Document 6BbevX6ke2BqMOa1ZZpxvK954

FILE NAME: National Safety Council (NSC) DATE: 1933 Aug DOC#: NSC427 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: NSC National Safety News - The Mechanical Control of Occupational Diseases N a tio n a l S a fe ty N e w s P ublished m onthly in the interest of accident prevention and the health of industrial workers VOL. XXVIII. No. 2 C O N T E N T S f o r A U G I 'S T . 1 9 3 3 We Can't Advance W ithout Records--J. L. V andegrifi........................................ 9 What " Perm issible" Means in R espiratory Protection-- William P. Y a n t ___ 11 Uncovering the F ire H azards-- /. H'. l u s t ....................... ....................................... 13 :ty Pays the S m alt Tlan: Too-- Robert ..S c h m itt.......................................... 16 Handling M aterial-- A Real Problem lor the Safety Man-- /. >4. P u r d y ........... 17 Facing the F uture-- M. A . C i m b e l ..........................................................................;.19 Mechanical Control of Occupational Disease-- David S . B e y e r ..........................21 An Eye Saved--Stew art I. Owen, Jr.........................................................................23 Sound O bjectives for the Vocational School-- John A . M c C a rth y.....................25 The Congress R e p o rte r................................................... ..............................................27 lillion C hildren Ride in School Buses-- Curtis B illin g s.............................. 29 Electric Shock and B um s C ause Much Lost Time .................................................36 Hrpdar D epartm ents I'iaIc id' ihc Mm!*: At !u N t l i i f < r i . . i I'jci s IT* l.ihrjrr .* ' j U-!v u.1 i,Hi ( j r . h O Gffitinc livi-nix 4R li- Ibii'tv llxcliaucv K tM iuK ..Ml H lth vi Vi itU tlir M-inul-Kiuin .VS 1*. Hulk-tin tkui.l 10 l i e Hov*f%* Serva- a: C its m a n T . F is h , E d ito r G. M. B u tccs, A sso c ia te E d ito r S tanley H . K e r sh a w , P o ster E d ito r C . H . M illk k , A d v e rtis in g M a n a g e r . P - f t r i g t u Ila3 by N a tlu n ;il S u fri.v |u r . iTltiled In O . A . ,* eim id-cli* w a l l r r Jo* | . Ir21. mi ( h r l*vt (film- m " i u t r i i 2. 1*7*. A d d i t l t n t u l m i r y Ml S i . Je*Hl, Ylirh. 1)1.. oiMikr it- T W ai<Mrrl|tioii p r ie v t o m m i ! f u i lira o f llm X.-XTI* *NAI. SA K K T Y NKXVS ' I t . in jvr V fiif. S m e l o copi**. 4 m f c t i l x . J tH ig tv ti q u a n t i t y p r t e w (t*r y e a r l y a n Im eni- l**n * a n d I n g l e c o p i e o n r m u m . r r i p t l o i a r c a r n i t a h l v inly i m v i i i li e r a l l i r X a t l o n u l s.f*,*V kl^Hikrr AoUll D u rcau o f CIrcul;Un. m agazine-!* Indexed In tlir liid u r tr U l A rm Index. * '!ttm en t * n^ opinions ad en tirrd In elgned anlrl** are to hr utH rm i^-l m individual ~tpr-|0f| fi ( h e i r n u thor**. < <f ( h r N a t i o n a l S f r i y f'*uunl N a tio n a l S a f e ty C o n n c il, I n c . 20 N o rth \\'a-krr Drivi-. t.`lii<ap<>. I . S. A. New Y ork Office, 9 KuM 41 st Street National Safety Council Officers. 1932-1933 J am., J. IU kavH. tt.trr J. fU n J K . Vi<*e*PreAiOi n t f JMiblk JUfrty J. r . C r u j x e r . Vlci*.f*Te*nieni fu r T n . tin e tn n c II. Y*4Ka, V lrr-IV f^ l^ c tit ( or .V ern ik rMtip <i. T . l l r . c L M v n r . V | < * * p r * u j e i i t f o r flu s irv a s A d m in istra tio n I. Lakc, Vked'mNietit t*r Safety C a u n ctlft 7 r.aa;i J |. W a r n , ' VU-^Prnu<jc u t f OP im n jstru d .N airtr !. Ca ssiv i JL W a t m n , X 'ire-p re sid e n t f r H ealth .M a ra r \V. X X 'w rx zr. V icr*rrfx i trn c f.*r lid g raiiA n \Vu. ( ' , Trcaswrer W . |t. nrrr1*r S e c r e t a r y twl M A t t a a m g Executive. Committee V c n th rrs al 1j r j o J. I h>'*Mt, CtifixulUne K nsin rer \ \ . IW.,.;, S b l f t i(tiii|r>-r XX*. tl. MiMCt-inj Jlirtv i.tr UT 1. < O I * h . 1 he A-ltu l. il V I l n u r , attrr lU*. ^XVm . ( T he S lr\ns ll*t>i ]V. K. Mfei tinn. ' Kt ^ 'amm Iiw a , JinMnn IJevalr^l h;, , | v t I t*'a* II. Konwa, IUifrKJcJt-\VriU-um< A Of. l \ S. A.*. IlK, f**1. T>*dVs< XV. litHUVi. Jw ip erin irn d en t f\i Schnnis. A km n. Ohn 1Iabv The Jhillnun C nm iunv C. T. llu x titT M . Chics N rth SHnr* A M il'iitkrf Pa 1C. I l i i i , I.iniS York C entral KaNC 2. tykXAUAX. Kmi r i l l M a lle ab le Irm i Cu, J mmx E. AHe I * U T irr A llu d M R lU ithad Oq, r.RM^c K. S t x r m . lb-wet* K k e t r k O . C XV*. StoiMlant UH O, A e tm n .M. T**, O ^nm ltiiic .Vxrirw K n . littcrr H. W aw cu VnUn !