Document 444RD447VKkE7aoQQavRvoyR1

FILE NAME: National Safety Council (NSC) DATE: 1933 Oct DOC#: NSC237 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Transactions of the NSC - 22nd Annual Safety Congress 1933 TRANSACTIONS National Safety Council Incorporated TWENTY-SECOND ANNUAL SAFETY CONGRESS Chicago, Illinois October 2 to October 6, 1933 The Stevens Hotel Cof- ,ri//hl, National Safety Council, Inc. Plan of Publication T H E TR A N SA C TIO N S of the Twenty-second Congress of the National Safety Council are published in two vol umes. The first, containing the General, the General Subject, and the Industrial Section sessions, is supplemented by a smaller volume containing the sessions of the Street and H ighway Traffic Section, the Child Education Section, and Home Safety. T H E LARGE G ENERAL volume is being sent automatically to the Industrial members of the Council; the smaller volume is sent automatically to members who are be lieved to be chiefly interested in those sessions. It may also be secured on request by other Council members. TH E PLA N OF PUBLICATIO N is the same as that adopted for the sessions of the Twenty-first Congress and found to be very satisfactory. It is a condensed rec ord. The papers of each session or division of the Congress have been assembled, edited with care and disc nment to ab breviate or delete the less essential portions, and the concise re sults are presented for study and reference. Although not "complete" in the sense that every word is reproduced, it is a readable, interesting record which emphasizes the memorable parts of each paper and address. The original manuscripts are ou file in the Council Library, available for additional reference as desired. ALTHO UG H TH E National Safety Council endeavors to eli minate from discussion at its conventions matters which are not pertinent to its purposes or which are contrary to its policies, the Council cannot accept responsibility for the views expressed either in the papers presented or the discussions thereon. 2 Council O fficers Council Purpose Annual M eeting Banquet and Di Subject Sessions A ccident R Derm atitis D ust Proble F alls of Pe: Fire Preven H andling M H oisting Ch M aintaining Practical M Industrial 1 Safety Equi Safety Orga Safe U se of Safe U se of The E ye am Mental Training Accident Preven Aeronautical Se A. S. S. E .--Enj Autom otive and Cement Section Chemical Sectioi Construction Se Delivery, T axica Electric Railway Food S ection .. Marine Section. Meat Packing, 1 M etals Section. Mining Section. Paper and Pulp Petroleum Sectic Power Press Se Public U tilities ! Quarry Section. Refrigeration Se Rubber Section. Safety Section, i Textile Section.. W oodworking ai Index .................. National Safety Council Incorporated 20 North Wacker Drive, Chicago Honorary Members Association' ok Ikon and Stk.kl Electrical Knoinkkks Robkkt W. Campbk.kl Arthur W illiams O F F IC E R S (1933-1934) John K. Lono, President. Robert I. t ati.in . Vice-President for Public Safety. J F.. ( clunky, V ia-President for KnRincerinR. (i. T. H ki.i.m it ii, \ 'ice-President for Finance. I kw K. P almer. Vice-President for Safety Councils. U. T. Soi.knstkn, Vice-President for Membership. C. W. Smith, Vie-President for Business Administration. (k.or<>k H. W arfkl, Vice President for Industrial Safety. Dk. C. M. W atson, \ 'icc President for Health. A. W, W hitney, Vice-President for Kducation. W. F. Worth, Treasurer. W. 11. Camkuon, ManaRiiiR Director and Secretary. E X E C U T IV E C O M M IT T E E (1933-1934) C. B. Ai cl., Past President. J. 1. Han ash, Past President. C. W Bekoijcist, Past President, F are F. Blank, Metals Section. W. H. Camkron, National Safety Council. Robkkt W, Cammiell, Past President. Robkkt I. Catkin, Aetna Fife Insurance Cuui|>any. J. 1C. Cfi.i.iNKV, Bethlehem Steel Company. Ci.ifkokii Davis, Memphis Safety Council. I.kwis A. D k.Hi.ois, Past President, s f arcus A. Dow, Past President. D. D. Fknnh.k, Chicauo Safety Council. Donai.ii A. Finkhkink.r. Toledo Safety Council. Ilow arb B. Foniia, BnrroitRhs Wellcome & Co. (L'.S.A.) Inc. Otiio M. Graves. The General Crushed Stone Company. H arry Gi ilhert, The Pullman Company. G T. H ki.lmuth. ChicaRo, North Shore ft Milwaukee Railroad H akoi n (. Hoffman. Street & HiRhway Traffic Section. W. D. J amf.s, James ManufacturiitR Company Company. Officers and Directors W alter G. K ing, Past President. Franklin M. Kreml. Evanston Safety Council. C. L. LaFountaine, Great Northern Railway Company. John E. Long, The Delaware & Hudson Railroad Corporation. M. J. McCarthy, Automotive & Machine Shop Section. H enry M ineur, Elizabeth Safety Council. A rthur T. M orey, Past President. B. W . N utt, Accident Prevention Equipment Manufacturers' Section. Lew R. P almer, Equitable. Life Assurance Society. F. M. P epper, Public Utilities Section. C. E. P ettibone, Past President. Albert S. Regula, Industrial Relations Counselors, Inc. I. T. Col. H enry A. Reninger, Past President. John R ussell, Jr., Newark Safety Council. Chas. E. R uth, Delivery, Taxicab & Bus Section. George E. S anford, General Electric Company. H arry A. Schultz, United States Steel Corporation. C harles B. Scott, Past President. Lester D. S eymour, American Airways, Inc. E. L. S imonds, New Haven Safety Council. C. W. S mith, Standard Oil Company (Indiana). R. T. Solenstkn, Elliott Service Company. A rthur M. T ode, Consulting Marine Engineer. C. P. T olman, Past President. George H. W arfel, Union Pacific Railroad Company. D r. C. H. W atson, American Telephone & Telegraph Company. S. L. W hiting, ASSE-Engineering Section. A. W. W hitney, National Bureau of Casualty & Surety Underwriters. W. E. W orth, International Harvester Company. A rthur H. Y oung, Past President. D IR E C T O R S (1933-1934) W illiam F. A rdern, Safety Division, Milwaukee Association of Commerce. P. M. A rthur, Mining Section. J. I. Bana sh , Consulting Engineer. E. A. Barnitz, York Safety Council. Ernest W. B eck, United States Rubber Company. H. W. Beekman, Berkeley Traffic Safety Commission, Ltd. W . A. Bennett, Worcester Safety Council. L. G. Bentley, Richmond Safety Council. C. W. BERGQursT, Western Electric Company. D avid S. Beyer, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. R. W . Black, Petroleum Section. E arl F. Blank, Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation. W arren S. Blanvelt, Troy Safety Council. N athan P. Bloom, Louisville Safety Council. C. F. Borkenhagf.n, Kenosha Safety Council. Col. P hil H. B rockman, St. Louis Safety Count il. 6 'Itecnty-sccond Congress--National Safety Council R. A. Bryant, Safety Division, Syracuse Chamber of Commerce. . W. If. Cameron. National Safety Council. Robert I. Ca t u .v , Aetna Life Insurance Company. I*rank H. Coean. Marine Section. W ill Cooper, Marshall Field & Company. W. E zell Craig, Safety Department, Nashville Chamber of Commerce. J. h.. ( ui.liney, Bethlehem Steel Company. Edward D ana, Boston Elevated Railway, h. A. D avidson, Consulting Engineer. Clifford D avis, Memphis Safety Council. 1<k;hard H . D avis, Blackstone Valley Safety Council. L. \V. D awley, Refrigeration Section. C harles I). D awson, Grand Rapids Safety Council. Lewis A. D eBlois, Consulting Engineer. J ay E. D ecker, Mason City Safety Council. Jv .iES B. Docglas, The Philadelphia Gas Works Company. D r. L oris I. D ublin, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. C harles H. E amf.s, Textile Section. H arry W. E kins, Meat Packing, Tanning & Leather Industries Section. I). D. F ennf.ll, Chicago Safety Council. Ray A. Fin c h , Electric Railway Section. Donald A. F inkbf.iner, Toledo Safety Council. T homas F itzgerald, Western Pennsylvania Safety Council. H oward B. Fonda, Burroughs Wellcome & Co. (U.S.A.) Inc. R. B. Fortuin, Lehigh Valley Safety Council. H. G. Gilson, Paper & Pulp Section D r. T homas W. Gosling, Child Education Section. Otiio M. Graves The General Crushed Stone Company. H arry Guilbert, The Pullman Company. Isaiah H ale, The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company. D. T. H arrington, United States Bureau of Mines. G. T. H illm uth, Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee Railroad Company. C has. E. H ill, New York Central Lines. H arold G. Hoffman, Street & Highway Traffic Section. Claude J. H olding, Albany Safety Council. J ulius W . H orre, Hudson County Safety Council. H arry D. I.aimel, Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry. W. I). James, James Manufacturing Company. A .`L. K af.ms, Power Press Section. K. T Keller, Detroit Industrial Safety Council. Ira V. K epner, Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company. Louis W. K erberg, Woodworking & Lumber Manufacturing Section. F ranklin M. Krf.ml, Evanston Safety Council. C. L. I.aFountaine, Great Northern Railway Company. Leonard C. Lamb, Knoxville Safety Council. F rank J. La na ha n, Fort Pitt Malleable Iron Company. M. G. Lickteig, Eastbay Safety Council. R alph W. Liddle, Employees' Publication Section. D r. R. M. Little, New York Department of Education. 