Document 91QQqzpGp5Yv77z6Ne7kBBXNL

FILE NAME: Engineering (ENG) DATE: 1931 Nov DOC#: ENG001 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Trade Journal Article - The Very Least an Employer Should Know about Dust and Fume Diseases - !R Prrrm tion H d l h Comcrroiion Firo PrercnUoa T hlrty-firti Year-- The Pioneer Publication in lit Field 1t y iLfBgineermg o /V;-, TT* U ^ o . e i & TO-l h t fThe Magazine o f Sa f e t y " w with which b u been combined: Protection Efntineerin. Conservation *nd Fire Prevention $Cn . ARTHUR C. CARRUTHERS, Editor Jt ijl. O. B, U BA D , A nt. Editor P Harry Armand, A sst Editor ft Vol. LXII, N o. 5 CONTENTS Novem ber, 1931 WIIAT TIIE EDITOR THINKS* FIRE PROTECTION AND PREVENTION: P u tt i n g O u r Shoulders to the Wheel ........ 269 T h e Kind of Christmas Presents That Help 269 Safety H a s its T h a n k s g i v i n g ......................... 270 ACCIDENT PREVENTION AND SAFETY: Ha* Development of Safety Codes Helped Accident Prevention in industry?-- Uv Cyril Ainsworth ................................................ '........... 271 Often Ther e is a Better Wa y ....................... 274 Precautions Against Freezing of Fire Extin guishing Appliances ........................................ 287 Vocational Educator Advocates Courses for Fire Fighter s .................................................... 290 F ,re Tes t s of Partitions ........ 291 Heat i ng Plant Fires ................................................... 294 Reducing Industrial FireLosses ...................... 25 Blasting Caps Cause Many Injuries to Chil- " " ren-- Ry George G. King ........................... 297 One Million Stiles of Safe Bus Driving_Bv Herbert W. Hoover ......................................\ 275 HEALTH CONSERVATION: _ . ' I Wood Products Company Operates over 4f)0 Days Without an Accident ............................ 276 Proceedings of National Safety Congress . . 277 Some Representative Exhibits -- National Safety Congress ....................................279 Education as an Essentia! Factor in the Pro tection of Children and Pedestrian* on the Streets and H i ghways -- By Albert \V . W hitney 23 J Safety for the Boiler-- By G. E. S a m s .......... 2S2 Common Causes of Industrial Accidents-- Bv L. L. Spencer .................................................. 283 Coal Mining Makes Excellent Safety Record 285 Orderliness and Cleanliness in Mines--By T A. Voss . ....................................................... 298 Rheumatic Disease Among Industrial Work ers ^ ......................... .... ^ ' 304 Curative Qualities of Violet Ravs ................... 305 Sickness Among Male Industrial Employees -- By Dean K. Ilrundagc ........................ 307 Men. Money and Sickness-- Bv I'hiiip P. Jacobs .......................................................... Gas Hazards and How to Meet Them 3 !I Uliat is Being Done to Protect the Eves of Industrial Wor ke r s --By Lewis H Carris 514 bkin Diseases from Brazilian W a l n u t s ......... 3 |(j . -- The \ cry Least an Employer Should Know About Dust and Fume Diseases--By Fred erick Willson, M. D......................................... j - Published Monthly by $ frji s<i:hvt f ublication :fc? ARTHUR C. :r? intitl Safety^ Magazine Publishing Corporation office, 34 Crystal S t, E. Stroudsburg, Pa. Editorial and general offices, New York, N. Y. CARRUTHERS, President AUSTIN F. HANCOCK, Vice President O. H A RIW ARM AND. Business Mnr.a.:cr 119 Nassau Street ' B. MEAD, Secretary n t, r,,,u) b,. * s v u s u c i i T i o x s - i j ^ N j ^ / . ' ' i T , , ? g ,\r!i |-,k- ,, v,,,,r V . , r , of; 7:1 rifri & (3 <g 4 1& l tq, i" ?c ? ?: ?' c --I P r: fu r i' { L c it f '< ( - - :17.J LiNkW.NLLtdNl.; 317 The Very Least an Employer Should Know . about Dust and Fume . Diseases By FREDERICK WILLSON, M.D. P rciiden!, WilNon Product*, Inc., Readm it, Pa. THL^Jiarm ,,wrought, in, industry by diseases due to inhalation of dust and fumes is, as yet, not . so well recognized as are those visible injuries caused by industrial accidents. Nevertheless, the em ployer who has at heart the welfare of his workmen and the best monetary interests of his company should wish to have some information on this subject, that he may not err through ignorance of the danger of dust and fumes or of the liability under the law which he must always face. Although industrial respiratory diseases are not in cluded in Workmen's Compensation Acts in most states, employers arc in no sense relieved thereby from their and responsibility. Probably one of the most in- ivc of recent opinions bearing on this subject is 1 J udc Cutler sitting in the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey. Judge Cutler said: "It was the duty of the defendant company to excr- cisc reasonable care that the place in which it set the deceased at work, and the system or method adopted by it for doing the work, should be reasonably safe for the plaintiff, and free from latent dangers known to the defendant company, or discoverable by an ordi nary prudent master, under the circumstances. It was also the duty of the defendant company to exer cise reasonable care and skill to provide safe ma chinery and appliances n which the deceased was em ployed, and in keeping such machinery and appliances in a reasonably safe condition for such use, including the duty of making inspections and tests at proper intervals