Document 4voZpqRejQw6969w3zLn5agV

FILE NAME: Engineering (ENG) DATE: 1934 Apr DOC#: ENG013 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Trade Journal Article - The Legal Status of Silicosis JICC1DETIT PREUEHTIOTI HEALTH COTlSERUATlOn FIRE PREUENTIOI1 ety E ngineering HE MAGAZINE CF SAFETY , . * i '; - (with which has been- combined Protection Engineering, Conservation and Fire Prevention.) A r t h u r C. C a r r u t h e r s , e j .iop - H e n r y 1W. A l e x a n d e r , a .,dote e ^ H a r r y JeG. A r m a n d , b usiness Menaqcr IN THIS ISSUE l EDITORIAL OBSERVATIONS : Injuries from Shattering Glass ........ 135 The Duty of the Rural Community in the Reduction of Motor Acci dents ................................................... 135 Helping the American Motorist ---- 136 A Worthy Effort in Safety Advance ment ...................................................... 136 An Important Detail in NRA Codes 136 The Legal Status of S ilico sis.............. 137 Entering the Thirty-Fourth Year . . . . 137 ACCIDENT Clean-Up Campaign for Fire Preven- tion ................. '..................................... 155 Lakewood, O., Wins Fire Waste Award .................................................. 155 Carbon Monoxide and Home Furn aces ........................................................ 156 N. F. P. A. to Hold Annual Meeting 156 -- SPECIAL FEATURES -- Dr, Greenburg, of Yale, writes on Industrial Dust C o u n tin g - page 157. The Modern Handling of Burns--by John J. Wittmer and R. C. Kimball 139 Pledged to Safe Driving ................... 141 Survey of Coal Miners' Eyesight Re veals Value of Protection ................. 142 Accident Reduction in New Y o r k ___ 142 The Elimination of Grade Crossings 143 Do You Know How to Drive a Car Safely? ................................................ 144 Surveys to Fix Responsibility for Traffic Accidents ................................ 146 Slippery Walkway Surfaces--by H. Weaver Mowery . ) ...................... 147 The Causes of Building Mishaps . . . . 150 Pennsylvania's 1934 Safety Drive . . . . 150 The Causes of Fire in Industry--by T. Alfred Fleming ............................ 151 The Fire Menace of Abandoned and Unguarded Property .......................... 153 --i_________________________ _ VOLUME LXVII Drs. Kimball and Wittmer of the Consolidated Gas Company discuss a modern treatment for burns-- page 139. HEALTH The Sampling and Analysis of Dusts in Industry--by Leonard Greenburg 157 Occupational Disease Clinics--by Ad elaide Ross Smith ............................. 159 The Occupational Disease Clinic at Bellevue Hospital--by Leonard J. Goldwater .......................................... 161 The Responsibility of Management for the Control of Occupational Disease--by Henry H. Kessler .. 163 Biochemistry and Industrial Disease 164 APRIL, 1934 Workmen's' Compensation.Tor Silico sis (concltfded) _____ 167 The Importarj|e of Diabel^s .............. 169 The Incidence of Occupational Dis eases .................................................... 169 Eye Injuries and Their Prevention .. 169 What Is a Sanitary Shop?.................. 169 Sickness Among Industrial Employees 170 MIS-vCELLANEOUS Book Review ........................................ 170 Protective Equipment and Safeguards 171 Summary of Industrial Safety Equip ment Code .......................................... 172 Joseph A. Holmes Association Makes Safety Awards ................................ 174 "The Status of Safety Engineering" 174 Steel Trusses Provide Safety iti New Ladders ................................................ 175 What's New in S a fe ty ? ....................... 175 Alundum Rubber Bonded Safety Tread Now Made in Colors .......... 175 Ainsworth Is Appointed to Geneva Safety Committee ............................. 175 Protecting Wood from Decay .......... 176 No All-Ohio Safety Congress in 1934 176 The Elimination of Glare ................. 176 New Headband for Goggles .............. 176 Perforated Steel for Machine Guards 176 A Waterproofing Material for Walls 178 Carbon Monoxide as a Cause of Motor Accidents .............................. 178 NUMBER IV THIRTY - FOURTH IJEAR : TMEp,Snits mLDCAT,on Published monthly by Safety Magazine Publishing Corporation; Arthur C. Carruthers, President; Austin F. Hancock, Vice-President; Harry deC. Armand, Secretary. Editorial and General Offices-- 45 John Street, New York, N. Y . ; Publication offices-- 34 North Crystal Street, East Stroudsburg, Pa. w i do ou* putt Previous issues of SAFETY ENG IN EERIN G can be found in the Industrial Arts Index in your library. Entered as second class matter January 7, 1930, at the East Stroudsburg, Pa., Post Office, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Subscriptions: $3.00 a year; Canada, $4.00; foreign, $4.50. Single Copies, 25c. V 111 U L jI \1 1 1 \J 10/ It is right that each industry prepare its own standards, because no general set could apply, owing to the differ ent hazards which are