt ge A RR ieee A Le 18552, tat cer at June 1972 G mafiaTS.0 aa os any Srey - Tyr me ene peace ema me remem rm merremnr ~ 2 . we me Sra eats aes Coeeu: vr Lert. Ea beeaiae Bee 1 , ' stl bt hl Seo . <f * Pe haa geiea f 2 eee Set ie a* > priy re oe NM5 parte S oa e, F aed ee cya 1!RANT Hh, 4 ts ee ahem ee ' wan ec! Mae at tol 3 mer y: : Ge ey pat rf eS es 3 i wa) yi ein Tada r4 a i ee e eae ag y eee ee ag rare eS ae ee ee ee gem ee ee Carbon monoxide poisoning threatened the converters making bessemer steel in this 1886 wood engraving Shields caught the sparks but the absence of ventilation allowed fumes to escape into the atmosphere When making field inspections Alice Hamilton subjected herself to the same hazards faced by workers legal principles on which compensation for occupa- tional diseases could rest Not until 1936 did the Illinois legislature pass an effective law By then 16 other states had passed compensation laws Later while working with the U.S. Department of Labor Dr. Hamilton began a nationwide survey of industries again including lead She also ex- plored illnesses resulting from fumes in World War I munitions plants tuberculosis and silicosis in miners carbon monoxide poisoning in steel mills carbon disulphide effects on rayon workers and mercury poisoning in hatters and miners Dr. Hamilton relied not only on research but also on hand experience Before confronting an employer with suggestions for health improve- ments in a plant or before turning in a report to the government Dr. Hamilton conducted field in- spections She would stand close to hot furnaces put her whole weight on a jackhammer and walk narrow catwalks in studying the industrial world's the health problems In her book INDUSTRIAL TOXICOLOGY published in 1934 she offered employers this kind of practi- cal advice ; a Prevent formation of escape of gases fumes and dust b If a is impossible remove by means of exhausts c If b is impossible dilute as much as possible by abundant ventilation and by fans blowing air past the face of the workers - When Alice Hamilton began her crusade to cor- rect conditions leading to occupational disease it seemed to her that most of her American contem- poraries felt it was a cause tainted with Socialism or with feminine sentimentality for the poor June 1972 oa eee a3 ae aye, hs TS : a aT ones is abe ib . eat The employee above assembles storage batteries a product often using lead orides Inhaled or ingested into the system lead can cause gastrointestinal blood and central nervous system disorders The target of Alice Hamilton's earliest studies lead is still a common workplace material NIOSH is working on a criteria document on lead OSHA has declared it one of the Target Health Hazards By the end of her long career she had succeeded in presenting facts to break through the nation's ignorance and indifference toward protecting workers from occupational diseases She had suc- ceeded in making medicine society as a whole aware of its responsibilities toward the health of its workers She had been among those to pioneer a break- through in attitude as important as any technological development Her work had been instrumental in changing the negative attitudes of the 19th century to the present sense of community responsibility for control of the environment cluding the work environment CF 21 Meeee et en eee er rn eae a ree emer ree nee nee ae cane es ee Gea ge ee eee ee ee ee ne ee Andre Racine is young and in excellent health He's a top hand in his trade which is line construction This involves building voltage transmission lines and it offers steady round employment plus a very high rate of pay With all of this going for him Andre is hardly the type of person who would want to end his life prematurely But on September 15 1971 it was almost ended for him Andre works for T.D. Bross Line Construction Company Bross in a joint venture with Savin Brothers Construction is working in Rockland County New York installing a 345K transmission line for Orange and Rockland Utilities Inc. One of Andre's workers dropped a pair of lineman's pliers from atop a member 80 feet above ground Andre assembling his gear prior to ascending the foot steel pole received the falling pliers directly on the left side received received safety falling The reason Andre is still alive today is because the safety not his head the punishment These particular pliers have a shaped head are about nine inches long and weigh close to a pound This means that according to calculations by American Optical Corporation's Robert F. White At the point of impact after falling from a height that approximates a story building the head of the pliers was driven into its target with a force of about 80 pounds The pliers penetrated Andre's cap causing a -long crack in the plastic shell But the pliers never touched the cap's suspension let alone the man's head Everyone connected with the project can claim some credit for the fact that Andre was wearing his safety cap his foreman Blacky Madigan Bross Company superintendent Arthur Aubin and Dick Leppla chairman of the safety committee Among numerous other duties together they formulated and enforce the safety program that saved Andre's life When due credits are being distributed another man not to be slighted is Phil McLeod An employee of Stone and Webster Engineering construction manager for the project McLeod has the title senior materials manager . . Since starting in the construction business about 25 years ago McLeod has worked on transmission lines all over the United States He's worked in swamps plains deserts and mountains .. . On the subject of safety his voice takes on a particularly hard note Safety is something we take seriously around here We don't like others joking about it And we are getting to the point where all 300 people on this job are taking safety seriously too They Take Their Safety Straight Andre Racine points to the 1inch crack made in his safety cap by pliers which fell from a height of 80 feet 4 my ita , . Mie A Sai my BTA First published in ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL & SAFETY MANAGEMENT December 1971. Reprinted with permission of Best's Safety Publication3 22 Safety Standards ee eS int ees peepee ee ee ce nee n mr ee ~~ Building a voltage transmission line across all kinds of terrain involves exceptional work hazards So contractors contractors and unions represented on the safety committee added bite to their rules & The record proves they take their safety seriously The Ramapo River Project since its inception in January 1971 has had a total of 39 first aid cases Only five of these involved lost time In more than 300,000 hours worked this year less than 1.5 percent of this total has been lost due to injuries It's an enviable record How does a company amass such a record especially under extremely severe terrain conditions Ask McLeod .., By working together and getting everybody involved with safety It's a cooperative effort