'Sound! e. . micrce. Section. pany. Company. ry. :ction. Officers and Directors L. A I.oiiMAN. Madison Coumy Safety Council. Jon s' E. Long, The Delaware & Hudson Railroad Corporation. H. W. Low, Rubber Section. W. R. Lloyd, Safety Division, Birmingham Chaml>er of Commerce. H. T. Martin, Fisk Rubber Company. F. W. Matson, Minnesota Safety Council. P axton M endelssohn, Detroit. H f.nry M ineur, Elizabeth Safety Council. W. S. Moellering, Ft. Wayne Safety Council. R. B. Morley, Industrial Accident Prevention Associations. M. J. McCarthy, Automotive & Machine Shop Section. Miller McClintock, Harvard University. T. H. McKenney, Illinois Steel Company, South Works. B. W. N utt, Accident Prevention Equipment Manufacturers' Section. John A. Oartel, Carnegie Steel Company. / George C. A. Opp, Detroit Edison Company. Lew R. P almer, Equitable Life Assurance Society. John C. P arker, Brooklyn Safety council. F. M. P epper, Public Utilities Section. C. E. P ettibone, American Mutual Liability Insurance Company. J. B. Power, Seattle Traffic & Safety Council. A lbert S. Regula, Industrial Relations Counselors, Inc. Lt. Col. H enry A. Reninger, Lehigh Portland Cement Company. Marinus Riter, Paterson Safety Council. John Roach, Chemical Section. Charles H. Rcloson, J r., Baltimore Safety Council Tobias Roth, Rochester Safety Council. John Russell, Jr., Newark Safety Council. Ch as. H. R uth , Delivery, Taxicab & Bus Section. G. E, S anford, General Electric Company. H f.xry G. Schaffner, Erie Safety Council. T. A. Schendel, Food Section. Otto Schenk, Wheeling Safety Council. H arry A. Schultz, United States Steel Corporation. C harles B. Scott, Bureau of Safety, Inc. Lf.ster D. S eymour, American Airways, Inc. E arl S. S hartzer, Utica Safety Council. Gen. John H. S herburne, Massachusetts Safety Council. D r. L. A. S houdy, Bethlehem Steel Company. E. L. S imonds, Southern New England Telephone Company. George P. S inger, Reading-Berks County Safety Council. Lee E. Skeel, Cleveland Safety Council. C. W. S mith, Standard Oil Company (Indiana) W. D. S mith. Delaware Safety Council. R. T. Solensten, Elliott Service Company. W. D. S peight, Peoria Safety Council. E. C. S pring, Lansdale, Pa. George R. Stephens, The Safety Bureau, Buffalo Chamber of Commerce. L ucius S. Storrs, United Railways & Electric Company, T W E N T V- $ E CONI ) A N N U A L S A E E T Y C O N O R E S S etc.. N A T / O N A L S A P E T Y C O U N C I L tin. i t'KMakc ssible wit!) dered upany c< >n>r ha* it Imi work Dust Problem in Industry FRIDAY M ORNING SESSION t O ctober 6, 1933 The special session devoted to a discussion of tjvr"<iust problem in industry was called order by J. R. Allan, assistant manager', Industrial Engineering and Con struction Department, International Harvestep'Company, Chicago, who presided. He briefly outlined the purposes of the session dind then presented the first speaker. The Mechanical Control of Dust < ^ " A By E. O. JONES Consultant, National Founders Association, Chicago The speaker said in p a rt: During the last few years, much has been written about the pathological effects of dust. From this material there seems to be some lack of agreement among scientists as to the pathological effects of these types of dust, their dangerous dimensions, the length of time one must be exposed to their inhala tion, the density of concentration which is dangerous, and the extent to which they < are directly causative or contributory to disease. It is unfortunate that in the twilight zone between ethics and non-ethics, there are certain members of the legal and mtdical profession who are willing to take advantage of these uncertainties and capitalize on them largely for their own benefit. When the foundry industry was confronted with the accusation that it harbored a potential health hazard, its leaders immediately took steps to study the problem, with the object of eliciting all the facts and determining upon a course of procedure to eliminate the causation. This study has been under way in some localities for some time, but its procedure presents many difficult problems. The mechanical control of dust is not our only problem, nor does the accomplish ment of such control depend upon large expenditures of money. We know from experience that gradually human ingenuity will provide Ways and means to thi part of the problem. But let us digress from the subject to consider the amount of dust we as indi viduals create. Take .he molder, for instance, who goes to his bench at the start of his day's work. He reaches for his aii hose, and starts the day by removing, with its force everything he can from his equipment. In close proximity to his bench 37 ',,Mi 38 Twenty-second Congress-- National Safety Council or on the window sill in. front of him. you will usually find a varied collection of relies. He will usually wet down his sand pile, but seldom his floor or gangway. When he is through with his shift he usually grabs the air hose and proceeds to take a compressed air bath. And we have the foundry laborer ; he has many menial tasks to perform. When he sweeps or uses a shovel he seems to be of the opinion that his efforts ate judged by the atmosphere he creates. If he does sprinkle the floor it is usually done very sparingly. Shake-out men and crane men seemingly give little attention to the results of their thoughtlessness. Grab buckets are usually lifted to the limit of their lift and then dumped. Many companies have furnished equipment, such as positive pressure helmets and respirators, to employees who work in extremely dusty atmospheres. But it is surprising to note th< apparent lack of interest on the part of the employee for whose protection this equipment is furnished. Front these remarks some may say "Why shift the responsibility?" Not a bit. We have merely cited these few facts as an indication that possibly we can improve IS: the sujiervision. If we maxe every man responsible for the cleanliness in the vicinity in which he works, and every foreman responsible for his department, and then in turn make the superintendent answer for the cleanliness of his shop, we will not have to worry about the increase in labor cost. After dust gets into the atmosphere, it is. of course, very difficult and expensive to remove. Keeping the foundry floor meet exi the equii regularly designed. And w a foundr provided equipmer Our ir For this is our d< wlio havi the actus In the it is imf precautio upon the of all kr hope to to empio industry off the ceiling is a man-size jot). Ventilation is a pi oblem everywhere. A diligent survey of our existing equipment may develop the lact that by small expenditures we can improve conditions. Inspect How t your dust-arresting equipment. See that the rapping device is in order, that the screens are in good condition, we suggest that they are rapped and the hoppers emptied regularly. Repair any leaks in pipes See that the valves close properly. Chutes should be kept in good repair and wher emptying arrestors, respirators should Director, be worn by the men whose duty it is to perform this work. If refuse from the rrestors is not removed at once, keep it in containers or wet down until it is re moved. Afove all. watch your air velocities and make sure you are removing at the source as much of the dust as the equipment was originally designed to do. You pay for the current the motor consumes to operate your suction equipment, therefore !,ei the proper return for that expenditure. Do not store or allow sand to accumulate around your blasting equipment. Make sure you arc receiving the proper air changes in your sandblast rooms. Inspect your ask- to the amount of air purging through. The wearer is prone many limes to just crack or partially open the valve, and when this is done he is not getting the full protection for which' the helmet was designed. We suggest that the helmet be removed from the sandblast room and stored at the end of the day in a dust-tight cabinet, instructing the wearer to clean before re-using. * In your cleaning rooms where tumbling barrels are used, we deal again with air The in disease h subject h extension increashq disability eliminatit the dusti given dus given qu foot of ai that is th velocities. Piping should be diligently inspected and kept in good repair. Make sure traps are jierforming the service they were designed for. It might be well to keep floors in this department wet down. Remove the day's accumulation of refuse at the et d of the day's run. When cyclones are used, make sure you are not exhausting at the level of windows which may be opened in other parts of your plant. We will have to look for further co-operation from the foundry equipment manu facturers who serve our industry. Equipment will have ` i be sold to us net to Many i and it m African i pheric di early as Dust Problem in Industry 39 meet existing codes, but as dust-tight as human ingenuity can design them. After the equipment is installed, it will be the purchaser's responsibility to see that it is regularly inspected and maintained to perform the