while lie was.so employed. If the defendant failed to perform this duty, and the plaintiff con tracted the disease from which he died by reason of such neglect, the plaintiff can recover unless the de ceased assumed the risk of his employment, or was guilty of what the law terms contributory negligence." The above opinion places great stress on " reasonable care" and, of cmirio, no employer can observe reason- ' '' care unless he has at least a little knowledge about \ turc of dust and fume hazards. nay be said, first of all, that large and heavy par- tic cs of earthy and metallic matter generally do not constitute a respiratory hazard. because such particles, emg arge. do not remain In suspension in the air and en \\ ten breathed by workmen are almost invariably caught on the mucus membrane of the nasal and p aryngcal passages. Such large particles mav unpleas antly dry the secretions, causing the workman to hawk er spit, but the inconvenience occasioned is so marked that the nose and throat are soon cleared of these large particles of dust. In other words, large dust particles continue a source of local irritation instead of lun-- irri tation. & Foreign particles in the air become dangerous to hu man beings when their mass is so slight that they readily remain in suspension in the atmosphere. Such particles when subjected to measurement generally indicate a size under 5 or 10 microns (a micron equals 1/25,000') and are therefore so minute as separately to be invisible, although when in great concentration such dust can be detected in the atmosphere in the form of a cloud, and in the accumulations of powdery material which settle on everything and everywhere. Under 5 microns in size dust_ particles readily pass through the mouth and nose, traverse the bronchial pas sages and lodge in the alveolar tissue, from which re mote parts of the lung structure they cannot be dis lodged by hawking or coughing. Suspended matter in air may come under the classifi cation of fumes as well as dust. Fumes signify, "Liquid or solid particles from 0.2 to 1 micron in diameter formed by physico-chemical reactions such as distilla tion, condensation and combustion. Acid mists, ammo nium chloride, lead, zinc oxide, and the like,' can be produced in the form of fumes." Naturally, the more concentrated the quantity of dust ntul fume in suspension in the atmosphere the greater the danger to which the workman is exjioscd and the smaller the particles the greater the likelihood that en trance into the lung interstices will ensue. The size of particles In prolonged suspension in the air is more likely to be under a microns than m c r; probably the most ,|.l n gerous sort ot dust is that ranging from 2 microns to 0.5 micron, or smaller, because, as jmt stated, these im palpable particles read.ly remain in suspension in the air. The size of fume particles, as already given, ranges from 1 micron to 0.2 micron in diameter. In other words, the smaller the particles the greater the danger; unaware of this facf employers and workmen. L Asansirresi,jsuch,m- SAFETY ENGINEERING N m 'rn ib e rt 7 9 .7 / We do know, however, that breathing of dust under the following conditions is seriously harmful: * r^cts \ Mteml^rthrchaTaaerol'l^rmT oscopic particles which find their way im o the lungs Lead dust and fumes as found in smelting and burn ing operations, pottery manutacturing, painting, . lead tempering, paint spraying, battery, rubber ? SU,`StanC- " * inhaled for considerable penods manufacturing and all other occupations in which ith comparatively slight physical effect, while otll,.r i lead is an essential material. instances even on brief physical exposure tend to start Ihmmato^ processes in the lung tissue, some kinds which advance progressively, even if exposure ceases, ltd death ^results. All types of tine dust containing ree silica as quartz" are prone to set up inllammary processes in the lung tissue, serious conditions hid cannot be completely checked when once started Arsenic dust and fumes as in smelting, manufacturing insecticides, spraying of fruit trees, and the like. AH kinds of operations in which dust of free silica is present, as granite cutting, stone crushing, sand pulverizing, sandblasting, the mixing of glass ma terials and glazes, and so on through a long series of industrial operations. id which result in much physical suffering and in pre-' Asbestos and every operation in which it is used. zturc ccath. Other dust and fumes entering the lungs Fur cutting and felting (mercury poisoning). *y become absorbed into the blood stream and cause The making and handling of spraying material with neral poisoning with symptoms of bodily effect vary- . nicotine content. . . l according to the toxicity of the substance. Long ntmued absorption of toxic dust and fumes often re Its m complete disability, ending in death. Fumes of zinc and brass, from brass founding, smelt ing, autogenous welding, and other operations of like character in the presence of zinc. (In this Scientific knowledge of the results of dust exposure s not progressed far enough to exactly predicate the ' ' '* danBcr ln cveO- kind of dust and fume. The way for an employer is to regard all dust in dirtw/ as a hazard. Under best conditions it cannot Ip but be harmful to a degree, while under adverse millions die shortening of life is almost inevitable. group the results arc unpleasant