between the contractors subcontractors and the unions All have representatives on a permanent safety volunteers who do this in addition to their regular jobs Dick Leppla safety committee chairman is superintendent of construction for Stone and Webster Other representatives on the committee include people from Stone and Webster the Bross Company Savin Brothers the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the building trade unions Phil McLeod is a permanent representative who coordinates the many facets of the program The safety committee was organized on January 13 1971 at a preconstruction meeting at the Stone and Webster field office in Mt. Ivy New York A presentation was made outlining the hazardous conditions to be expected during the coming months It was decided that the committee would be directly responsible for all job safety Moreover committee members would be selected on the basis of their background and their expertise in work being done during various stages of the project A man was appointed to act as permanent representative during foundation construction He was replaced by another man during erection of the steel poles and by still another during the wirestringing operations A committee member is on each pole site worksite once each day The committee conducts full inspections of the sites every two weeks In addition field representatives from three insurance companies conduct periodic inspections Meetings of the committee follow each inspection tour to discuss conditions noted and necessary solutions to problems if any McLeod says This particular job could have resulted in several fatal accidents already considering the hazards involved We're working in all kinds of terrain . . . mountains valleys forests in close proximity to energized transmission lines and substations and to pressure gas lines Access roads for men and heavy equipment have to be blasted and cut Our right is limited since we have no wish to damage the landscape any more than necessary to build this needed electrical service Part of the process of getting organized was a thorough study of the terrain and hazards Members met with local officials conservationists and utilities people who had experience in the areas through which the line's right would run This included a visit to the directors of several children's summer camps in the area The approach was always a presentation of facts about the proj- ect and hazards involved There are potential injury situations from blasting tree and stump clearing concrete pouring driving to and from the sites equipment repair and materials handling says Phil McLeod and naturally the actual work on the poles themselves such as what happened to Andre | McLeod mentions an instance where an employee put his hand into a pile of timber and pulled back a copperhead Fortunately the snake had sunk his fangs into the man's leather safety glove rather than his hand A good case for gloves says McLeod but an even better case for Art Aubin's overall declaration of intent to run a safe disciplined operation Continuing in this vein McLeod says Not everyone realizes the importance of discipline in a safety program We all get careless at times June 1972 23 en ae a id a res - eee coe Ae te et Lae LE hy Keeping in mind that the definition of safety is really prevention of accidents we can't work too hard to wipe out carelessness We have some of the top people in line construction on this project and all of them know their jobs This is the problem sometimes They have too much confidence We reminding So have to keep be repetitious them we are inclined to the On the first Thursday of each montha brief safety meeting is held at the start of work day Topics covering various aspects of safety are discussed For example one topic may be storage of explosives and how they should be removed from the magazine and transported to the job Another might be a demonstration of first aid in- cluding the latest medical theory on snakebite treatment Specific problems and discussions of new knowl- edge about related hazards are given time at every meeting According to Art Aubin Taking this time with the men may keep them away from the project for a short time but it is well worth it Just compare the potential in time lost due to broken equipment and higher insurance injury tragedy premiumsNeedless to say the of a per- manently disabling injury or a death cannot be measured in dollars and cents The meetings are supplemented by regular safety committee memos Memos of this type em- phasize the importance of adhering to the safety - rules developed for the project plus case histories on accidents that happened and accidents pre- vented known as near misses The fact that supervisor foreman and individual worker an important role is always the parting shot of the memo The memos are distributed by committee members to the men in their groups reinforcing person contact No safety program is going to work if its not enforced says McLeod And if it's going to be enforced we have to put teeth into the regulations and then stand by them the letter When we say that a specific amount of violations of safety regulations will result in dismissal we mean it When we say that violations of our rules by people who work for other contractors mean that these people will be banned from the project we enforce it If an employee on the project is caught in viola- tion of a safety rule he is notified in writing The gist of the memo is that the violation has been noted and recorded It reminds him that the con- sequences could be injury to himself In cordial terms the memo states that the rules were de- velopedveloped for the workers protection and that the ~ ee TEN 2 r\. os ce ee ise. Hiden rR Pee ae oeeee aeteee oa e see a ate ; pBeite . a xe e" ee os Reta Pie SUE a: PE tRED Mya Po a RE es REA Work progresses on the transmission line for the Ramapo uems es . = 33 oad ae a Bie Pe aoesae e2 a -~ a : River project , fi. ae Safety Standards 24 teen er Ne - Saar erarnyee Aerie ate e7 t chk P aeepees WL he Date Be - ee ~ te ee te ee a ee e2.t ee ee ae ee wat violation was probably an oversight on his part Mention is made also that the rules were estab- lished by the project safety committee or included in local union laws or by the state and federal governments The fact that no further such violations are expected is mentioned firmly but politely Copies of the memo are sent to each member of the safety committee for information and filed in the employee's record According to McLeod Nobody is around long enough to receive more than two such memos Probably one of the most important points McLeod makes is that of knowing the nature of hazards that exist Any accident is closely followed by an injury report This means every type of accident including minor cuts The report includes information on location weather conditions and the nature of task being performed Availability of first aid and conditions of the general work