\ain<- Svmt-m 1*. Cavami II. \Vatmx, A r u r r in n T ele- tiwr A T H efn in li Cj%. Ammutt W . W i i i r x r r . N atbm al f b irra u n i Casually and Surety rndee**ritrrs !. C*K. A. W i^jiA V , Y ak M n h n t .Vlmoj lti-|,rri-iitittjj Safety Otiuirll. I \ \ i i j m K. Am i a , V il a ik M * . \Y<%. i '. A. litMMTV Y rk 0 tn it. |*a. r V k lt\ V. Kmi. l*vaixlMi. 111. It. W. lUrteUni] W. \V. V * , |k>lRarr K, I* NVw lU re n . f'n ttn . J . II. T iiim m , HirvMinctaaMi. .Ma. |\<*|imu*nliti> S i 'liiitif i . It. Ib ,riir r. ISiU i< rtililU - K k t V K I I . C.MKAX. > la r i r M la a iT ftw r. M inin* J . J . h U K , ISi n r r a n d !*vlp It. S. N x m t, A.VU-^Ktiaiiwrrin* II. T . Saj .n *ttjc. A r r i d m l l*revm liu IU|upnml l l m u f i d u r m Past Prwidrut* |l*r*i \V. O m n :u A mtimh T . Muaxv Ij :* ' H. I ' a u i n IU \1MVaK NOUiCk* Hai^ m f . H in u w i* E i u i i u I*. T # o u m AaTItt l It. Yll'Mfi MaftCVl A. Ih` l.r.w ia A. I h lb iits Uhi It. Avia. <!M*Lh.A H. Scott \ v t . m <. K im c I h i u u K. N im x * IIi:nat A. I l s t > a r . K t'u Ni hTTihux ai. W. i n a s t i v i I ! lioitorarv i lt*^ a X V O M m u . r lax A h S b i M .aa \THt b \\ UXiAMt The M echanical Control of Occupational D iseases By DAVID S. B E Y E R ' THE mechanical control of industrial disease cannot be covered adequate ly in a single article; all we :in hope to do is to touch upon a few ..i ihe important points encountered by :: plant managers who arc itrrggling :h :hi- problem today. I'li.-i.- arc S-iiuc forty different diseas-s ^ hrduh-d in the compensation acts of various American states; in Massa chusetts. Connecticut and several other states there is no definite list of diseases that are compensa led, but these diseases are considered as " personal injuries" imler the law and compensation is paid ih*u; any specific schedule of disease- Many of these diseases are of ~ frequent occurrence. Probably most of us outside the medical profession have never even heard of "(ionioma Kamasst'' African boxwood) on " miner's nystag mus." which appear on some of the state lists. A half dozen of the more im p l a n t diseases, however, will probably ver ninety percent of the total paynw-n!< twins made thrdughout industry !<:;; industrial diseases today. An analysis of approximately $300.000 in losses of one insurance company doinc a general workmen's compensation and liability business, for recent industrial disease claims, showed 54 per cent (or vases involving pneumoconiosis (includ ing silicosis, nsbestosis. etc.) 26 per cent fur loirl poisoning, 9 per cent for various f-irnw .,f derm atitis, 5 per cent for benzol. =n<! ;h,. remaining 6 percent for scatter- .luses such as carbon monoxide, rarlmn tetrarhloride, chrome and chlor ine. Me will accordingly look at the subea from the standpoint of these few im portant causes, bearing in mind that the n>ost important of all is covered by the zencrnl heading of pneumoconiosis, or diva v s caused by dust. Of these dis- | | (1- nint serious come from inhal ing i|,,. )i, n found in sand, granite dust, a h r.i-iv .- jN .u d i- f s . e tc . C lO tf M u t u a l I hj. u r* <-* C o m w a a v . Drt"* l i . i , , ^ paper rc*d at tha T w e lfth annual S i f < t v r n n t r r e n r e f th e Ma*.*aS a f . l v r-.Minrll 1 Both the engineer and the physician are needed in protect ing the health of the w orker and the pocket hook of the employer. In this article Mr. Beyer presents the engineering side of the problem . In the Ju n e issue Dr. W. Irv ing C lark discussed it from the point o f view .of the phvsician When the subject of dust is mentioned l most of us probably think of visible par ticles. In fact, much of the dust re moval work, even by companies special izing along this line in the past, has been directed at this form of dust. Medical research has shown us. bowever. that the dust that is most danger ous. through its deep inhalation into the lungs, is so small that the individual par ticles are invisible and can only be seen by the naked eye if they are gathered In a dense doud, which may have the ap pearance of a gray fog. We are told that the amount of d ust found in the lungs of miners who have lied oTTilicosis is nlxmt 13 grams', or approximately