service for which it was originally designed. And we refer again to the employee's responsibility. When he elects to work in a foundry, he should be willing to co-operate and wear the safety devices which are provided by his employer, and it will be the purchaser's responsibility to see that the equipment is well eared for and properly maintained. Our industry is a basic one and we hope that it will long continue to be essential. For this reason we want to assure those who are sitting on the side lines that it is our determination and hope that, with the help of those in the medical profession who have given so generously of their time in scientific study, we can soon determine the actual extent of the hazard. In the meantime, while many diverse opinions are being brought into agreement, it is imperative that we give more than passive assent to suggested measures of precaution or improvement. The accomplishment of worth white results depends upon the diligent and active co-operation of everyone concerned and the utilization of all kr..jwn means of prevention and conti ol. Only through united effort can we hope to accomplish an effective program which will give maximum of advantage to employers and employees alike, and to such an end we are confident the foundry industry will continue to dedicate its earnest and conscientious efforts. How to Determine the Dust Content of the Atmosphere in Dusty Industries (Ji t By DR. E. G. M EITER Director, Industrial Hygiene Laboratory, Employers Mutual Liability Insurance Co., Milwaukee, Wia. The importance of atmospheric dust as an agent in the causation of respiratory disease has long been known. However, it is only within the last few years that this subject has achieved medical and legal importance in dusty industries. Because of the extension of compensation laws to include occupational diseases, and through an everincreasing number of legal suits against industrial concerns by employees claiming disability due to dust inhalation, there is need for a severe attack on the problem of eliminating or otherwise combating the dust hazard. In order to intelligently control the dustiness of the air, the amount of dust present must be determined. With a given dust, two factors are usually considered; (1) the number of dust particles in a given quantity of air, which is usually expressed in millions of particles per cubic foot of air; (2) particle-size, usually expressed in a size frequency distribution curve, that is the percentage less than stated size is plotted against the size of particles. Instruments Used for Determining Atmospheric Dusts Many instruments have been devised for determining the dust concentration in air and it may be well to give a brief historical review of this subject. The South African investigators began using the sugar tube method for the sampling of atmos pheric dust in 1911; the same method was used by the U. S. Bureau of Mines as early as 1914. By this method a measured volume of the dust air is passed through 40 Twenty-second Congress--National Safety Council a tube containing granulated sugar, which filters out the suspended dust. At the laboratory-, the sugar is dissolved in water and the number of dust particles are deter mined by counting those in a small volume of the sugar solution under a microscope. This method of dust sampling had certain disadvantages, the chief of which was the fait that th purest commercial sugar contained a certain quantity of dust, which introduced considerable errors, especially in those samples containing a low dust concentration. To overcome the limitations of the sugar tube method various other devices were developed, one of which was the Palmer apparatus. This apparatus consisted essentially of a pear-shaped glass bulb, the lower end of which terminated in a U-tube or trap. Suction was applied to the glass bulb by means of an electric exhaust fan and the volume of air measured by means of a Petot tube. Dust-free dis tilled water was put into the U-tube. The air drawn through the water in the trap broke it up into a spray within the larger i>ortion of the sampling bulb, which washed out and retained the dust. Tlte dust so obtained was analyzed by the usual methods. The Palmer apparatus also had certain disadvantages, the chief of which was that its efficiency as a dust catcher was low. In the search for a more portable type of in strument, which at the sa-ne time would yield rapid results, the South African in vestigators introduced in 1.916 a new instrument known as the Kotze konimeter. The konimeter samples dust by impinging a small volume of air against the surface of a vaseline-coated glass plate, the vaseline serving to catch the dust particles. The dust retained on the glass plate was then counted under the microscope at a suitable magni fication. The chief disadvantages of the konimeter are that in atmospheres containing a high concentration of dust, the spots are too dense to allow counting the individual particles and the method can, therefore, not be used in such cases, also many samples had to be taken to secure a correct average determination in places where the dust concentration was variable. As a result of the different methods of dust determination being used by the differ ent governmental bureaus and others, it was so-' found that the various dust-sampling methods did not yield absolute results, consequently some confusion arose in inter preting the various dust studies. In order to arrive at some basis of comparison the U. S. Bureau of Mines conducted a laboratory study of dust-sampling instruments. The results of this study were puL'ished in Public Health Bulletin No. 144 entitled "Comparative Tests of Instruments for Determining Atmospheric Dusts." (1925) During the course of this study two of the investigators, Dr. L. Greenburg and G. \V. Smith, devised a new apparatus called the impinger. In the comparative study the dust coUrcting efficiency of the impinger was found to be high, and in addition the method offered several advantages over previous methods. After several modifica tions to meet special requirements, this instrument was adopted by the Federal Public Health Service and Bureau of Mines as the standard technique for the sampling of dust in air. The instrument has been used in the study of a number of dust trades, and is the commonly accepted method in use today. Size of Dust Particles Taken into the Lungs It has been observed from a study of silicotic lungs that most of the dust particles that have penetrate i into the air sacs are less than 10 microns in longest dimension (1 micron is l/1000th of a millimeter, or 1/2500th of an inch). It is generally agreed, therefore, that we need not bother with particles larger than 10 microns in measuring the concentration of a dangerous dust So that you may visualize the size of these small particles consider a 280 mesh V 11 the deterwcope. as the which dust other aratus linated lectric ec disle trap cashed icthods. that its of incan in- The ce of a We dust nagniitaining lividual uunples We dust differimpling i interson the uments. entitled (1925) rg and e study tion the todifica- Public jling of trades. larticles mension agreed, asuring V) mesh Dust Problem in Industry 41 screen in which the screen openings arc 50 microns. In the absence of a beam of light, an atmosphere containing these tiny particles will appear clear to the naked eye, and therefore is extremely deceptive. Only a powerful microscope can make such particles directly visible. It is necessary, therefore, to make a microscopical examination of the atmosphere to learn how badly polluted it may be. Larger particles such as are visible to the naked eye are essentially harmless in the causation of silicosis, as these are caught by the membranes provided by nature in the nasal and other respiratory passages and are eventually coughed up or eliminated before any damage is done. When small dust particles are dispersed in air, they are carried about like smoke and settle out very slowly. How long such particles will remain suspended in quiet air can be roughly determined from Stoke's law. Assuming a round particle to be one micron in diameter, it can be calculated by means of this law that such a particle will fall only 20.3 feet in 24 hours. It can be seen, therefore, that any fine dust dis persed into the air is not only a momentary hazard but remains in the air for an indefinite period. This fact is often overlooked by workmen, as it is usually assumed that as soon as the dust cloud is no longer visible all dust has settled out. The term "dusty working place" is only a relative one. Most air, both inside and outside of factories, contains some dust. It is, therefore, necessary to adopt a standard content for the dividing line between slightly dusty and dusty working places. The Wisconsin dust code prescribes a "tentative figure of 15 million countable dust par ticles under 10 microns in longest dimension with free silica content of 35 per cent in a cubic foot of air as determined by Public Health Service technique. Variations