area are noted In brief says McLeod we want to know what went on before during and after the accident This gives us a complete record that helps us correct whatever conditions might have contrib- uted to the problem Accident reports and what- ever corrective measures have been taken as a re- sult subsequently are subjects for safety bulletins and for discussion at safety meetings Morale on this project is as high or higher than on any other job I've been associated with says McLeod Our safety record is the biggest contributor to this high morale as far as I'm con- cerned But the program works because I believe that the committee has done an outstanding job of communicating The program is understood by everyone on the job Everybody participates A few months ago one of our men had his eye saved by a pair of safety glasses qualifying him for membership in the Wise Owl Club We held a scale banquet buffet style with unlimited refreshments American Optical provided us with an artificial eye which we had made into a tie clip Because the man understood and followed the rules regarding wearing safety equipment he's wearing the artificial eye as a tie clip not in an empty socket One important entity which safety people in all trades professions and industries have to consider is the new Occupational Safety and Health Act June 1972 gt .../ , $ site inspections are conducted daily by one or more members of the project's safety committee OSHA comment both McLeod and Aubin Says McLeod It's a good law if enforced I personally feel that the major burden of enforcing this law is going to rest with the employer himself The best route is the kind of organization we have here where everyone is brought into the safety picture and knows exactly why Aubin says We're way ahead of OSHA Our objective here is to prevent accidents and protect people Our record is good not because we keep our eyes on statistics but because we analyze our total picture terrain project and people We take proper preventive action and we enforce personal protective equipment regulations What's more we probe deeply into the causes of the few in- juries we do have Once we examine the cause we make every effort to see that it can't happen again A good example is that although we'll continue to work at the base of the poles we won't have any more tools falling from above As to the end re- sult project is ahead of schedule and it will undoubtedly be a highly profitable operation for all concerned 0 25 bomne moreno TS me whee as ee eee ee eee weed ten ay s meee wk ee eo ele Rt te Ek TN Te _ nde ete a ee Safety Spotlight Now a regular feature Safety Spotlight will bring readers brief accounts of safety activities and safety programs that are proving successful The purpose is not only to highlight useful safety tips but to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas Manufacturers distribute safety booklet The Adhesive Manufacturers Association of America has prepared a booklet Safe Handling of Adhesives for distribution to its customers to assure safer han dling of its products The booklet explains the uniform labeling practices and includes pictures of the different labels used The three possible hazards of adhesives on the skin fire and toxicity described and methods to combat them are explained For copies write Adhesives Manufacturers Association of America 441 Lexington Avenue New York New York 10017 Keep your hat on Pepper Construction Company of Chicago recently sent its 80 foremen and supervisors to a two safety course given by the Building Construction Employers . Association BCEA One of the results is a new regu- lation that makes the wearing of hard hats a condition of employment Allen Quinn Pepper's safety engineer tells why Right now we're concentrating on hard hats and re- quiring that everyone on the job wear them at all times the executives when they come around There's no question that hard hats can save lives Recently one of our men fell 14 feet and landed on his head If he weren't wearing a hard hat chances are he wouldn't be around today Pepper is also urging its men to wear safety glasses and safety shoes The company provides protective equipment the first time If an employee loses an item he pays for its replacement John Skanderup president of the employee company explains the stepped safety effort While we have had a voluntary safety program for many years our efforts are being redoubled now that safety is a federal requirement The biggest job is educating our people to the importance of safety and getting them to follow the rules . BCEA conducts several safety courses each month For more information write 228 North LaSalle Street Chicago Illinois 60601 26 Shoring school too successful In April 1971 the Sacramento Valley Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers enrolled twelve persons in a shoring safety training course Today there are 500 graduates of the program a waiting list so long that chapters in four other cities across the country are organizing similar schools The day course trains those involved in sewer water gas electric and telephone trenching in the proper methods of shoring for underground construction work The training is designed to reduce the significant number of deaths and serious injuries caused by trench cave Superintendents foremen inspectors engineers contractors and linemen have attended the classes ; The State of California Industrial Safety Division Construction Section has provided an instructor for all classes to date The American Society of Safety Engi- neers believes that there is a need for many such courses across the nation Finding qualified instructors is one of the chief obstacles Since the aluminum hydraulic shoring process has become popular only within the last six years there is a shortage of qualified instructors to teach these classes Farm safety program May and June have been designated as Farm Transportation and Water Safety months respec tively by the Department of Agriculture in a special round campaign to encourage farm safety practices The program according to Under Secretary J. Philip Campbell is being coordinated with the National Safety Council and will place special emphasis on the Occupational Safety and Health Act provisions The monthly observances got under way in March with emphasis on the safe use of agricultural chemicals Other special programs scheduled include July sonal protective equipment vacation safety September program October safety and fire prevention November safety and December and holiday safety Safety Standards ~~ ee a te ee eo es seek Re ee re tees eles te Labor Safety Award deadline Old adage safety twist wate The National Safety Council reminds all union mem- In a recent speech at the Union Gas Confer bers that the deadline for applications for its Labor ence Charles H. Tupper director of safety for the Safety Awards is July 1 1972. Individual union mem bers as well as unions are eligible The awards are