hall an ounce - about enough to till a ten-eem soda-mint bottle. Microscopic Menaces Some idea of the problem of collecting such infinitestimal particles may be had when we further learn that these 13 grams contain some 20 million million particles: many of them ara about the size of the tiny globules oS tarry sub stance that make up cigarct smoke, that is. about a hundred thousandth of an inch in diameter. If they were equipped with legs they could march fifty abreast through the hollow center of a human hair! So little has the seriousness of this hazard been appreciated in the past that it is not uncommon to go into a plant and find four or five tons of this fine dust which has domed in the air and settled on the roof trusses and overhead structures of the building. Here it may l>c dislodged by gusts of air or vibra tions from moving cranes, etc. If one Dot !t**plrtor M int P**M**f t' 5 Hui-au of P * stops to figure how many 13-gram bot tles are contained in a ton of this dust, its potentialities are appalling. The first need is to get rid of these unneces sary accumulations, and then try to prevenP^heir recurrence. Many a plant manager will say, "Why go to all the trouble and expense neces sary to catch this dust when, in most cases, it isn't worth anything after it is caught?" The answer is that it is belter lo spend the money and effort in getting rid of the dust than to be overwhelmed by occupational disease claims, as b the case with many industrial concerns to day. In me section where there is a socalled " dusty*' trade employing only about 2000 men on an annual basis, there have Itecn 92 occupational disease claims during the latest available fiveyear |wriod (6$ of them for death or permanent total disability) with com bined losses of nearly S300.000. In some industries the cost of indus trial disease is now four or five times that of all other industrial accidents combined. Many concerns that have serious occupational disease hazards ex tending over a period of years find themselves virtually uninsurable. be cause of the heavy liability for claims that has been built up as the result of past exposure. A Matter of Self-Preservation It follows, therefore, that as a matter of self-preservation plants in these in dustries must start imnvediatcly a com prehensive procram of improvement that will at least check the development of new cases. In general, the most reliable way to correct n dust hazard is to iniall exhaust /equipm ent that will capture the dust at th rp o in t where it is Generated. This has Seen worked out very effectively (or such equipment as grinding nnrl huffing wheels. L'nfortunately a complete system of dust collecting and separating for a large department costs a lot of money-- more than many plants feel they can possibly afford under present business conditions. Tem porary Expedients For such rases there may be other al ternatives or temporary expedients that will at least tide m atters over until im proved business conditions warrant the installation of a permanent dust re moval system. Fur Instance, the manager of a plant recently visited by the writer stated that they had already :qxnt 5X0.000 in ex haust equipment and had not yet fully solved the lust problem. In this indus try. the use of oil which has liccn sprayed on the material in some cases in the past, to improve its handling in the machinery and processes! oilers a promising solu tion to the dust problem. Dust counts in some plants using the oil show reduc tions of 90 per cent or more in millions of particles per cubic foot, and if further tests corroborate these results it oners a simple and comparatively inexpensive method of correcting the dust .hazard in one industry. * In other operations, such as the shaking out of foundry castings, it may be possible to do this work at night, by men vrho are protected by respirators, and thus eliminate a common exposure to employees engaged in other <*pera- tions in the same room. The use <t en closed mechanical conveyors and mate rial handling systems, properly exhaust ed. instead of the old individual hand methods where the workers were brought into close contact with dusty substances, offers a solution in o th e n a se s. The treasurer of one concern with whom 1 recently discussed the hazard of his foundry said, ``M ayIk wc have the answer right here," and. he brought out the