and temporarily incapacitating but not cumulative in effect.) Besides the above operations, unpleasant results m ay lollow exposure to such dusty conditions as cleaniim of factory floors and walls in the presence of germ laden dust; threshing and cleaning of grain, and numberless other operations tending to introduce into the human system irritating and poisonous material. Cooperation Between Employer and Employee V M A R K A B L E event has recently taken place at I-.ndicott, New York, where 40,000 persons irehed and 150,000 persons viewed the parade in celeition of fifty years' development of the Endicott Jolmi Corporation, manufacturers of shoes. George F. Johnson fifty years before located in Enditt with no other assets than health, youth and ambi n to begin work at the bench in a small shoe factory, -day Mr.>'Johnson is chairman of the board of the idicott Johnson Corporation which employs 17 000 Tkers with a productive capacity of 135,000 pairs of DCS per day and running at capacity at a time when ictically the whole world is in the depths of an ccurn,c depression. This "Go!Jen Jubilee" celebration Emlicott Johnson workers was honoring George on. The whole community joined in the ccle- r- Johnson has always considered himself as One *lL ^-"dii-olt Johnson associate workers. He has1 n tbc pilot in this great organization and has been : 0,l'y untiring in advancing the Endicott Johnson l'oral.o.i ,o a foremost position in ils industry but Secretary of Labor Doak, United States Senator W ar ner, Congressman John D. Clark and many other dis tinguished citizens were present and expressed their ad miration for what George F. Johnson's life has repre sented as a great industrial builder, as a great humani tarian, and m maintaining prosperity and happiness to many thousands of tamilies. Hus is .the type of industrial leadership uhidi any company or community is fortunate to possess, the tyii that decs not tail and even in the hardest times of- busi ness depression keep the working force employed and sateguards the community from the sultoriim of unem ployment. & Old Mon Accident Says: W illi Carefulness, I Cannot Succeed; with Carelessness I Cannot Fail" , Novem ber 1931 SAFETY ENGINEERING 3.19 "' 'I Advertisers in This Issue The concern mentioned below are all advertising in this sue. They are specialists in their various lines of safety and protection, and will be glad to hear from you. Write them. American Abrasive Metals Co.......................... 268 American District TelegraphCo......................... 294 American Eagle Fire Insurance Co.................. Inside Back Cover American Optical Co......................................... 265 Atlantic Hotel ............"...................................... 316 Books ...................................., .....................292, 293 The b ucket brigade- Central Iron & Steel Co..................................... 313 Chicago Eye Shield Co............... Inside Front Cover Continental Insurance Co............Inside Back Cover Dayton Safety Ladder Co.................................. 313 Endicott-Johnson Corp................................... . 303 Fidelity and Casualty Co., The ..Inside Back Cover Fidelity-Phenix Fire Insurance Co................... Inside Back Cover First American Fire Insurance Co...................... Inside Back Cover Greyhound Lines .............................................. 308 Hartford Fire Insurance Co............................. 319 Hynson, Westcott & Dunning, Inc................... 397 Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Co............................ 266 Maryland Insurance Co., of Delaware ......... Inside Back Cover Morin Bros. Mfg. Co............................................ 302 Mundt & Sons, Chas......................................... 306 Murray Safety Sling Co.................................... 303 has hung up its buckets. Its hard fought battles with fire are now in trained hands. But protection against loss from fire . . . loss from a variety of causes . . . is still too often bought on the bucket brigade principle-- a little here and a little there. And the insured does not realize the inadequacy until loss from some unsuspected and unprotected source takes toll of his property and profits. You can place the protection of your property . . . your business . . . in the hands of an expert-- a Hartford Agent. Call him now.* H e's trained to recog nize every risk . . . to write complete, in dividualized insurance. New Colonial Hotel ......................................... 306 Niagara Fire Insurance Co..........Inside Back Cover President's Organization on Unemployment Relief ............................................................... 289 Safety Clothing Co.............................................. 320 Safety Equipment Service Co................Back Cover Stonehouse Signs, Inc......................................... 304 West Disinfecting Co.......................................... 299 Williams Jewelry & Mfg. Co............................. 296 Willson-Products, Inc............................Front Cover *If you do not know the name of the Hartford agent look under "Hartford" in your telephone book. I f he isn't listed, write The Hartford Fire Insurance Co., Hartford, Conn. THE HARTFORD FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY HARTFORD CONNECTICUT ciTJFTV ENGINEERING? Thank vou!