in free silica content will make proportioral inverse changes in this standard." In ac cordance with this standard the permissible count for practically pure silica would be 5,250,000 particles. How Dust Samples are Collected As mentioned previously, the instrument used in collecting the dust samples is that known as the "Impinger." With this instrument the air to be sampled is drawn through a glass tube and impinged at a high velocity on a glass plate which is im mersed beneath a suitable liquid contained in the collecting flask. The impinger, therefore, combines the principle of collecting dust by impingement with a water-washing or bubbling method and so'possesses the advantages of both principles. The dust is thus trapped and remains in the collecting liquid. Suction is applied to the impinger by means of a steam ejector operated by compressed air. Where compressed air is not available, a smalt electrically-operated vacuum pump may be used. The rate of air flow is measured either by means of a small vacuum gage or an orifice-type flow meter. The entire apparatus is calibrated before use against a standard gas meter, so that a known volume of air may be sampled. The rate of sampling is approximately one cubic foot of air per minute. The dust-collecting device is placed in close proximity to the breathing level of the workmen involved while performing their respective duties, so that air samples representing actual working conditions may be obtained. After a sufficient volume of dust-laden air has been sampled, the collecting liquid is placed in a suitable container and removed to the laboratory for the necessary analysis. When the dust sample reaches the laboratory, the entire sample is filtered into a clean graduated flask through a 289-mesh screen so that only particles smaller than 50 microns are permitted to pass; particles larger than 50 microns are not considered 42 Twenty-second Congress--National Safety Council injurious and are, therefore, removed from the sample. After proper dilution, the contents of the graduated flask are thoroughly shaken so that a uniform suspension is obtained, and two portions of about one cubic centimeter are removed with a pipette to just fill two Sedgwick-Rafter counting cells. The cells arc allowed to stand at least 20 minutes and the dust particles are then counted by means of a microscope. The microscope with an Abbe condenser is provided with an eyepiece micrometer, a 16-millimeter objective and a 7.X eyepiece. The eyepiece micrometer has a large square engraved on it, and this squat e is divided into 100 squares, one of which is fur ther divided into 25 smaller squares. The proper tube length of the microscope is determined by calibration with a stage micrometer, so that a side of the large square of the eyepiece covers 1 millimeter (1,000 microns). The large square of the eyepiece micrometer, therefore, encloses the dust in an area of one square millimeter, and since the counting cell is one millimeter deep, all the dust suspended in one cubic millimeter of the sample is under the ruled field. All particles visually less than 10 microns in longest diameter in one quarter of the field arc cotinted at five points or the cell, namely, near t'.x four corners and the center. Two cells of each dust sample are counted and the average of 10 counts is obtained. Control counts arc subtracted from the average sample counts, giving finally, average net counts of the number of particles which are then calculated in terms of particles per cubic fx>t of air sampled. Having determined the concentration of dust particles less than 10 microns in diam eter in a given atmosphere, it is alr.i necessary to obtain information regarding the mineral composition of the dust before any evaluation of the health hazard can be made. In general it may he said that the harmfulness of a quartz containing dust is usually in direct proportion to its free-silica (SiOs> content. It is, therefore, neces sary to distinguish between "free silica", that is the silica that occurs as quartz, and "combined silica", or the silica that is combiner with other elements in the various silicate minerals. It should be borne in mind, therefore, that the total silica reported in the customary chemical analysis is no measure of the amount of free silica. The quartz content of fine dusts is usually determined fc> a combination of petrographic and chemical methods. Each dust presents individual problems and no individual technique applies to all dusts regardless of their composition. Those nte-csted in this problem should consult Reprint No. 1560 of the Public Health Re ports. February 24. 1933. entitled "The Quantitative Determination of Quartz (free silica) in Dusts" bv Adolph Knopf. Professor of Physical Geology, Yale University, and Consultant, United States Public Health Service. K t L J 'U Discussion of Dust Problems c f f By DR. LEONARD OREENBURQ . Y ak University, New Haven, Conn. The speaker said in p a rt: On the technical side of this problem you have been presented with two excellent patters by Mr. Jones and Dr. Meitcr. There is little that I should add from this point of view. Perhaps the most valuable contribution tliat I can make is to present to you my own personal view of the broader adminis trative aspects of this problem gained as a result of many years of close contact. In order to do this, let us analyze the problem in its simplest terms. , :he ' lion th a d to of a etcr, arse fur>c is uarc i an , nil All field x. lined. erage tides 'iain4 the m he ist is leces, and rious nrted n of id no 'hose , Re(free rsity, lieen little ution ini.sita-'t. Dust Problem in Industry 43 We may begin by agreeing that pulmonary fibrosis results from the inhalation of certain dusts in known concentration over a sufficient period of time. This fact has been demonstrated repeatedly by means of industrial, laboratory and pathological studies. On this simple fact, I take it, there is complete agreement. Such legitimate cases of disabling pulmonary fibrosis are held in many states to be the responsibility of the employer. Further, a perusal of the compensation laws makes it evident that there exists a decided trend in the direction of broadening the compensation acts throughout the Union for we find from time to time that additional states are being added to the list of those holding silicosis to be a com pensable disease. W e would certainly be blinding ourselves to the facts were we not to admit the existence of this trend in social legislation. It should be pointed out here that this is a very wholesome and desirable state of affairs. The insurance principle has justified its existence in spreading the burden of ill fortune over a long period of freedom from catastrophe and surely in the case of industrial accidents it has freed us from the deplorable state of affairs in existence prior to 1912. In the case of the occupational diseases we may hope for equally satisfactory results. Nevertheless, compensation insurance is not the complete solution of the problem at hand. The only adequate means of avoiding the burden of silicosis is by the preven tion of this disease. All other methods do not touch the crux of the problem and they carry in their wake a vast amount of litigation, illness, and a large financial burden on industry. If what wc have agreed upon to this point is true it is obvious that industry must prevent the dissemination of dust in the workroom air by such adequate engineering techniques as are available; or in certain cases where this is not possible industry must provide, and force the worker to use, such means of personal protection as will adequately safeguard him against the inhalation of dust. It is only by these means that we can guarantee a future free of disabling pulmonary disease due to dust inhalation. In spite of the very best efforts of industry to solve this problem there will un doubtedly be a certain number of cases brought to the courts and presented as legitimate cases of silicosis. While some of ihese are true cases of silicosis others, I have been informed, are not, but are designed merely as a means of obtaining funds from industry. A consideration of such cases brings us logically to the second part of the present discussion. What is the ideal method of handling compensation cases with reference to occupational disease and more particularly silicosis? If we examine the development of the compensation acts we find that a technique designed primarily to adjudicate cases of industrial accidents has by degrees been given jurisdiction over occupational diseases. In fact, in some states diseases are regarded as injuries so that they may be brought within the scope of the original compensation acts. But on close examination it becomes apparent that diseases are far more difficult to adjudicate than are the ordinary injuries arising in industry. They present many technical facets and often require a detailed knowledge of this particular branch of medicine with which the average commissioner is very often unfamiliar. As a result