Document 50rMoZ54G2Kdo0N5gzQm30ME5

FILE NAME: National Safety Council (NSC) DATE: 1936 Dec DOC#: NSC008 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: NSC - National Safety News DECEMBER, 1936 The Humanizing H oliday CHRISTMAS comes once more to restore our sense of proportion. We have become warped through differ ences of opinion on politics, creed and business; we are in clined to exaggerate the failings of our fellow men. We need the humanizing influence of this great holiday of the Chris tian year. But Christmas is no time for the General Confession, for introspection. There is a time for solitary reflection and meditation but not at this season. I t is a time for forgetful ness of self, for an outpouring of generous sentiment. It is a holiday that must be shared. Wealth cannot pur chase the joy that comes from the companionship of family and friends. Next to the man who has no Christmas dinner, the most forlorn individual is the one who must eat his alone --even in an exclusive restaurant. The many acts of kindness and generosity remind us of the essential decency of people. Present day philanthropy, in contrast to much of that in the past, is inspired more by a desire to relieve distress on earth than to lay up treasure in heaven. Christmas provides a way of expression for the inarticu late. Shyness, thoughtlessness, or just lack of words prevent outward demonstration of the love that people feel. Then comes Christmas to provide both a reminder and a way of expression. Then there is the lesson of humility, of becoming as little children who sometimes find the truth more directly because their hearts and minds have not become clouded with sophist' ries. This brings to mind, a verse whose authorship cannot abe recalled at the moment: A king may miss the guiding star, A wise man's foot may stumble; For Bethlehem is very far To all except the humble. There are some who bewail the brief duration of the Christmas spirit on earth. We wish it could remain, yet we can be thankful for this transient exultation of the human heart. And there are some who begrudge others the gaiety of the season, seeing in it a pagan influence. But there was merry making at Cana. A W elcome Development W ITH industry showing definite signs of recovery, in dustry is facing a shortage of skilled labor. This is a normal development rather than an alarming new problem, says John W. O'Leary, president of the Machinery Institute. "After every depression we face this shortage of men with specialized skills," said Mr. O'Leary, As long as busi ness is normal the need of finding suitable men to train for skilled jobs is constantly with us. "These who deny that any shortage of skilled labor ex- t>ECEMBER, 1936 hausts, and also those who complain that the shortage is impeding business operations fail to recognize the happy circumstance and the opportunities it brings for full employ ment. This is a normal and welcome development." As evidence of this development, Mr. O'Leary pointed' out that machinery manufacturers had taken on hundreds of apprentices during the past few months to train them for skilled jobs now available and for jobs which will become increasingly numerous as the demand for capital goods con tinues. Mere jobs at subsistence wages do not constitute real re covery. The American worker wants work which will em ploy his ability and skill and pay a wage which will afford reasonable standards of comfort for his family. More em ployment opportunities in the higher brackets of skill are the surest way to the more abundant life. With increasing employment come new opportunities and responsibilities for the safety man. The apprentices who are entering industry must be started on the right track but the older workers must not be overlooked. Workers are not listed among the company's assets at so much a head but they are one of industry's most valued possessions. In This Issue Aana). REDUCTION of 48 per cent in accident costs has been one of the rewards of organized accident pre vention work in the Standard Oil Company (Indi No less important has been its influence in bringing management and employees close together in mutual under standing and respect. (Page 11). A large share of our modem hazards are bred by our en vironment. If the environment remains defective, we can hope for but limited improvement through regulation by statute or individual behavior, says Col. Willard T. Cheva lier, who stresses the importance of the technician in de signing a safer setting for the individual's daily life. (Page 12) . "The north wind doth blow" ...but the safety engineer isn't worrying about the robin; it's the men in the shop. Cold weather calls for alertness in the individual, which is some times difficult when the senses are numbed by cold, and in creased attention to correcting avoidable hazards. (Page 14). The highway isn't the only place where quick stopping means safety. Improved electrical controls and dynamic braking have made hazardous machines much safer. (Page 17). Breaking