Document B56jJmB6Mjk49eaoQ531reGno

FILE NAME: Gauley Bridge Sayers (GBS) DATE: 1932 DOC#: GBS005 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Autobiography of R.R. Sayers AUTOBIOGRAPHY 07 SURCEOH R. fi. SAYERS [(V c l., Circa 1<V3z 3 Dr. R R. Sayers Surgeon of the United States Public Health Servio, was horn at Crotharrills, Indiana, October 25, 1885. He {graduated fresa the University of Indiana in 199? with the degrees A. 3, and A* Me, having moored in chemistry and electro-chemistry. from 1907 to 1910 he was chief chemist for the Gould Storage Battery Ootapazgrg from 1911 to 1913 he vac professor of electro-chemistry at the University of Buffalo* and In 1914 graduated from that University withthe degree Of U Da C. dune 16, 1913, Dr. Sayers became an interne In the Public Health Service Hospital at Buffalo, F. T., and on July 1, 1914, he was transferred to Ellis Island. On October 19, 1914, 1 took the exami nation for appointment os Assistant Surgeon from Indiana. His nomination was confirmed by the Senate in December, 1914, and his corralasion as Assistant Surgeon issued on January 6, 1915. On January 9, 1915, he w~s relieved fresa his internship and ordered to Ellis Island Hospital for duty. Early in February, 1915, he w -o detailed to the Coast Guard Cutter Seneca. After one year he was transferred to the Marine Hospital at Stapleton, E. I., where he served for about two months when ho was ordered to Greenville, S. C., for rural sanitation work. On July 5 1916, he was relieved from duty at Greenville and directed to proceed to Liberty, Mo,, by wty of Jefferson City, Mo., for similar duties. On October 23# 1916# lie was directed to proceed to Washington, s. c## for temporary duty at the Hyglento Laboratory# On February 24, 19X7, bo wao directed by the Surgeon General to proceed to Okmulgee# Gfcla#, where be was engaged In rural sanitation investigations until April 4# 1917# when# on account of military necessity# be was ordered to proceed im mediately to Galveston, Texas# to report to the Coast Guard Cutter Comanche for duty# where he served until early in June# 1917# he was transferred to the Plague Laboratory at New Orleans, La## and in July# 1917# he was directed to report to the U. S# Bureau of films for duty. He was assigned to one of the mine-rescue care to conduct in vestigations on the conditions affectin': the health of the minor and their families* On SeoteLiber 16# 1918# while with the Bureau of Hines# Dr# Ssyere# at the request of the Director of that Bureau reported to the American University Experimental Station, Washington, D. C,,# to study the physiological effects of poisonous gases and the use of gas masks and breathing apparatus# On November 1, 191R, Dr# Sayers received orders for duty in Massachusetts and was assigned to Connecticut in charge of the Service work in connection with the influensa epidemic# On November 25# 1918# he was directed to proceed to Joplin* Po* and ouch other places as necessary in that vicinity for the purpose of assuming ohargs of a tri state sanitary district to be composed of Ottawa County# Okla. ,, Jasper County# Mo# and Cherokee and Crawford Counties, Hons# On September 5# 3- 1919, be eras relieved of duty In the tri-state district and informed that bis' explication for four months8 leave bad been granted On December 11, 1919, he was directed to report to the Public Health Service at Washington, Do Coo for ermsisation to determine hie fitness for promotion to the grade of Passed Assistant Surgeon. His cocmiasion as Passed Assistant Surgeon as issued effective January 1, 1920* ' On February 4, 1920, Dr. Sayers as relieved from further duty with, the 3ection of Industrial Hygiene and directed to report to the Director of ths Bureau of Hines, Washington, X). C, for duty. On February 9, 1920, the Director of the Bureau of Hines assigned him as Chief Surgeon of that bureau with headquarters in Washington, D. Co Dr* Sayers 2ms continued to date with the Bureau of Hines in charge of its investigations into the conditions affecting the health and safety of miners On January 6, 1923, he received his coanissioa as Surgeon in the Public Health Service. On April 12, 1922, he was authorised and directed to proceed to Melbourne, Australia, to attend the nesting of the Pan-Pacific Scientific Congress and from thence to proceed to Johannesburg, South Africa, to study' the problem of mine ventilation* prevention of oust in mining, and miners* diseases, in cluding silicosis on the Hand in South Africa, end then to proceed back to his station via hn land for the purpose of studying British methods of conducting mine-rescue stations and investigations f miners* die- eases. The expenses of t..-is trip were borne by the Bureau of I'inea. At the request of the Bureau of Mines, Dr. Sayers was redetailed to that Bureau-on February 4, 1924, and again on February 4, 1928. On July 15* 1926 a new branch,.to Include the Health Division and the Safety Division, was created in the Bureau of Hines. This was designated as the Health and Safety Branch with Br* Sayers appointed as chief He also retained his title of Chief Sturgeon* (ht December 10 1930 a new division the Demographics! Division was created in the Health and Safety Branch and the Accident Statistics Section of the Mineral Statistics Division of the Economics Branch transferred to the new Deaograhlcal Division* The work of this division includes statistical studies regard ing accidents health and safety in the rainerai and allied industries Tais division is under the direct control of the Chief Statistician* As chief of the Health