we find in practice that the Court is presented with highly technical evidence by experts for the plaintiff and for the defendant which is very difficult if not impossible to satisfactorily evaluate. Often the commissioner is caught between the conflicting views of su :h witnesses and is not provided with his own experts to aid him in arriving at tire real scientific background of the problem at hand. * ' 44 Twenty-second Congress-- National Safety Council T\ What wc really need is a strengthening of the technical side of the compensation acts to keep pace with the increased (actual understanding regarding the occupational diseases. This does not merely refer to the Courts themselves but should begin with the promulgation of accurately weeded compensation acts which clearly define the diseases for which compensation is to be paid Compensation commissioners should be assisted by boards of technical experts composed of engineers appointed by the deans of the various engineering schools and of physicians appointed by the deans of the recognized medical schools. The engineers selected should have a very com plete knowledge of factory con Jitions and the field of ventilation, and die physicians should be experts in the field of industrial hygiene and occupational disease. It is only with the aid of such highly specii.,;red boards, or their equivalents, that the compensation commissioners may be able to do complete justice to both sides in these highly technical cases. It is die belief of the speaker that employers and em ployees alike would benefit greatly from the establishment and use of such boards. In order to hasten the establishment of this system employers are justified in ap pealing to their legislatures with this end in view; certainly such a legitimate demand & 0 should receive the hearty support of all concerned. Frequently one is asked, what should be done with those claims which are based on Fttlc or no real evidence of injury to the worker but which are merely reared by some very enterprising attorney ? Such claims are, I have been told, becoming very common of late and constitute a real problem to industry. It is obvious that the compensation advisory boards suggested earlier will, as soon as they are formed, serve the future as a healthy bulwark against this type of baseless claim and I venture to predict that few such cases would be favorably acted upon by a board of real experts in this field. At the present time factory officials should employ the .S 5 BJ5 8 8 S C very best legal talent available and should r**nforce stKh legal talent with technical and medical experts thoroughly versed in the field of silicosis. Many cases have been lost b\ a failure to bring to bear the requisite technical aid required to prove the non-existence of a hazard. Here is an excellent example of a case in which money may be saved in the end by increased expenditures. We now arrive at the final steps in the control of this problem, the physical and X -ray examination of the worker. Every factory should have pre-employment and routine post-examinations. It seems obvious that the burden of the health of the worker should not be placed on the plant without the privilege of the pre-employment examination. How can industry be legitimately expected to hire a worker "in the blind" as to his or her physical condition and then a day later be expected to shoulder the burden of the worker's health ? By repeated physical examinations it is possible li to discern the faint early deviations from normal health if any take place. In this tf manner the employer would be forewarned very early if any workmen showed lung n changes suggestive of early silicosis. The routine industrial health examination on is a broad scale throughout the major portion of American industry would constitute a public health procedure of major significance. By its means a very large propor p tion of the population would be aided in the prevention of the degenerative diseases of middle life which today constitutes such a real menace. si ADJOURNMENT e 1: h t 226 Twenty-second Congress-- National Safety Council 4. ^ hliminate protruding obstructions which workmen may strike against. Where this is impossible, |>ost warning signs and paint the obstructions vith bright colored paint. If y<Hj are going to speed up the tempo of the job and secure more results [>er hour for each srtan, the field must be cleared for quick operations back and forth. Some obst ructions cannot !>e removed, and these should be marked so that quick detours are (tossihle without slowing up the speed of the operation. Danger signs should l>e posted in passageways wheti there is insufficient overhead clearances. Runways and passageways should be kept free from loose materials and rubbish. 5. A 1equate lighting, particularly where footings are uncertain or where there are dangerous projections, is important. As soon as a man is hurt on the job the news is instantly spread among all the workmen and they immediately slow up to prevent such an accident happening to them. The job cannot be kept in high gear if the mot are thinking in terms of moving slowly and carefully. 6. Insist that all employees wear good heavy soled shoes. This is perhaps the easiest and simplest rule to support and the one that will be the most productive of results. In our own company we put on a "shoe examination" at payoff time with the warning that if they do not have heavy soles they do not need to come back Monday morning. If men are not afraid of stepping on something and injuring their feet, they will snap into the need that is required to reduce unit costs. The cost of handling materials is one of the largest items on any piece of con struction work and tliese costs can be lowered by safety rules such as the following: 1. Construct suitable toeboards around all floor openings and at the edges of the platforms, scaffolds and staging. 2. Caution workmen against placing tools, rivets, bolts or other materials at points from which they may be accidentally pushed or knicked off on some'oody below. .1. Materials should never be dropped from overhead unless absolutely necessary. In such cases, make sure that anv person below is warned. 4. Materials may lx- passed or carried from point to point and should never be thrown. 5. Never permit workmen to stand or walk beneath swinging loads. o. Materials should be piled carefully so they cannot topple over. 7. Where it is necessary to stand bulky material, such as planks or forms on end, they should le placed so they cannot be blown over or upset. R. V 'ar i workmen against dishxlging materials when taking supplies from piles or trucks. ' / A CV .Xc t(; Occupational Disease Hazard of Silicosis in Construction Operation and Its Prevention By D. HARRINGTON Chuff, Health and Safety Branch, United States Bureau of Mines, W ashington, D. C. Tli' s|>eaker' said in part: This paper is based on approximately eight years of personal study of the effect of underground dusts on health and safety, supplemented by alsout twenty-five additional years of close attention to data and studies made by others. The subject will be handled from an engineering viewpoint rather than front that of the pathologist, the doctor, or the lawyer; and while this is unusual it should be log brougl The dustsdifficu ultima form J consid occur quanti of soli much be foi quanti likely herent , parati suppoi health th at fi Ph> dusty coal ( in cob becotr and 1* in coa the rc are c< poisot Thi is a c diflkv Afric; was s places dry n places mg, i miner restri air o workmany Tlv local i undet entph niethi Where olored e.sults forth. <|uick signs Hires. e aie news event ' men s the ve of h the >nday they COI1'iiiR: f the HlltS ;ary. r be end. on of ted by :n ild Construction Section 227 lie logical, as the real solution of a serious and widespread industrial health problem, brought about by breathing dust, is that of prevention of dust disease. There appears to be warrant for the conclusion that --.y dust, or combination of dusts--whether of a coal or metal mine or a tunnel--which is insoluble or soluble with difficulty in the fluids and tissues of the respiratory organs, is likely to be harmful ultimately to the health of underground workers, if it is present in the air in minute form and is breathed in large quantity over large portions of the working shift for any considerable number of months consecutively per year; some soluble dusts which occur in underground workings are also decidedly harmful. It appears that the quantity of dust in the air breathed more or less continuously, together with its lack of solubility or difficult solubility, governs the hygienic harmfulness of dust to workers much more than do the specific physical or chemical qualities of the dusts likely to be found in underground workings; this does not mean that air containing a large ouantity of finely divided flint dust or similar hard, sharp, insoluble material is not likely to be more harmful than air containing a similar quantity of probably less in herently harmful dusts, such as