through the ice may end in tragedy Or merely in discomfort, depending upon the precautions taken. Cap tain Fred Mills of the Boy Scouts, who is teaching thou sands of boys how to enjoy water sports safely, gives some helpful advice on how to keep on the dry s i d ^ o ^ t h ^ c e ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ (Page 19) ^ p5 unt!f f ? EXHIBIT QnduAjUuaJL df&aUtk. A Department for Physicians and Lai A ir Contam inants That Affect Health B y H. B. M E L L E R ' DURING the developm ent of present knowledge of the in fluence of air contaminants on health, naturally many theories were ad vanced that later scientific work has modified or displaced. However, not al ways has the correction been as widely and thoroughly disseminated as was the original theory; this condition, perhaps, has led to some confusion. There are available different pub lished classifications of dusts. Included in such classifications are dusts the ex posure to inhalation of which is, or is likely to be, occupational. Of dusts which are inherently toxic when inhaled or otherwise absorbed and which cause systemic poisoning, examples are lead, arsenic, mercury, manganese. Examples of dusts which have the ability to pene trate the deep lung tissues and to be re tained there are quartz, flint, chert, as bestos, talc, coal, iron, clay, slate, and other types of rock dust. In order that the discussion may not go too far afield attention will be cen tered upon this last group and upon pneumoconiosis, the general term used to designate lung conditions caused by dust. Silicosis, which is caused by the inhalation of free silica, has been prom inent recently in the public press, some times in a way that made misunder standing possible, if not probable. W hat Dusts Cause Injury? It has been established that the po tentiality of silicious dusts to cause lung damage is, with very few exceptions, dependent upon their content of free Silica (SiO1)- The development of sili- M anaging D irector, A ir H ygiene F o u n d atio n of Am erica, Inc.; H ead, A ir P o llu tion In v estig atio n , M ellon In s titu te of In d u strial Research, P ittsburgh, Pa. cosis depends, therefore, upon the con centration of dust containing free silica in the air breathed. In other words, the total amount of free silica breathed and retained seems to be the primary fac tor; the length of time necessary for a sufficient accumulation is important, but less so than the total load. Silica occurs also in chemical combi nation in silicates. Some of these com pounds have been proved definitely to be relatively harmless to health, some are still in the realm of doubt, and one, asbestos, may cause the disease called asbestosis, which is the result of lung damage similar to, but not identical with nor as serious as, that produced by free silica. The size of dust particles in the air which an individual may breathe is im portant. Not often are particles larger than 10 or 12 microns found in the deep lungs, except in the case of asbestos dust, where fibres as long as 200 microns have worked their way down lengthwise. Uncomplicated Silicosis. Silicosis, un complicated by an infection, is more of an impairment than a disability. It is not seriously disabling until it reaches an advanced stage, and does not of it self greatly shorten the life of a silicotic. I t is in cases where tuberculosis de velops that the worker must be removed from his occupation. Silico-Tuberculosis. When a silicotic dies, the immediate cause of death is usually some type of intervening lung infection, as tuberculosis. It is not known just why the presence of silica in the lungs increases susceptibility to tuberculosis, but when an adult with silicosis is exposed to tuberculosis, an active infection may occur, regardless of the previous state of health. I t is thought probable that silica dust can reactivate healed tu b e rc u lo s r lesions of the adult type; how lorn such lesions have healed the reac is possible is not certain. Expd' silicotics to tuberculosis or o culous individuals to silica dust ' and should be avoided. After silicosis has become w lished in the lungs, medical not found a way to arrest the'n of the silicotic process toward th t of disablement except through or preventing further exposure ' dust. Nor has medical science ff way to prevent tuberculosis froL superimposed upon silicosis';'through control of contact. Th" of silico-tuberculosis is chronp very difficult to influence by t according to phthisiologists. Medical Control As a basis for intelligent ae ' tion of the physical fitness o a job in a dusty trade; phy~ ination, with stereoscopic^, grams of the chest, is necessa with this study goes, naturally aration of an occupational;. Bis detail as to the exact nature* o, work and of exposure to i*dus --not a valueless recording o tions as "laborer," "machinist*-. Sayers of the U. S. Public He vice', has developed a method o information for a proper occupa history; among others, Cummings, Saranac Laboratory, also has wo a useful