end Safely Branch Dr* Sayers ir respon sible to the Director of the Bureau of Hines for the selection of plans for the work of the branch in making surveys and statistical studies of conditions in the raining taetallurgical. end allied industries as to health and safety end in giving instruction in the use of raine-reseue end recovery apparatus in first-aid and accident prevention and in nine-rescus and recovery operations after mine disasters* He makes final selection of problems to be carried out determines the scope of the investigations and criticises the results* He has veto power subject to appeal to the Director# over the choice of personnel and assignment to their duties* the 11 mine-rescue stations and 10 nine-rescue cars operated by the Bureau ai*? under his administrative supervision, direct control being under the chief engineer of the Safety Division* As b branch chief0 Dr. Sagers is a nanber of the Personnel Board of the Bureau of L'iaes. This board re views and revises efficiency ratings of all employees* considers and recommends to the Director all questions that arise in connection ritk the Classification Act and all requests for creation of new positions and agrations for promotions in the Bureau He Is also a member of tha Publications Conzsittes of the Bureau of Hines which considers the usefulness or public need of papers submitted for publication whether or not they should be for free distribution approval of mailing lists, budgeting of funds determination of causes of delay in publication of results after completion of investigations, methods of keeping track of progress of oe a a scripts with the object f speeding publication, preparation of general outlines for preparation of manuscripts, etc*, all with the object of secur ing better publications and more of thorn, with the limited funds available* Tha Health Division, under Dr* Sayers direct control as Chief Surgeon, has about 25 employees, including five Acting Assistant Surgeons detailed from the Public Health Service, who earzy out the following duties* 1. field investigations, which include a clinic for the analnatlon of minore to determine the effects on health of conditions under which they **re actually working; and sanitary surveys of mining canpa, study of medical organisations end Industrial hygiene and causes of death of miners, and dust and ventilation in nines* 2 Laboratory investigations, which include a* Gas laboratory for analyzing gases and dusts collected in mines and tunnels; experimental studies on affects on men and animals of various gases, as carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulphide, sulphur dioxide, esygen, etc* b, Physiological laboratory for examining animal tissues exposed to various toxic substances to daternin their pathological effects on men and animals* a, Dust laboratory for experimental studies on animale to determine affecte of various dusts* do Gas-mask laboratory for developing maSka for protection against various vapors and dus ta and approval of nanufaetured gas masks* Oompreaeed-air laboratories for exprimente on the use of synthetic atmospheres in the prevention and treatment of caisson disease* So Air~sndittoning laboratories for studios on physiological offoots of atmospheric conditions, , such as abnormal tnweraturea end humidities, g Stream pollution laboratory for Investigation of methods of disposal of vaste saters from mines end prevent ion of stream pollution fro-?! acid mine drainage* fce Safety Division, which employs about 100 persons, is red in the following work: 1 Instruction Section engaged in a t raining employees in the mining end allied incur)tries in methods of first aid to the. injured and In the use of mine-rescue apoorntum b Instruction in mine safety involving tho moUrg ox mine examinations and reoorsendations for improvement f unsafe conditions observed, Co Giving instruction to mine officials in the proper handling of mine disasters, d, hstablisalnc and keeping ta active working condition local safety orgnjiizations in the form of Holmes Safety Chapters, e. Assisting at various State and company firstaid and min--rescue contes ta and having chaivy of the International First-Aid and 1'ine-nwaeue Contest, 2* Xoereency Section enfSged in a, Assisting r-t mine disasters Involving nine exolorioai;, fires, floods, and cave-ins* b. Investignting and preparing reports ou cause? of disusters and asking recacrmndatians for prevention of recurrence. The Densographical Division, which employs 15 people, is encaged in the following work! 1 Statistical inquiry into the oansea, number, and frequency of accidents of different type to men employed In the mineral industries a In connection with the study of accidents, printed schedules are mailed at the close of each calendar year to all mines and quarries in the United States and to all cob ovens, mills, end smelters (exclusive of blast fur naces) The figures furnished on the schedules are tabulated and statistical tables prepared therefrom to show the occurrence of accidents within the industries and the progress being made in the prevention of accidents b Publications containing the above information ore issued annually end are furnished without charge to all companies requesting them In addition monthly reports are issued showing the number end causes of fatal accidents in coal mines, and the relation between the occurrence of accidents and the quantity of coal produced These reports are prepared fron information furnished by the State mining officials of the various coal-producing States 2 Statistical inquiries regarding the health has&rds surrounding the miners in their daily work, which to the workers are of equal importance with those regard in' accidents Studies already made show that approxiinately one-third of all deaths among miners is due to accidents and two-thirds to disease 3 Collection of statistics relating to the use of explo sives for mining and other work The United States uses in its various Industries approximately half a billion pounds of explosives each year, Three-fourths of this amount is used in alas ting operations in mines **a quarries; the coal-ainlng industry uses about a million pounds a day for each of the 200 days which Is about the average number of working days in a year The bjeat is to learn the extent to which permissible explosives are replacing more dangerous kinds of explo sives in coal-raining operations. . 