very fine limestone, coal, or shale. Breathing com paratively small amounts of finely divided free silica or similar hard, sharp, insoluble, supposedly more dangerous type of dust is, however, likely to be much less harmful to health than breathing much larger amounts of less inherently harmful dust, such as that from coal, shale, hematite, ore, or limestone, or combinations of such dusts. Physical examination of underground workers shows that men who work in very dusty places in coal mines have definite respiratory disease, whether the dust is from coal only or from a mixture of coal with rock or shale or clay. Men have worked in coal mines and have then gone to work in dusty metal mines or tunnels and have become affected by miners' consumption, or have worked in metal mines or tunnels and later have succumbed to respiratory disease after having worked in dusty places in coal mines. While dusts insoluble or difficultly soluble in the pores and tissues of the respiratory organs are chiefly responsible for respiratory disease in miners, there are certain soluble dusts of lead, arsenic, and other rocks or ores which are definitely poisonous or which result in material h;.rm to the health of workers. That the quantity of dust breathed is the important point in the harmfulness of dust is a certainty, yet to state what is that dangerous quantity or what is a safe limit is difficult, in fact, is impossible with our present facilities and knowledge. In South Africa an arbitrary limit of 5 mg., or 300,000,000 particles per cubic meter of air, was set. Their recent reports, however, give the average air dustiness of the working places as around or just over 1 mg. per cubic meter of a ir ; there is probably not one dry mine or tunnel in the United States where the average air dustiness of working places is as low as 5 mg. per cubic meter of air (the South African standard) or 10 mg. per cubic meter of air (the standard set by Higgins and I^mza in their study of miners' consumption in the Joplin, Mo. district in 1915), and a recent state regulation restricts the number of dust particles to a maximum of 15,000,000 per cubic foot of air or about 530,000,000 per cubic meter. In general, the average air dustiness of working places of our dry metal mines runs above 20 mg. per cubic meter of air and many run above 50. The outstanding remedy for the bad situation with respect to dust disease (in many localities a most distressing one) in underground workings is education--education of underground workers in the necessity of taking such precautions as are available; of employers in recognizing the seriousness of the situation and in providing devices and methods to reduce or prevent the incidence of disease and, if necessary, enforcing 228 ^ Twenty-second Cotujress-- National Safety Council their adoption on tile workers; of the doctors in correctly diagnosing the disease, giving publicity to its prevalence, seriousness, preventive remedies, etc., and in death cer tificates religiously assigning dust disease as the cause where such is the case; and of the merchants, ncwspajicrs, and other influences in the community in trying to prevent the disease rather than in hiding ivs existence. As sjwcific remedial measures for metal mines and tunnels, the writer suggests the following; mechanical ventilation, with a definite person or persons in charge, should lie adopted to force moving currents of air in every place where men work in order tf> remove dust, heat, and gases. The use of water should be enforced in all drillings, in the sprinkling of ore and rock piles, in the wetting of timbers, man and haulage ways, and in every place where dust may Ik found. Where possible, the blasting should all lie done after a shift: where this cannot be done there should be an en forcement of strict regulations as to the wetting of the region of blasting both before and alter firing the shots, as to the removal of all explosive fumes by adequate air currents, and as to the prevention of entrance into a blasted place until all dust, fumes, etc. have tieen removed. There should by all means be strict physical examination of underground workers before employment and at periods of not more than six months during the employment, with prompt removal from dangerously dusty work should unfavorable physical symptoms be found. In our coal mines education is also badly needed. The dust health problem of the contractor is likely to lie somewhat different than that of the mine open tor--yet some of the factors are fundamentally similar. There is no question that far too much stress lias lieeti laid on silica dust and silicosis when the emphasis should be placed on the very definite dangers to workers in breathing a large quantity of any and all kinds of finely divided dust which the worker accumu lates or is likely to accumulate day by day in his system; the lesultant respiratory disease should lie termed pneumonoconiosis or simply dust disease rather than silicosis or anthracosis, etc., since it is highly probable that no person has ever been incapaci tated by the breathing of any single dust but rather by a combination of dusts. While it appears that all dusts and combinations of dusts which are breathed into the respiratory passages in large quantities and ov_r considerable time periods are likely to he harmful to health, unquestionably some dusts are relatively more harmful than others; some have effect in one manner, some in another; some dusts affect the lungs some the bronchial apparatus, some the eyes, some the septum of the nose, some the itomach and some the skin; some individuals have considerable resistance to the harmful effect of breathing dust, others are readily susceptible to it; some nationali ties are likely to succumb quickly to dust disease, and others are much better able to resis* its inroads on health. Having breathed one kind of dust does not aid any human being to resist any other kind of dust; tuberculosis may accompany the other ills due to breathing of silica dust, but tuberculosis does not always accompany or result from breathing silica dust: tuberculosis may occur in connection with the breathing of coal dust or other dusts, though it is not so likely to lie found in connec tion with coal and with some other types of dusts; silica as a rock, whether as free silica or as a silicate, is practically insoluble in water, but when in the form of very finely divided particles which float in air these very finely divided particles are readily soluble even in water; no human heing knows what percentage of silica in a dust is likely to give silicosis, whether 5 per cent, 25 per cent, 50 per cent or more, and silicosis fso-called) is alleged to have been caused by breathing dust with as little as 3 per cer.t silica: no person knows what quantity of dust in air ( silica or other dust) is likely to lie dangerous though numerous arbitrary standards of air dustiness are given to the | foot of air i whether by v while the x -r passages as t determine wf type of dust more per cer probably 15 o etc.; dusty a humidity, is i peratures; di high carbon i of high conte kill him in h general it ta dusty atmosp) leaving the d become afflict remove the il Trade", Augi W e can't mal that sickness trial accident dustrial work of the industt W hat can ; First of al quantities for them; then ; essential bein 1. U se w: 2. U se thi into the a ir v 3. Install 4. H ave e fore entering removal from 5. All tho familiarize th 6. W hile of the niisno about dust di concerted, un harmfuln.ss 1 Federal govei to have avail numerous cot ground for st pendable data Construction Section 229 given to the public, these standards ranging from as low as 250,000 particles per cubic foot of air to 15,000,000 particles; present methods of determining air dustiness, whether by weight or by count of particles, are anything but accurate or dependable; while the x-ray is unquestionably useful in determining the condition of the respiratory passages as to dust harm, it is improbable that any person can from the x-ray alone determine whether the person x-rayed has silicosis, anthracosis, or any other specifictype of dust disease; practically every human being breathes silica dust, as 50 or snore per cent of the earth's crust with which we come in contact is siliceous and probably 15 or more per cent is free silica and all of us breathe dust from fields, roads, etc.; dusty air, with high temperatures (say, over 80 degrees Fahrenheit) and high humidity, is more likely to be harmful because of dust than air with less trying tem per ltures; dust laden air contaminated with gases, such as high carbon dioxide or high carbon monoxide, is more likely to give ill health from dust than would air free of high content of extraneous gases; dust disease may incapacitate its victim or may kill him in less than a year from the time he first works in the dusty place, but in general it takes a much longer period; it is said that any person may work in a dusty atmosphere for several years without apparent ill health, yet several years after leaving the dusty work, may succumb to dust disease; generally when a worker has become afflicted with dust disease, it is impossible to cure him so as to completely remove the ill effects, and this is aptly expressed by a doctor in "The American Stone Trade", August, 1933, as follows: "No treatment for the cure of silicosis is known. We can't make stiff tissues soft again. Prevention is the only resource." It is said that sickness causes at least eight times as much loss of time to workers as to indus trial accidents and unquestionably one of the most prolific causes of sickness of in dustrial workers is the breathing of dust; dust disease unquestionably is the scourge of the industrial worker of today. What can and should be done about it? First of all, industry should recognize that any and all dusts breathed in large quantities for a long period are likely to be dangerous to the persons who breathe them; then available measures should be taken to prevent air dustiness, the most essential being: 1. Use water in drilling, or sprinkling surfaces, or in connection with processes. 