International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers summed up the common responsibility for safety when given for outstanding work in such activities as establishing safety programs initiating joint management- he remarked We have met the enemy and he is us the us part of this adage is labor and management union meetings and promoting safety activities Write to the National Safety Council 425 N. Michigan Avenue Chicago Illinois 60611 for information and for the brochure Safety Awards Program for Organized combined Tupper also advised the union members to under- stand and use intelligently and with discernment the important protections and rights which are provided Labor for workers by the Act Field first aid unit saves lives Two construction workers seriously injured in a fall from the top of a power plant addition owe their lives to prompt treatment from the Navy medic who mans a equipped first trailer on the job site Operated by Power Systems Inc. the 10 by 28 foot ~ eeay ee POWER . SYSTEMS POWER POWER POWER OOP Ab Fle custom trailer is one of three field units currently in use on the company's construction sites The trailer te soa neh contains equipment not usually found in a first wet center cardiac monitor a wide range of emergency respiratory and orthopedic gear intravenous solutions and a variety of emergency drugs These extras made a difference to the men who fell to the ground and lived to tell about it The immediate availability of intravenous infusions and drugs was a key factor in their survival A mobile first unit the trailer above is equipped to provide emergency care for construction workers The purchase of priced medical equipment was made possible in part by savings realized by improvis- ing other items An examination and treatment table Be ee ame pel as >, re ue en ey . ms e ote was made from scrap materials at the site Hangers t for intravenous infusions and irrigation solutions and spinal support boards for the transportation of persons with back and neck injuries are other home made items Economical aluminum baking trays with snap plastic covers substitute for expensive stainless steel containers as protective holders for instruments and medicines Power Systems states that an enlightened safety program is necessarily augmented by enlightened firstaid coverage for employees Companies interested in exchanging ideas on first facilities may write to Power Systems Inc. 600 West Jackson Boulevard Chicago Illinois 60606 H H ry iRg + i tH i; ung 2tb4e eiv:4 By tablerei Ingenuity cut costs The treatment TAS oy, 2 Tad was improvised from scrap material on the job site Savings went into the purchase of sophisticated medical equipment and supplies 27 June 1972 OE EE Rae cue ne ag em Doran ee meemee wey earn a oi mp meter re eee ee epee oe oe pep ee e me ee et ee Safety Spotlight Now a regular feature Safety Spotlight will bring readers brief accounts of safety activities and safety programs that are proving successful The purpose is not only to highlight useful safety tips but to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas Manufacturers distribute safety booklet The Adhesive Manufacturers Association of America has prepared a booklet Safe Handling of Adhesives for distribution to its customers to assure safer han- dling of its products The booklet explains the uniform labeling practices and includes pictures of the different labels used The three possible hazards of adhesives on the skin fire and toxicity described and methods to combat them are explained For copies write Adhesives Manufacturers Association of America 441 Lexington Avenue New York New York 10017 Keep your hat on Pepper Construction Company of Chicago recently sent its 80 foremen and supervisors to a day safety course given by the Building Construction Employers Association BCEA One of the results is a new regulation that makes the wearing of hard hats a condition of employment Allen Quinn Pepper's safety engineer tells why Right now we're concentrating on hard hats and requiring that everyone on the job wear them at all times the executives when they come around There's no question that hard hats can save lives Recently one of our men fell 14 feet and landed on his head If he weren't wearing a hard hat chances are he wouldn't be around today Pepper is also urging its men to wear safety glasses and safety shoes The company provides protective equipment the first time If an employee loses an item he pays for its replacement John Skanderup president of the employee company explains the stepped safety effort While we have had a voluntary safety program for many years our efforts are being redoubled now that safety is a federal requirement The biggest job is educating our people to the importance of safety and getting them to follow the rules . BCEA conducts several safety courses each month For more information write 228 North LaSalle Street Chicago Illinois 60601 26 Shoring school too successful In April 1971 the Sacramento Valley Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers enrolled twelve persons in a shoring safety training course Today there are 500 graduates of the program a waiting list so long that chapters in four other cities across the country are organizing similar schools The day course trains those involved in sewer water gas electric and telephone trenching in the proper methods of shoring for underground construction work The training is designed to reduce the significant number of deaths and serious injuries caused by trench cave Superintendents foremen inspectors engineers contractors and linemen have attended the classes The State of California Industrial Safety Division Construction Section has provided an instructor for all classes to date The American Society of Safety Engineers believes that there is a need for many such courses across the nation Finding qualified instructors is one of the chief obstacles Since the aluminum hydraulic shoring process has become popular only within the last six years there is a shortage of qualified instructors to teach these classes Farm safety program May and June have been designated as Farm Transportation and Water Safety months respec tively by the Department of Agriculture in a special round campaign to encourage farm safety prac tices The program according to Under Secretary J. Philip Campbell is being coordinated with the National Safety Council and will place special emphasis on the Occupational Safety and Health Act provisions The monthly observances got under way in March with emphasis on the safe use of agricultural chemicals Other special programs scheduled include July sonal protective equipment vacation safety September program October safety and fire prevention November safety and December and holiday safety Safety Standards Lane I ee ee ee eo ee ee et T we Lt eet hy eR bg ML Spt eee tee ate ate ee eae ee Sia ek dna ne a ve Ren ree tee Rew he tate A OO Eee Bee Kel te Ont Nee _ etl tee ae Labor