history blank. Standards have been dev the diagnosis of silicosis. The^ a suitable technic for taking : grams of the chest in order to the characteristic lung changes- Periodic physical examinati. eluding roentgenograms, are employers are to be enabled a; to learn the effect of individual ^ and intelligently to transfer.; workmen to lower dust cone before serious injury has beento work out a system of rotatxo. indicated as desirable in order NATIONAL SAFETY' posure may be intermittent. Such exam inations are helpful also in showing the efficiency of engineering control methods. The ability to place responsibility in case of claim for injury is no small part of the value of such initial and periodic examinations. Asbestosis. Clinical experience has shown that the inhalation of a sufficient amount of asbestos dust causes a serious type of fibrosis, which is not accompan ied by an unduly high incidence of tuberculosis. Other dusts and silicate compounds so far studied produce, at most, only a mild non-progressive reaction in the lungs, provided there is no significant amount of free silica in their composi tion. While not serious clinically, such conditions may give rise to considerable litigation. Adequate statistics on morbidity and mortality from occupational disease, to serve as a basis for effectively focussing the efforts to study and control dust diseases of the lungs are non-existent. Preventive Engineering It would be needless repetition to at tempt to discuss in. a technical way the engineering phases of dust control. All interested are referred to Industrial lu st, by Drinker and Hatch, issued in August of this year, which deals compre hensively with the subject; U. S. Bureau of..M,ines Information Circulars 6840 and 6848, by Harrington and Daven port, a review of literature on Preven tion oj Dust Diseases; U. S. Public Health Service Bulletin 217, by Bloom field and DallaValle, on The Determina tion and Control oj Industrial Dust; Report Z9 of the American Standards Association; and to the U. S. Bureau of Mines for a list of approved protective ' devices. I t may be said that, in general, the engineering specialist can and will devise the necessary equipment to meet the conditions specified to him. But the set ting of limits of permissible dust concen tration is not his but the physician's re sponsibility. The engineer is concerned with keeping dustiness to or below the limits at present considered satisfactory. Methods of Determining Dust Some dusts (as lead) are determined by chemical methods and the concentra tions in air are recorded gravimetrically .s milligrams per cubic meter. Others (as silica, where size is a factor in deter mining dangerous particles), are given by count. Neither method gives the whole story, but in both cases it may be possible to secure the information necessary for the purpose. In one report this statement occurs: "There is no doubt in the mind of any one familiar with the present dust sampling and dust-estimating methods that they will be amended and changed from time to time. At the present writ ing we would advise the use of the sim plest possible procedures where dust con trol alone is in question. If one wishes to obtain values which can be compared with published data, it is generally neces sary to copy with considerable care the technic used in the original case. This is another way of admitting the annoying fact that results by one method are usu ally not comparable to those obtained by another method." In another place, the report says: "It is very doubtful i! any useful purpose is served by determining accurately ex tremely dense dust concentrations--the only excuse for such data is to show the skeptic that the workplace is much dustier than it should b e .......... "It is probable that any sampling pro cedure which fixes concentrations in groups 100 per cent apart is sufficient and that the results of any attempts to come closer to the concentration at the moment of sampling are simply mis leading. Thus ranges such as 0-S, 5-10, 10-20, 20-40, etc., suffice for dust con trol." Particle Size. As dust particles in the lungs are of the order of 1 micron, with rarely a particle over 10 microns, dust control for hygienic reasons should be aimed at particles in the size range found from Tuberculosis BUY CHRISTMAS SEALS to have been breathed and reta Again quoting: " ............ if one' avoid use of the dusts of 1 micron or or exclude them from the dust wiH passes a 325-mesh screen, nearly all < diseases would be eliminated." Burl avoid the use of or to exclude the dusts involves very practical limitatiol The thought here is to stress the dei ability of study and experimentation the direction indicated by the con tee making the report. Dust Elimination Obviously, it is better, when pos: to purchase equipment already supplj with exhaust hood, rather than to to worry to fit one to equipment nofe signed to be hooded. Thus the resi ibility for potential efficiency is uporrlf manufacturer. There is available comparatively lil information upon which to base'ri| scientific design of hoods. The Preve tive Engineering Committee of Air ] giene Foundation includes in its reel report a table of minimum air velocft| to capture certain industrial dusts use in granite cutting, grain elevata paint spraying, sand pulverizing, elecl welding, electric plating, quarryingran mining, and batters' fur.) For protective equipment such asc respirators, air supplied masks, blast helmets, and goggles, very J plete information is available, be of the work of the U. S. Bure Mines, the Bureau of Standards^ the American Standards Associat: preparing and issuing specification be met if the equipment is to b e l under conditions where approval & i essary. Of course, all agree that, where p<5 ible, dust should be controlled atfH source, and protective equipment where this action cannot be aceoS plished. Permissible Dustiness There are various figures that ha' been and are being used as guides to missible dustiness where free silii present. It should be noted that mi of the data were not determined as medical requirement, but as being tamable in good practice and apparent satisfactory from a safety standpoin1 In South Africa the figure is 1 gram per cubic meter (or 300 particlj per cubic centimeter, or approximati 8.5 million per cubic foot). Dr. Lanza found in 1917 in the Jo| lin, Mo., district that, with good eng (Please turn to page 6;) NATIONAL SAFETY N E ^ B ing me ve Re wo tog DECI Air Contaminants ( Continued from page 36) neering practice, a figure of 1 milligram per 100 liters of air could be attained. The U. S. Public Health Service, in its study in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania, found that 50 million particles per cubic foot with S per cent quartz in the coarse dust and 10 million particles per cubic foot with 3S per cent quartz were apparently satisfactory and often were attained. The figure of 10-20 million particles per cubic foot for granite dust with 35 per cent quartz content is often quoted from the Vermont granite studies and the U. S. Public Health Service. Some metal-mining companies have gone further, setting the maximum of permissible dustiness at 5 million part icles per cubic foot. Certainly, there is a degree of air cleanliness that is safe, from the stand point of concentration of harmful dust. But the engineer may find himself in the position of practically being forced to control any dust, harmful or other wise, if he would protect his employers against suits at common law and the possibility of award of damages to men who have breathed dust containing little or no free silica. A dusty workplace is difficult to defend in court. Neither courts nor compensation boards, and certainly not juries, have seemed to be greatly impressed with a low silica dust count in an otherwise dusty atmosphere. By engineering means it is possible in many cases to reduce dustiness below figures established by limited medical studies. In view of the limited nature of these studies to the present time, and in view of the lack of understanding of many physiological problems associated with the breathing of dust, it seems just ifiable to set standards of dustiness as far below the medically determined levels as practical engineering permits. A Novel Extinguisher WH EN firemen responded to an alarm which reported an automo bile ablaze on a highway near Mission, Texas, they found the fire out and the motor splattered with the dripping re mains of ripe tomatoes, according to a story in The Weekly Underwriter. The driver explained that a farmer driving by had seen his predicament and offered the tomatoes as fire extinguishers. The men had bombarded the blazing en gine with the tomatoes and the fire was quickly extinguished. DECEMBER, 1936 65 Reolrterstf U. 8. Patent Office More Safety < More Comfort The 'margin of safety1 is of paramount importance in the construction of Lehigh Safety Shoes. Each shoe must be equipped with the improved steel box toe-- the stitching, soies and other construction features must all meet ex acting specifications. In addition, the use of high-grade leather, specially d e sig n e d lasts and a wide variety of patterns assure a comfortable pair of shoes for every industrial need. e e 5- i t h g f S . 3* " X < & ' and Eubber HeeI' LEHIGH SAFETY SHOE CO., INC. 31 S. SEVENTH ST. ALLENTOWN, PA. IPCO SAFETY HAIR NET F o r all in d u sttial operations w here girls are employed around m achinery and power driven equipm ent. Holds h a ir in place, out of the eyes and lessens the chance of acci dents-. M anufactured of heavy rayon silk with an elastic stran d w hich entirely encircles the head. W ill not shift or slip ; stays firm ly in place. A ttractive in appearance and w ill give m onths of satisfactory service. Fu rn ish ed in the follow ing colors: Blue, red, b la ck a n d lifiht, m ed iu m a n d d ark b row n. No. 436 INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS COMPANY Accident Prevention Equipment 800 W . Somerset Street 'Philadelphia Pennsylvania