2. Use the best possible ventilation to sweep away any fine dust which may get into the air where people work. 3. Install the best av. able equipment to prevent dust formation. 4. Have every person in the organization undergo a real physical examination be fore entering the organization and at stated intervals (not less than annually), with removal from dusty air as soon as symptoms develop in the respiratory tract. 5. All those really interested in the preservation of the health of workers should familiarize themselves with available data as to dust dangers; a limited bibliography. 6. While there is now an enormous amount of litigation as to dust disease chiefly of the misnomer "silicosis", knowledge of a definite, dependable, accurate character about dust disease is woefully lacking and there is probably no more fruitful field for concerted, unbiased, disinterested investigation than that in connection with the health harmfuliu-ss from dust. Industrial organizations, co-operating with the state and the Federal government as well as other parties, should institute studies as to dust disease to have available authentic disinterested data for use not only in connection with the numerous court actions now pending, and likely to increase, but also as a solid back ground for state regulations and state luws which now are being framed without de pendable data chiefly because no really dependable data are in existence. i 320 Twenty-second Congress-- National Safety Council Membership Committee Chairman--R. A. Chaffin, Continental Steel Corp., Kokomo, Indiana. Railway Car Builders Committee Chairman--P. J. Brand, Pullman Car & Manu facturing Corp., Pullman, Chicago, 111. Members at Large-- I- S. Adams, Hubbard Steel Foundry, East Chicago, Ind. C. M. Allen, The American Rolling Mill Co., Middletown, Ohio. J A. Coltrin, National Radiator Corp., Johnstown, Pa. H. M. Croghan, Inland Steel Co., Indiana Harbor, Ind. G. A. Davis, Illinois Steel Co., Chicago, III. John P. Eibs Illinois Steel Co., Joliet, III. E. A. Ellis, Wheeling Steel Corp., Wheeling, W. Va. W. T. Filmer, The Youngstown Sheet ft Tube Co., Youngstown, Ohio. A. C. Gibson, Spang, Chalfant ft Co., Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa. Charles W. Hanko, Pittsburgh Steel Co., Monessen, Pa. S. E. Hawkcs, MacWhyte Company, Kenosha, Wis. H. G. Hensel, The Youngstown Sheet ft Tube Co., Chicago, 111. W. J. Ireland, Kohler Co., Kohler, Wis. W. A. Jarvis, The Chase Companies, Waterbury, Conn. F. A. Lauerman, Republic Steel Corp., South Chicago, 111. T. H. McKenney, Illinois Steel Co., Sooth Chicago, 111. I). V. Medalie, Interlake Iron Corp., Chicago, III W. E. Megrtw, H. H. Robertson Co., Pittsburgh, Pa. Robert L. Schmitt, Louisville Car Wheel ft Railway Supply Co., Louisville, Ky. J. K. Stafford, Mississippi Valley Structural Steel Co., Decatur, 111. J. M. Woltz, The Youngstown Sheet ft Tube Co., Youngstown, Ohio. 1 J' Health Hazards in th i Foundry By CARBY P. McCORD, M.D. Medical Director, The Industrial Health Conservancy Laboratories, Cincinnati, Ohio The speaker said in part: Over and over again it seems necessary to restate iu many guises such well established foundry fundamentals as the following: 1. Excessive heat is a hazard common to all foundries. 2. Excessive heat means high loss of valuable chlorides from the body and calls for replacement. The use of salinized drinking water is now better established as tksirable than ever before. More rather than less salt is advocated for the normal foundry worker exposed to high temperatures. 3. Molten metal emits chemical rays at times harmful to the eyes. Goggles fitted with glass barring these rays prove their worth to the workmen in many plants. 4. Metal fume fever fortunately is fleeting in its known effects, but no less is real. It is more often found where zinc enters the metal mix. 5. Sudden and extreme variations in temperature may be the lot of foundry workers--notably so in winter. The body makes adjustments to these quick changes with admirable facility. No less, these burdens are conducive to respiratory diseases, including pneumonia. Pneumonia reaches highest frequency among foundry men. 6. Lead poisoning is far from rare in the foundry. il orp., Kokomo, Car & Manu- isville, Ky. o. , Cincinm ti, to restate in >dy and calls stablished as the normal toggles fitted plants. >less is real. of foundry tick changes ary diseases, y men. Metals SectioH 3Z1 7. Carbon monoxide may be found in harmful quantities. 8. Antimony, nickel, cadmium, manganese, phosphorus, arsenic, and sulphur may on occasion find their way into the crucible and thus make possible the development of ill health traceable to such causes. 9. In core making, many binders have led to skin diseases. 10. If metal grinding, polishing and buffing constitute a part of the foundry's activi ties, a long list of additional hazards may be cited, ranging from the action of chrome poiishig materials to tenovitis from the drag of the buffing wheel. 11. Last, but foremost, is the hazard of dust. At the present moment concern over health hazards in the foundry may be divided in the ratio of 99 per cent for dusty lung diseases and 1 per cent for all others combined. While this disproportion may not be warranted, it appears desirable that I devote the major portion of my comments to selected items related to dusts and the diseases produced by dusts. Confronted with any new and outstanding hazard in industry, the tendency is to exaggerate the requirements for control. This notably was true when benzol first came into wide industrial application. Now the conditions under which benzol may with safety be used are so well delineated that w ho these conditions are provided benzol poisoning is unknown. A similar course is predictable for die silica hazard in foundries. As the major problems connected with dusty lung diseases and their causations be come harnessed by the specialist, opportunity is provided for the consideration of many secondary aspects of dust and dusty lung diseases. I propose now to comment on five of these slightly less significant matters--important in my opinion to die employment manager, the safety engineer, and the plant physician. 1. How shall the foundry operator protect himself against cases of dusty lung dis eases originating in other plants? Many foundry operators are faced with suits or other form of claims that undoubt edly are related to previous employment in other foundries or other dusty trades. Since silicosis may require and usually does require many years for its development to the point of disability, it naturally follows, by way of example, that 16 years of previous foundry exposure is more blamable in the causation of silicosis than two years of similar exposure in present employment. Yet the present employer is likely to find himself saddled with full responsibility. Lately I have had opportunity to examine well m&de film negatives of applicants for work, without admitted previous exposure in industry. These persons were found to live and drive on dusty country roads made of Bint Approximately 50 per cent of these young adults presented sufficient involvement in their films to be rated as "suspicious" in relation to pneumoconiosis. Given a few months exposure in a foundry anyone might hold himself eligible for claims against his employer alleging dusty lung disease. The answer to the problem is definite. Every prospective employee for any dusty portion of a foundry should be x-rayed by a competent maker and interpreter of chest films. For the good of the prospective workman and for the good of die operator, any applicant exhibiting any x-ray evidences of any degree of involvement resulting from the action of dusts or the presence of other pulmonary pathology in well estab lished degree, should be denied employment in any dusty exposure. Expensive as x-rays may be, they are likely to prove one of the most economic steps that may be taken in these days of wholesale litigation, synthetic testimony, unskilled physicians, and plaintiff-prone juries. 