4 National Safety Competition ig conducted for the pronotion of safety In the mineral industry and the development of friendly rivalry croons the competing companies, about 300 miiB and quarries representing 30 of the 48 states participating yearly. The immediate object of the contact is the winning of a trophy known as the Sentinels of Safety, which portrays in bronse a mother and child greeting the father upon hie cafe return from work The noma of the mine or quarry which wins the ri$it to hold the trophy for a year is engraved on the front of the pedestal Tnera are five of these trophies, presented by the Explosives Engineer magosins. Cmponies that enroll in the contest are divided into five groups according to the commodities produced, that is, they are classified under anthracite coal mines, bituminous coal mines, metal miner, nometallio mineral mines, quarries and opea-cut mines,, Each contestant furnishes the beoographical Division with a report of each individual accident that disables an employee beyond the day of the accident and also monthly reports of the number of man hours worked. This last item is used as a basis for calculating the aocident rates which determine the relative standing of the various companies. The trophies are aweirded to the companies having the smallest loss of time from accidents in proportion to the total number of man-hours 'worked by all employees at their mine or quarry. Honorable mention is awarded to each mine or quarry t)n.t ranks second, third, fourth, or fifth in its own group Sr. Sayers belongs to the American Medical Association, American Public Health Association, Association of Military Surgeons, Association of Medical Veterans of the torld bar, American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, and the Cosmos Club. He Is a member of the following committees! Chairman, Consulttee on Industrial Hygiene of the International Union of Chemistry* Chairman, Haro Awards Ccramittea, Joaeph A. Holms ' Safety Association Chairman, Committee on Pneumoconiosis, American Public Health Association. Chairman, Subcomsittee on Physiological Factors in Ventilation, American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers Ccmalttee on Safety Goggles, Helmets, otc.. Federal Specifications Board. Committee on Research, American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers General Requirements Committee, General Specifications Committee, and Approval Requirements Committee, of the American Gas Association (representative for Public Health Service), Committee on Ventilation, National Safety Council, Rational Committee for the United States of the Fifth International liedleal Congress on Industrial Accidents and Diee&ses Representative for the Bureau of Mines on Personnel Research Federation Cosa-aittee on Mining Methods, Amorloan Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers Committee on Housing and the Connunlty of the President Conference on Horae Building and Home Ownership Subcommittee on First Aid and Rater Safety of the Rational Committee on Health and Safety of the Boy Scouts of America. Committee on Standard Practice?1 in the Problem of Compensation of Occupational Disease, American Public Health Association. ` Subcommittee} Excavating, Foundation Cork, Blasting, and Compressed Air Kork of the Casnittee on Construct ion Safety Code of the Araerloan Standards Association Hew York State Department of Labor Advisory Cossaittee to Draft Buies on Begulation of Bock Drilling, Sand Blasting, and Bock Crushing ' She following list of publications prepared by Dr Sayers and others under his supervision indicates the character and scope of the investigative work with which he has been identified: PUBLICATIONS BY THE BUISAU 0? MIKES ~ BULGIN' 222 MMte, Mercury poisoning. Chapter In Metallurgy of Quicksilver, 1925 B. B, Sayers* B0LOT? 231 Investigation of toxic gases from Mexican and other hitf*- sulphur petroleums and products, 1925 H, E. Sayers, B A. C Smith, /* C. Pieldiwr, 0, t. Mitchell, et al BULLETIN 257 Review of safety and health conditions in the mines of Butte, Montana* 1925. 6. S. Rice and a. K. Sayers, BULLETIN 287 Cases from blasting in tunnels and metal-calm drifts, 1927 . L. Gardner, G. I`. Howell, and G, 1 Jones BOULETIB 326 Explosives accidents in tiw anthracite mines of Pennsylvania, 1923-1927, S. P. Howoll. BUIJ2YIB 3 3 1 , Partaiesible methane detectors. A, B. Hookar, W. J Fens, and H. L. Currie. BULLET!?: 338 Quarry accidents in the United States during the calendar year 1929, 1931 b. t, Adams. SUIVT IB 342* Bwtsi-mina accidents in the United States during the calendar year 1929 1931 b. b. Adams. BULLETla 3 41. Coal-nine fatalities in the United States, 1929, 1 9 3 1 . K. V. Adams -10- ^-k'2 p ^ S of po^itcccKcns^)