design of a machine which was fab ricated entirely from sheets, plates, angles and other structural shapes, riveted and weided together, which would entirely eliminate the castings of which it was largely compose! in the past. Where the dusty work is in a perma nent location, and too Great freedom of Mowrr:-:: is not re>.Mitred, the air-led respirator may give satisfactory results. For cases of temporary dust exposure, as for sweeping and cleaning up dust, the improved types of Filter respirators may be adequate. In some cases substitutes may be found for the substance causing the trouble. This has already been done in some processes where benzol was formerly used, and efforts are being made to extend the use of this principle. The use of water to overcome dust hazards is one of the first suggestions that is usually made. 1 recently tried to explain this problem to an industrial manager anl after telling him that the dust which causes the trouble is less than 10'microns in size, a micron being about 1^25,000th of an inch, and being encouraged by his nods which seemed to indicate that he was following my ex planation perfectly. I was a little dis concerted at Ihe end to have him say. "Why can't you get rid of those microns by washing the air?" Apparently after all nty efforts he still thought a micron was something like a microbe! Water has bevn found rather effective lor laying the dust in some operations such as mining, sweeping up dusty floors, etc. In other casts, it has been a disapfvuntmrm as. for example, on grinding whec's. where a dry exhaust system has proved to Ik more satisfac tory than wet grinding.1 Dii-:ng the conference in South Africa in !' " . one of the speakers pointed out the futility of trying to completely re move dust clouds by water sprays or ato mizing. adding the further comment that a tiny droplet of water may collect as many as 800 dust particles and then being inhaled `Is like Imnibarding the lungs with shrapnel instead of single rifle firr. Unwarranted Gmfulence Where exhaust equipment is installed, poor maintenance of these systems whereby their value is reduced or entire ly vitiated is altogether too common. An inquiry in a plant recently as to how the dust filtering apparatus was working brought the reply, " Fine! -wc haven't had to even- look at it F'r it years!" When we climbed a ladder to the roof to sec this miraculous equipment, a touch on the screens shtxjk a pail-full of dust from the "clean" side of the separator. Another common and dangerous prac tice in many dust removal systems is KruUh vf u'tirkfia hi 1*iw*y r , S 1`u U lic H e a l t h B u l l e t i n . W t? T . I\ 24. . . . w that of returning the filtered air to the plant in order to conserve the heat that would be lost if it were discharge 0ul. side the building. In five such svstems where dust counts have been made dur ing the past few months there wls on)v one where there was even a question as to whether or not the air was fit to be returned. In one case over iorty-seven million dust particles per cubic foot were found in the air that was being re-circu lated, or many times what we would con sider a safe limit! Ineffective Installations The salesman who had put in thc equipment had persuaded them that thc fdiered air was so much purer than Cod's product as represented by she out side atmosphere that he had even piped it into the office.' so the ntanager was breathing the dust as well as the factory employees. (Perhaps that might b<called cooperation!) While it may be going too far to say that no filtering equipment can nukt dusty air suitable for re-breathing, the constant chance of the system getting out of order makes it almost as question able a practice as an attempt to recover drinking water from a sewage system. Installations that are clogged, leaking and otherwise ineffective are common. One of our engineers found that the belt connecting the exhaust fan to the motor in an overhead installation had been off for an indefinite period. The motor switch had been thrown regularly but no one noticed that there was no exhaust at the grinding wheels it serviced. In another installation seen by the writer recently, a handkerchief held be fore the wheel stood out horizontally bowing that the dust was Iring blow not toward the operator instead being drawn in away from him. An important point that should i borne in mind in designing an exhaust system is that it is highly desirable capture the dusts or vajxjrs as close t<the point at which they are generated ns possible, before they have had a ch.