122 Tzventy-sccond Congress-- National Safety Council 2. What shall be done with the workers known to possess dusty lungs? in late months many employers in dusty trades have procured routine x-ray exami nations of all employees. Out of every hundred undisabled men, properly examined, a fair percentage is likely to present some degree of ctear-cut pneumoconiosis. What is to he done with such men? Many are not disabled. Some are outstandingly hale and hearty. Shall they be told of their state? Many are likely to develop mental quirks and neuroses. Some will take an unfair advantage of the employer through claims. A small consensus of mature and fair-minded opinions as to appropriate ac tion for this very time may be epitomized as follows: Seek to eliminate further exposure to the dust hazard. Do not apprize any undis abled workman of his condition. Make repeated x-ray examinations at about six months intervals. If advancement of the condition appears, then take action suited to the individual case. Otherwise keep these men at some work. 3. Are negroes more susceptible to dusty lung diseases than whites? I know of no large series of cases arising under identical conditions in this country among whites and negroes that prove the negro to be more readily involved by dusty lung diseases. The negro is more susceptible to tuberculosis than his white fellow workman. His housing is likely to be on a lower plane. His exposure to tuberculosis is prone to be greater than in the case of the average white man. On account of this background, the nehro at this time is rated as a greater risk in the foundry than whites under conditions of equal exposure. 4. How necessary are dust counts in detecting hazardous work points in a plant? The dust counter has established itself as the best available yardstick for the deter mination of different quantities of dust in the atmosphere. Like so many instruments in its class, the dust sampler and counter has been glorified far beyond its real merits. Opportunities for errors are legion. Legal standards based on present dust counting methods are utterly futile. Notwithstanding many itfalls, however, the dust counter is a most valuable instrument. It finds its greatest usefulness in discriminating between much dust and little dust; improving the efficacy of preventive measures and devices; in the determination of the carriage of fine dust into non-dusty departments; in the detection of unsuspected dusty work points. r In litigation what medical defense may be involved? Without presuming any qualifications in the domain of law, the plant physician, the safety engineer or the employment manager may be called upon to furnish attorneys all possible information in preparation for trials. Below I am listing a number of items that are in prospective use or have been used in various instances: fa) Denial of the existence of dusty lung disease: Recently in the examination of a sample of 202 films -of men exposed and unexposed to dust, one was singled out as exceptionally free of even usual amounts of fibrosis. This film was examined as an unknown, as were all others. Later it was pointed out that the workman from whom this film was made was a litigant demanding a large sum of money on account of an alleged silicosis. Similarly, about four out of every five litigants alleging dusty lung disease are in fact free of such diseases. The claims are spurious and may be proved so by appropriate examinations carried out by qualified investigators. (b) The denial of disability or prospective disability: A large number of work men whose lungs show some signs of dusty action are not incapacitated and no proof exists that real disability is an early prospect. (c) The denial of neglect: Many of the true cases of dusty lung disease have been developing over long periods of years such as 15, 25 or 40. Since the medical pro- Metals Section 323 fession has professed scant knowledge of these diseases during these periods, it is unreasonable to believe that the industrialists could have possessed more. Inevitably it follow that operators of dusty industries may not be presumed to have possessed earlier and greater information of these occupational diseases than physicians, indus trial hygienists, state health departments, state factory inspectors, and other agencies devoted to health conservation. No industrialist may be charged with neglect for failure to supply protection against an insidious disease unknown or little known to the medical profession. Even at this time the average physician possesses the most meager information as to these conditions. (d ) The origin of the dusty lung disease in previous employment: Manifesting it is unjust that a few weeks of employment in some one foundry should be held re sponsive for a well established dusty lung disease when antedating this employment, there have been years of exposure to similar work in other plants.. ('.*) The origin of the dusty lung disease from causes other than industrial em ployment: In some localities over the country it seems probable that sufficient dust may arise from roads, farm work, etc., to induce characteristic involvement of the , lungs. (f) The actual quantity of dust present in an industry is below any reasonable threshold of probable production of damage: The mere fact that an industry or de partment is classified as a dusty operation is not in itself proof of the possibility of development of pneumoconiosis. The nature and extent of protective devices may fully exculpate the plant as a practical hazard. Dust count methods have certain un deniable limitations, but this form of testing along with tests of the efficacy of ven tilating apparatus may be utilized on occasion wholly to eliminate any justification for contention that the air dustiness prevails. (g) Diseases other than pneumoconiosis fully may account for abnormal stale in the lungs, or other chest contents: At least ten other diseases may so stimulate pneu moconiosis as to permit confusion and error. Among others are fungus diseases, tuberculosis, especially disseminated tuberculosis, cancer, syphilis, pleurisy with calci fications, certain types of unresolved pneumonia. In addition, claims are known to have arisen alleging pneumoconiosis when in fact the pathology centered about such unrelated conditions as aneurysm, mediastinal tumor, anaphylactic asthma, valvular heart disease, etc. (h) Silica is not a poison: In some states claims.at law must be based upon acts applicable only to poisonous substances. What constitutes a poison is a matter of definition. At the present time, the best thought as to the action of silica within the lungs is unfavorable to acceptation of it as a poison. Primarily, silica action is physical rather than chemical. (k) Pneumoconiosis does not constitute an accidental injury: In some instances it has been contended that dusty lung states are accidental injuries. Such specious arguments ordinarily are put forth ;n effort to obtain compensation in political states where no provisions are made for occupational diseases. To the contrary, every valid concept prompts a recognition of the pneumoconiosis and occupational diseases. These several defense items are of course not set out as having any element of the panacea. However, on occasion some one or more may play a helpful pfcrt in de feating some of the cases now pending, richly deserving defeat. 7 f T IV E N T V -S V CO N D A N N U A L S A F E T Y C O N G R E S S N A TI ON A L S A F E T Y CO UN CI L Railroad Section N.S.C. Officers 1932-33 Chairman--C hari.es E. H ill, New York Central Lines, New York City. First Vice-Chairman--C. L. LaFountaine, Great Northern Railway Co., St. Paul, Minn. Second Vice-Chairman--H. A. P arish, Chicago & North Western Railway Co., Chicago. Secretary--J. C. Caviston, American Railway Assn., New York City. Members, Committee of Direction : F. H artenstein, Lehigh Valley Railroad, Bethlehem, Pa. H. A. Rowe, Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Co., New York City. C. N. W oodward, New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, New Haven, Conn. Robert Scott, Atlantic Coast Lines Railroad Co., Wilmington, N. C. A. O. B eck, Canadian National Railway, Montreal, P. Q., Canada. F. W. Curtis, Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad, Denver. E. G. E vans, Louisville & Nashville Railway, Louisville, Ky. C. F. Larson, Missouri Pacific Railroad, St. Louis. F. M. M etcalfe, Northern Pacific Railway Co., St. Paul, Minn.. J. T. P ratt, Reading Co., Reading, Pa. The complete report of these sessions is published in a booklet entitled "Proceedings of the 13th Annual Meeting of the Safety Section", available from the American Railway Association. TUESDAY M ORNING SESSION O ctober 3, 1933 The sessions of the Safety Section, American Railway Association--Steam Rail road Section, National Safety Council, were held as a part of and in conjunction with the Annual Congress of the National Sufety Council in the Stevens Hotel. 439