present in different industries. Progressive employers and employes alike now know from experience that working conditions are very im portant for both management and employe efficiency. Remarkable reductions of losses of time and money have been secured through giving strict attention to safety and health conservation. Each particular industry, when necessary, should ob tain expert guidance and advice in drafting its stand ards for safety and health, especially when occupational disease hazards are present. The Legal Status of Silicosis A BILL has been introduced in the New York State Legislature by Assemblyman Anthony Canney of Buffalo and Senator H. L. O'Brien of Brooklyn, bringing silicosis under the terms of the state's Workmen's Compensation Law. It has the ap proval of the New York State Department of Labor, by which, as a matter of fact, it was drafted. The matter of including silicosis in the list of com pensable occupational diseases covered by the Work men's Compensation Law has been a matter for dis cussion for many years, not only in New York but in other industrial states where this dread lung disease makes its appearance in mines and factories. The sud den growth in the number of lawsuits for damages for silicosis, totalling in New York alone some $50,000,000, has brought to the attention of employers and insur ance companies the need for legislation of one kind or another that will define this disease and limit the liabil ity therefor. The present bill represents a compromise, but it is by no means completely satisfactory to all parties con cerned. It provides for the recognition of two stages of silicosis. The first stage is defined as "characterized by definite and specific signs of the disease but not to the extent of causing total disability", and provides for occupational disability compensation up to $1,000, while the claimant is finding other employment outside the dust hazard field. If he elects to remain in employ ment offering this hazard, he may receive up to $2,000 compensation upon signing a waiver. The second stage of silicosis, "characterized by definite fibrosis of the lungs causing total disability", is compensable to the ex tent of twenty-five dollars per week and a maximum award of $6,500. These are the general limits of liabil ity which the bill establishes. This is all very well, but there are certain points that demand attention. Who is to establish the presence of these first and second stages? Three physicians are provided by the bill, to be appointed by the Industrial Commissioner, who shall examine all persons claiming compensation. That sounds logical enough, but the evi dence, presented in Safety E ngineering last month by Drs. Gardner and Smith, tends to demonstrate that even physicians who have specialized in the study of the pathology and diagnosis of silicosis are often at a loss in attempting to make positive diagnoses and prognoses in cases of this kind. Very few people die from sili cosis itself (the writer knows of no verifiable cases of this at all) but many have been known to die from tu berculosis which there is a strong probability that the silicotic condition either brought about, accelerated or paved the way for. What provision shall we make for compensation when silicotics die of tuberculosis? There is undoubtedly a need for some such bill as the Canney-O'Brien measure, to make silicosis a com pensable disease, to define its stages and to limit the li ability, but the greater need is for intensive research into this and allied diseases--the establishment of a foundation, which shall operate a clinic devoted ex clusively to these disorders, so that by dint of medical science and persevering investigation, we shall be pro vided with definite and unassailable material upon which we may base a sane, reasoned and equitable ad judication of the legal status of silicosis. Entering the Thirty-Fourth Year W ITH this issue, Safety E ngineering cele brates its thirty-third birthday. Ever since the first copy was issued by the Insurance Press in April, 1901, under the name of Insurance Engineer ing, this magazine has been a focus for all information and news of progress in the fields of accident and fire prevention, and, more recently, health conservation. A great deal has happened in these fields in the last thirty- three years. American industry, giant though it was even then, has grown to towering proportions, and with this growth has been intensified, of necessity, the fight for the preservation of life, limb and property--the fight for safety against danger. Birthdays are nothing new to a thirty-three-year-old. but this year, when the safety field, as well as many others, is getting on its feet again after the dumps of the depression, may be regarded as especially significant. The general revival may be slow, but it is certain. It gives fresh courage to S afety E ngineering to carry on in contributing its mite to the steady progress of American industry and business.