Safety Award deadline The National Safety Council reminds all union members that the deadline for applications for its Labor Safety Awards is July 1 1972. Individual union members as well as unions are eligible The awards are given for outstanding work in such activities as establishing safety programs initiating joint managementunion meetings and promoting safety activities Write to the National Safety Council 425 N. Michigan Avenue Chicago Illinois 60611 for information and for the brochure Safety Awards Program for Organized Labor Old adage safety twist In a recent speech at the Union Gas Confer ence Charles H. Tupper director of safety for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers summed up the common responsibility for safety when he remarked We have met the enemy and he is us the us part of this adage is labor and management combined Tupper also advised the union members to understand and use intelligently and with discernment the important protections and rights which are provided for workers by the Act Field first aid unit saves lives Two construction workers seriously injured in a fall from the top of a power plant addition owe their lives < to prompt treatment from the Navy medic who mans we a equipped first trailer on the job site eS Operated by Power Systems Inc. the 10 by 28 foot athe custom trailer is one of three field units currently in use on the company's construction sites The trailer contains equipment not usually found in a first center cardiac monitor a wide range of emergency respiratory and orthopedic gear intravenous solutions and a variety of emergency drugs These extras made a difference to the men who fell to the ground and lived to tell about it The immediate availability of intravenous eae z Mtr es ; aE ge em Aker METAR Dt issae Ne Bey : ENED infusions and drugs was a key factor in their survival The purchase of priced medical equipment was made possible in part by savings realized by improvising other items An examination and treatment table was made from scrap materials at the site Hangers for intravenous infusions and irrigation solutions and spinal support boards for the transportation of persons with back and neck injuries are other home made items Economical aluminum baking trays with snap oe Aarts,ae ial Ta EE xt a 4 tty tA a pas 3S A] * oer oe i i H vety awon = = | plastic covers substitute for expensive stainless steel containers as protective holders for instruments and medicines Power Systems states that an enlightened safety program is necessarily augmented by enlightened firstaid coverage for employees Companies interested in exchanging ideas on first facilities may write to Power Systems Inc. 600 West Jackson Boulevard Chicago Illinois 60606 o> a Ingenuity cut costs The treatment table icus improvised from scrap material on the job site Savings went into the purchase of sophisticated medical equipment and supplies June 1972 : 27 2 Ren eretge mere owe ee ewe ck re OAD Thee Tees re FD mr rere rat ater BEES pe Cente terete en etmnigmmenne ett SF ne en raw ocee ON ee ee ee Timetable set for changes in standards A timetable for 46 proposed changes in standards affecting the workplace environment has been announced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA The timetable calls for changes in 31 standards by the end of 1972 fiscal year June 30 1972 and an additional 15 by the midpoint of fiscal 1973 December 31 1972 The changes are key parts of a phase program of standards development by the OSHA Office of Standards under Acting Director Gerard F. Scannell The first phase involves correction of typographical errors and similar nonsubstantive items found in the Initial standards published in 1971. The second phase clarifies adopted national consensus standards and revokes some provisions because of their discrimina- tory nature or because they conflict with other parts of the standards The third phase involves adopting new standards developed either by national consensus standards organizations or by the Department under procedures of the Williams Act Assistant Secretary of Labor George C. Guenther said We are announcing the schedule for these proposed changes so as to inform interested parties of OSHA's intentions Due to the complex technical nature of many of the standards the timetable cannot be considered absolute but reflects our best estimate of what can be accomplished during the balance of 1972. Among the proposed changes are the following fi Amending the construction section for over protective structures for vehicles @ Making technical changes and corrections in sections affecting powered platforms manlifts and vehiclemounted platforms and compressed gas and compressed air equipment @ Adding new sections on protective helmets for electrical workers slings uniform traffic control devices exists sprinklers foam mechanical power transmission guarding bakery equipment and floating cranes and derricks Adding new sections on woodworking machinery oil burning equipment ovens and furnaces and installation of gas appliances Adopting the 1971 Threshold Limit Values of the American Congress of Governmental Industrial Hygienists on toxic substances and noise replacing 1968 and 1970 levels 28 Promulgating an asbestos standard to replace the emergency standard issued December 7 1971 Amending the construction standards to correct conflicts duplications and technical errors including those on catch platforms and scaffold heights fi Completing a section on electrical transmission and distribution lines and equipment including specific standard for the electrical utility industry @ Bringing sections of the general industry standards and the construction standards into conformity fiAdding a section on installation of gas piping and gas equipment on industrial premises Bringing maritime standards into conformity with other standards where like hazards are covered @ Adding sections on longshoring on the docks diving operations and workmen's hoists @ Revoking the ban on pump scaffolding fi@ Adding amendments on tunneling to the construc- tion standards fi Resolving differences on scaffold requirements @ Adopting a new standard on bis chloromethyl ether fiAdding parts of a new consensus standard on machine guarding for woodworking machinery and on work in confined spaces @ Adding new sections on dredging and local ex- haust systems Promulgating in coordination with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health standards on two of the OSHA Target Health Hazards carbon monoxide and silica States receive planning grants Fourteen states have received 978,725 to assist them in developing their own job safety and health programs George C. Guenther Assistant Secre tary of Labor for OSHA announcing the grants said these awards bring the total federal allocation to date to 5.68 million The allocations involve federal funds of up to 90 percent of the total cost of the projects which is being started immediately Participation