-innto be diffused throughout the air of throom. General ventilation may be helpful - reducing the concentration, but it is ob viously of little value to draw the ob jection] substances up throuch a ro>`: fan as is sometimes done, thereby carry ing them past the faces of the operators who must draw them in with ever) breath. The leslgn of a proper exhaust svmcv >Pirate turn ti> p.i'r j j j Mechanical Control of ! O ccupational Diseases I ( tU n n m i train p a g e 2 2 ) TO WEAR OVER GLASSES If you have workmen w ho wear ( l i u n give them the abtolute aaiiurance of eye protec tion at well aa good riiio n by Having them wear CESCO M Bi L G O G G L E S over their prescription lensea. Thee m en will d o b etter work a n d m V m t to u t will be reduced. CESCO M * L G C O G L E S are tpeciaUy designed to be worn -- -r th e workman' own spectacle---they fit " Sty. are com fortable and prevent breakage and pitting of p e n sive prescription lenses. CESCO M & L GOGGLES are furnished in three styles meeting all necessary require ments. Ventilated pattern fined with SuperSafety lenses for chipping, grinding, caulk ing, riveting and like operations. Dust model fitted with S uper Safety lenses. W eld ers pattern fined with CESCOW ELD lenses for acetylene welding and cutting. StiJ for ttmple tmd cttuloj C H I C A G O EYE SHIELD CO 2300 Warren Blvd. Chicago, III. PLACE "STOP LOSS"u ORDERS Guard acainsi costly ounch press accirirnts. f>C f' D. i M. Automatic Punch Press Guards. They are your " ;;ow ;*->' v u v s cuoinst those unfortunate " a p c '!*.ncs that mean losses m men. money and morale. Ortitr m O. t W. .<**/ m*mHr t'ottnfti f o r W* >i*: 11* P M A*A.' t f i n t , S U i t * n > o u **f $treiM u n d g,' t h r r i r f t tu r i o h t *r t u t r f t i MOr i v 1 D. & M. A^tr.maties fit all punch picsaes -have an.y 3 working parts--a<c made entirely of drop forcings and ste-:` (e .ccp t ;b.: guard head] ano o<e low in cr-cc SiE.SG 10 effectively control dust requires thorough understanding of certain engineering principles that are completely lost sight of in many of the installation, now in use. For example, where the dust collects can be so arranged as to enclose the source of dust completely, or almost a very complete dust elimination may result, but where the inlet is five nr .x inches away from the source of the du-its efficiency may be reduced by as mu. S as 90 to 95 (<r cent, and be wholly ir.. effective.4 Where the exhaust equipment has Ix-en Irxiki-d on in the past as more or It>< of a nuisance U r ause it is non-prixliiclivr and could accordingly be slighted at will, it must now Ik; recognized as a primary .perming problem, and rspnnsibility must lx- placed on sontf -t . in see that it is krpi in first class cona tion at all times. And jo, to summarize the results .<i this brief survey of the mechanical con trol of occupational disease hazards, it is the opinion of the writer that chiefly in this direction lies safely from some f the most serious diseases, if one also in cludes rearrangement of the processes under "mechanical control." in contras: with the "medical control." While agreeing that medical supervi sion of new prospects for employment is 01 primary importance, in order to pre vent placing new employees who have some physical m(iairmem in a position where they will quickly break down a* ;; result of ihc work hazard, and granting the value of medical follow-up of t-r plovees subjected to exposures such lead and Iwn/.ol. which bring alxnn j temporary rnndition thai may be chick.d by medical supervision and a change "i orrupation. it seems evident that in the most serious industrial disease hazard, that of exposure to silica dust, chief <lej pendcnce must be placed on elimination 1 or control of the dust, i In in*4a:linv: such equipment 1 save money and griei in the long run. employ a competent engineer who under stands the difficulties of collecting im palpable lusts or vapors, and can b ' t a reasonable assurance of getting an effective installation without to., nimh i.f th- "rtit and try" nxrthrxl. it* |. ; Stiniors.'** J . jw\ u f . I'*."7 ml ' .M fin d H ..... * . t l k , >*'* * V o n ttlu tm c in l * 4*U*n " f 1'