by Hawaii and Nevada brings to 48 plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico the number of states receiving grants for assessing their occupational safety and health needs and preparing a state plan Section 18 of the Williams Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 provides for states to Safety Standards ome ep ope er oe e ee et oe GR OP arr re eeS s pt pe ren rea ree ere - - Bre Nm we 6-0 . Be ent Le re en ett ee Ee eee ny eee mene tA eT ena nee tee Meee ae eee ae NR ee Ee Oe eee! EL beeen eine e Reem tree oe temnedint naan Sa tee assume operation of their own programs and Section 18 lists the criteria to be met by states wishing to submit their plans to the Department of Labor for approval Following are the grants awarded fiAlabama a 72,418 amendment to its original grant for developing an 18 plan Alaska 157,130 to develop compliance procedures for the state's three hazard industries construction logging and wood products and petroleum and pipeline to prepare legislative action for support of a plan and to prepare an acceptable plan under Section 18 fiCalifornia 105,781 for data collection code comparison and legal analysis basic for its plan under Section 18 fi Hawaii three grants 34,590 to develop a management information system 62,272 to catalogue standards and develop a plan and 15,468 to prepare legislative actions in support of a plan Illinois 27,630 to continue work in such areas as local authority emption measurement of its effectiveness and related standards @ Maine 74,997 to continue developing its plan for including state and local employees under Section 18 @ Mississippi a 89,229 amendment to its original grant to continue developing an 18 plan @ Montana 32,278 to review fire hazards and how to combat them and to integrate the results of this study into development of its state plan ' Nebraska two grants 52,000 to assess its needs in developing an enforcement program under the Act 37,102 to identify and evaluate occupational health hazards in the state @ Nevada 72,458 to determine its needs and responsibilities in order to develop its state plan @ New Jersey 6,922 to determine personnel requirements for enforcement and legal services and 41,808 to integrate other current and completed projects into a state plan @ Texas a 1,758 amendment to an earlier grant @ Washington 47,569 to evaluate farm workers exposures to occupational health hazards Wisconsin 47,215 to continue developing its state plan . . Construction standards amended three amendments to the original construction standards issued April 17 1971 have become effective George C. Guenther Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health said The amend- ments are the result of written comments and oral testimony received from interested persons and asso- ciations such as the Associated General Contractors the June 1972 National Association of Homebuilders and the National Construction Association recommendations of the OSHA Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and of course our own considerations The amendments include new rules for medical serv- ices safety belts safety nets temporary heating devices switches rigging equipment excavation and trenching requirements Grants for data gathering Virginia and West Virginia are the first states to receive OSHA grants to assist them in funding studies of work injuries and illnesses The information obtained from the studies part of the national data gathering project will be used to encourage the development of state safety and health programs and help establish Industry standards for job safety and health Decision on around pay In a decision interpreting the Williams Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 Assistant Secretary of Labor George C. Guenther has concluded that Mobil Oil Corporation did not discriminate against employees when it refused to pay them for time they spent with federal safety and health inspectors in a walkaround inspection Guenther based his decision on a legal opinion by the Solicitor of the Labor Department Richard F. Schubert Under the Act an authorized representative of employees must be given the opportunity to accompany the federal inspector Mobil provided this opportunity but refused to pay the employees for the time they spent on the around ; The law forbids discrimination against employees because of their exercise of rights provided by the Act The case reached Guenther when the Oil Chemical and Atomic Workers Union OCAW alleged that Mobil's refusal to pay for the around time constituted discrimination forbidden by the Act OCAW's argument was that any employer's refusal to pay employees for around time is discriminatory The opinion rejects this argument concluding that employees in the around were not engaged in regular work and that Mobil refused to pay them not . because of the around but because they were not working The opinion also concludes that around time is not compensable working time under the Fair Labor Standards Act The legal opinion states that some cases where dis- crimination is alleged would be more appropriately handled by use of arbitration provisions of collective bargaining agreements Such cases would Include disputes over the interpretation of the bargain- ing agreement Oo 29 pret ne RI A EN ee etme 5 pom Sohne eeOe ee et ee ee wore es ete te Sree oe Fh FN ye tae ae tadena we y > arb eye erent Some otael ee -- - -- - ee nt iioo i air - od : o> TEt eeae ess . haSitned xo ke Mae a Ae ST The job of erecting the New York skyline was accomplished at great risk to some of the employees Involved This 1895 drawing shows construction workers on the steel girders of the American Surety Company Building In the distance are the Produce Exchange the Manhattan Life Building and the Trinity Church Spire Underfoot are ropes and tools carelessly strewn about The poor housekeeping increases the danger of slipping and falling a platform 20 stories above street level The working platform lacks guard rails to protect the men from such falls They are vulnerable also to objects falling from above A falling wrench for example would strike an unprotected head rather than a hard hat Today no construction worker needs to accept such risks to do his job OSHA standards require the use of protective clothing Not only hard hats but also safety goggles shoes and gloves reduce the risk of personal injury The standards also require that every sided platform six feet or more above the ground be guarded by railing equipped with a toe board to keep the equipment as well as the employees from falling Safety belts and nets provide further safeguards to protect the employee on the job Safety Standards eH RGISEM 7 RUD NS UNE Po Aa * PELE Fee ne WNT earn OaCeti rare agian in gHe ww. vee + News from NIOSH % New curriculum focuses on safety and health Under a contract with the National Institute for A page instructional sheet to use i iling a request is available from the NIOSH Division of for Occupational Safety and Health NIOSH Auburn University in Auburn Alabama is designing new undergraduate and graduate curriculum in occupational mation 5600 Fishers Lane Rockville Md 24 857 ad ad Services from the NIOSH Division of Technical Services 1011 Broadway Cincinnati Ohio 45202 Forms alway alway alway be safety and health This program is part of the NIOSH effort to help supply enough qualified safety and health professionals to meet the growing needs of industry and government obtained from the ten NIOSH regional offices Government Center John F. Kennedy Federal Person 3:Person Person 26 Boston Mass 02203 Region II Federal BurningBurning Federal Plaza New York N.Y. 10017 Region :: :404101 The curriculum developed by Auburn is the first of North Broad Street Philadelphia 1910 RRegion egRegiioRneogionn Region its kind The program offers students the opportunity to enter an established industrial engineeringand to focus on occupational safety and health The new emphasis is made possible by requiring students to take 30 hours of courses in safety and health in place of the electives previously open to them The new courses include occupational accident prevention occupational hygiene engineering occupational safety and and health laboratory design for hazard reduction introduction to acoustics and noise control IV 50 Seventh St. N.E. Atlanta Ga 303231 . r V 300 South Wacker Drive Chicago III 60607& gian Vit 1100 Commerce Street Room 53 Dal _ 75202 Region VII 601 East 12th Street Kang . Mo. 64106 Region VIII 19th Stout Stree . Federal Building Denver Colo 80202 Region A Fulton Street 254 Federal Office Building San Fran cisco Calif 94102 RegionX 1321 Second = 19706 Arcade Building Seattle Wash 98101 The industrial engineering student who elects this Appointments made ~ program will be trained to evaluate workplace condi- Edward J. Baier began his appointment as " hy. tions and loss potential factors He will also be quali- Director on February 22 1972. Baier former ta fied to design and implement occupational safety Director of the Bureau of Mine and Occupational th programs and health controls In January 1972 the in- and Safety of the Pennsylvania Department of E re enrolled dustrial engineering department in the new program 22 students mental Resources He is a director of the Am Board of Industrial Hygiene and a past chairman In addition the Industrial Engineering Department at Auburn is planning a master's degree program that American Conference of Governmental chaIirman nd Hygienists As Deputy Director Baier willassist Noy also will concentrate on occupational safety and health overall direction and management of NIOSHopere 2 Alfred C. Blackman formerly managing director < Tracking down the hazards NIOSH regional offices will respond to written re- the American Society of Safety Engineers has besbes appointed Assistant Director for Safety at OOS S quests for a hazards evaluation of workplace substances Blackman reports directly to NIOSH Director Marcas Marcas M. suspected of having toxic effects An employer or an Key and is responsible for providing guidance und authorized employee representative may request the evaluation An employee representative is defined as a coordination for the Institute's role in occupat ~ <' safety collective bargaining representative or a person with at least two other written employee authorizations or one Permanent asbestos standard proposed employee from establishments where three or fewer workers are employed After receiving the request for a hazards evaluation the regional office will send an industrial hygienist to the worksite to analyze the toxicity of the substance in question Some requests could result in medical exami nations or new toxicity studies on animals If the substance is toxic NIOSH will recommend to the Secretary of Labor an environmental limit to control the exposure Exposure NIOSH recently issued Occupational Asbestos a page document containingcriscirisi to for a recommended standard The study recomments recomments recomments ci that employees not be exposed to an average grea than 2.0 asbestos fibers per cubic centimeter cc air for an eight weighted concentration I also recommends that peak concentration not exc d 10.0 fibers as determined by a minimum samping time of 15 minutes samping June 1972 tat ae MIT,A UE Ay Be IE ne te ae SS EL IS NITE , Tree nee fe fee ~ Smet a ke ' wed wes re hee 4 Baby et : 5 * a . . ; : 4 ard : o : - is Tk wet 7 aa id a . aRS; { j -_ Publications Federal Register Listed below are recent issues of the FEDERAL REGISTER which contain information about the Occupational Safety and Health Act Copies of the FEDERAL REGISTER are on file at all Federal Depository Libraries Single copies may _ be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents - Government Printing Office Washington D.C. 20402 at . 20 per copy Subscriptions are available at 25 per year Standards Industry 'Vol 37 No. 14. pp 929-931 January 21 1972 - Chapter XVII Part Coverage of Employers Under 9. the Williams Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Contains purpose and scope basis of authority 35 extent of coverage of the Act ; Construction a @ Vol 37 No. 32 pp 8431 February 17 1972 Chapter XVII Part Occupational Safety and Health Regula- tions for Construction and Part Safety and Health Regulations for Construction Updates and clarifies provisions concerning the applicability of certain electrical . - standards @ Vol 37 No. 33 pp 3512-20 February 17. 1972 Title 20 Parts 1910 and Contains background information pertaining to miscellaneous amendments to construction safety standards @ Vol 37 No. 38 p 3989 February 25 1972 Part 1926- Safety and Health Regulations for Construction Corrects FEDERAL REGISTER issue of February 17. 1972 concerning * hazardous locations Miscellaneous . t vv @ Vol 37 No. 36 p 3830 February 23. 1972 29 CFR Part Contains information ou proposed limit on maximum allowable capacity of glass and plastic con* tainers for certain Class 1A and Class LE flammable liquids @ Vol 37 No. 3S p 3902. February 25 1972. 29 CFR " Part Standard for Exposure to Asbestos Dust Con1 tains supplement to Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Standards 'Vol 37 No. 16 pp 1146-48 January 25 1972. Notice of Application for Variance and Interim Order Rust Engineering Co. et al Concerns request for a variance and interim order pertaining to personnel hoists and boatswains chairs a Vol 37 No. 41 p 4312 March 1 1972. Concerns petitions filed by American Society for Testing and Mate- sarials for acceptance as a nationally recognized standard- producing organization producing Vol 7 No. 48. pp 5198-99 March 10. 1972 Notice of Application for Variance and Interim Order PPG In- dustries Inc. Concerns an application for a variance and Interim order pertaining to the specifications for accident prevention signs and tags 32 32 3 OSHA Publications Copies of the following are avallable in limited quantities They can be obtained free from OSHA regional offices ad- dresses will be found on inside front cover unless other- wise stated Compliance Manual Contains guidelines for OSHA regional and area personnel to follow in implementing the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 procedures for processing contested cases with the Review Commission and information regarding citations proposed penalties and other OSHA activities Available from U.S. Government Print- ing Office Washington D.C. for 2.00 Fact Sheet for Small Businesses on Obtaining Compliance Loans Outlines the procedures for small businesses to follow in order to obtain OSHA assistance in applying for Small Business Administration loans to help them meet OSHA standards Handy Reference Guide Pocket page guide to the Act describing its coverage purpose penalties and other items every employer should know 20 a copy from Government Printing Office Washington D.C. 20402 Inspection A SAFETY STANDARDS reprint describing the procedures followed by an OSHA compliance officer inspecting an establishment for safety problems 100 Questions and Answers About OSHA Answers the 100 frequently questions about OSHA Contains sections on compliance standards recordkeeping state programs and several other categories OSHA's Recordkeeping Requirements A reprint of a SAFETY STANDARDS interview with Thomas J. McArdle the Assistant Commissioner Bureau of Labor Statistics who talks about the OSHA recordkeeping system and why it was needed The Safe Use of Anhydrous Ammonia Describes the injury potential of anhydrous ammonia fertilizer Also contains information on precautions to take to prevent accidents and what to do if an accident occurs Safety and Health Training Resources Handbook A page reference book published by the Federal Safety Advisory Council covering safety and health training programs and waterials 1.25 per copy from the Government Printing Office Washington D.C. 20402 Setting New Standards for Job Safety and Health A SAFETY STandaros reprint outlining the procedure developing new safety standards or updating old ones for The Target Industries Profiles of Five Hazardous Occupations safety A repriut of the SAFETY STANDARDS series on the of the fire target with high industries problems rates Industries discussed are long- frequency shoring meat processing Iumber and wood products man- ufacturing mobile homes and rooing and sheet metal Safety Standards TE Rene mer ee ee eee Smt ee are Cee ~ were ' eet oeconnie ne ne e rt ee anes ee ee em ee NIOSH Publications Single coples of the following are available free from the Office of Public Information National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 1014 Broadway Cincinnati Ohio 45202 Annual List of Toxic Substances 1971 Provides a convenient reference source for potentially hazardous materials and serves as a guide for research needed in setting new occupational health standards Criteria for a Recommended Standard Occupational Exposure to Asbestos Recommends methods of controlling worker exposures to asbestos and sets the limit required to prevent asbestosis and to guard against asbestos cancers Occupational Disease Silent Enemy A pamphlet covering general aspects of occupational diseases Available in quantity Occupational Health Kit Basic reference material of NIOSH concerning the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 Occupational Health Services for Employees A Guide for State and Local Governments Designed for officials seeking information about the content of occupational health programs and activities of other government agencies and to stimulate greater interest in health needs of government workers Publications on Occupational Health Careers Announcement of Courses Division of Training National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Public Health Service 1014 Broadway Cincinnati Ohio 45202 Community Health Nursing for Working People Public Health Service No. 1296. Rev. 1970 Office of Public Information National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 1014 Broadway Cincinnati Ohio 45202 The Extended Role of the Nurse in Occupational Mental Health Programs Nursing Series Bulletin No. 3-71 Industrial Health Foundation Inc. 5231 Centre Ave. Pittsburgh Pa 15232 Directory of Approved Allied Medical Educational Programs Council on Medical Education American Medical Association 535 North Dearborn St. Chicago Ill 60610 Horizons Unlimited A handbook describing rewarding career opportunities in medicine and allied fields Ninth edition 1971 American Medical Association 535 North Dearborn St. Chicago Ill 60610 Occupational Health Content in Baccalaureate Nursing Education Public Health Service No. 17SS Office of Public Information National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 1014 Broadway Cincinnati Ohio 45202 Physician Support Personnel in the 70's New Concepts American Medical Association 535 North Dearborn St. Chicago Ill 60610 Public Health Nursing in Industry Public Health Service No. 1788 Office of Public Information National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 1014 Broadway Cincinnati Ohio 45202 June 1972 Selected Training Programs for Physician Support Personnel Education National Institute of Health Bureau of Health Manpower Division of Manpower Intelligence Bethesda Journals on Occupational Healthi American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal School of Public Health University of Michigan Arbor Mich 48104. Monthly 20.00 per year Aun American Journal of Public Health American Public Health Association 1015 Eighteenth St. N.W. Washington D.C. 20036. Monthly 20.00 per year Annals of Occupational Hygiene The British Occupational Hygiene Society Fairview Park Elmsford N.Y. 10523. Quarterly 35.00 per year Archives of Environmental Health American Medical Association 535 North Dearborn St. Chicago III 60610. Monthly 12.00 per year British Journal of Industrial Medicine British Medical Association Tavistock Square WC1 England Quarterly 12.00 per year London Journal of the American Medical Association American Medical Association 535 North Dearborn Chicago Ill 60610. Weekly 23.00 per year St Journal of Industrial Psychology P.O. Box 969 Easton Md 21601. Quarterly 12.00 per year Journal of Occupational Medicine Industrial Medical Association 55 East Washington St. Chicago Ill 60602. Monthly 16.00 per year Occupational Health Nursing The American Association of Industrial Nurses 79 Madison Ave. New York N.Y. 10016. Monthly 10.00 per year Enclosed find $ check money order or Superintendent of Documents coupons for one year subscription to SAFETY STANDARDS at 1.00 a year 1.25 if mailed to foreign address Name Company Address City State & ZIP Mail to SAFETY STANDARDS Superintendent of Documents U.S. Government Printing Office Washington C. 20402 | Please make checks / money orders payable to | Superintendent of Documents | Fey ere te * ae em re ee ae Me a ee ce ee see _ ae