Document GyvQo1n4Nz05LKaaayew3ggY

I PtAINTIrrS^ i exh; j CSR-237^' Uth March, I960. Hon* Minister for Vines, . Mines Department, As you sre aware, this Department has developed s branch of Industrial Health, progressively In the care of Dr* Latham who is responsible to the Commissioner for Publie Health* Xn addition, all gold and asbestos miners have perlodleal x-ray examinations of the chest conducted by the Tubercular* Cgmt.fpi Brongh, the films being reviewed by Dr* McNulty in Kalgoorlle who collaborates with Dr* Letham in this work in its industrial health aspects* For a considerable number of years, the Commissioner of Public Health has been concerned with tht hazard to workers at the Slue Asbestos Mine In Wltteneos both to those working underground end those on the surfec In essoeiation with the mill* A further survey ef then workers was carried out last year end the results have n< been analysed by Dr*-McNulty* A copy of hie report Is attached* Aa will be aeen, the predictions of Wediee Officers of this Department that the hazard at Wlttenoom would produce cases of asbeatoala and silicosis have bee shown to have been well founded* Dr. McNulty's report disquieting* 2. V The Commissioner for Futile Health inCorss me that hie responsibility for the health of alne/rorheys la not clearly and unequivocally laid down In mining legislation* Thle la a matter for considerable/concern to me and I as proposing that this matter be taken up between the Commissioner of Publle Health and officers of your department in order that the position say be clari fied* 1 would welcome your views* ^-- MINISTER POP HEftlTH. /1L.tn43l'~ COPY District Hospital, KALGOCRLIS. 13th Januaxy, I960, Dr. A. King, The Director, Tuberculosis Control Breneh, 17 Murray Street, PERTH. Periodical chest x-ray examination of werken at the Australian- Blue Asbestos in 1959 disclosed no new ; cases of Asbestosis, 'although there are'several'sen whose x-rays mist be considered suspect. Those whose x-rays an considered suspicious of Asbestosis will be examined again in I960. The length of exposure etf workers eoctraetln Asbestosis or Silicosis is much shorter than ceaparably employed men In the gold-mining industry and the extent of disease is greater. The small number of workers and the extremely high labour turnover Mike this less obvious. There are a number of puzzling and disquiet!: features. In several instances Asbestoei6 has been diagnin underground workers although the disease had been eonel< peculiar to the Mill. One member of the train crew under ground, not usually at great duet risk, has what appears V be a mixture of Silicosis, Asbestosis and possibly Tubercu losis. An ex-underground shift boss, now an underground supervisor, has an abnormal chest x-ray and asbestos bodiet in his sputum. The Mines Department has permitted me to lnr the results of their periodical duat counts. It it dbvlethat the new Mill is a great improvement on the old Mill a: that conditions underground have also improved. It is toearly to tell whether the new Kill will be responsible for fresh eases of industrial chest diseases or not. The .disquieting features about the dust eoun are two fold:- 1) The rock mined is apparently highly elllcioua and therefore particularly dangerous. The duet counts are on a par with the figures for the gold mines. Should they not have a rough higher standard to aim at in view of the dangerously high silica content end the additional asbestos risk? 2. 2) The dust counts are of particles only, the sane instruoent ia used for detecting allies particles and asbestos fibres* The dangerous particle size in Silicosis is less than 5 microns, in Asbestosls the dangerous fibre length is between 20 and UO microns. The dust counts are therefore of little slue unless they shoe the number of fibres per ce within that range* I do not know ahether there is an accepted national minimum fibre count for asbestos dust, either--in England or America but it seems wrong that two completely different dust hazards should be estimated in the eane way* Uapy workers remain at fflttenoom for lees th; one year and less than 5CJC of the tork force, et any one time, have been continuously employed for more than four years* A very rough estimate of the percentage of workers with over U yeers exposure and suffering froa Industrial cheat disease, is 125 (estimated by expressing the number of workers, detailed below, se s percentage of the number of workers examined In 1959 whose Initial mining certifies' was issued prior to 1955* In recent years it would be unusual to dlagn Silicosis In a gold miner with less than 10 years exposure *G. in 1958, there were no new eases of Silleosie in the ^10 year group, 20 esses in the 10-20 year group and 29 esses in the 20-30 year group* Expressed as s percentage of the total number of mine workers this gives an annual Incidence of Silicosis of approximately 15* These percen tago incidences are not very accurate and are not really cooparable, but they do illustrate the grave hazard which existed at Vittenooo compared with the genertl mining industry* The following ere the particulars of eases o industrial disease detected at tfittenoom sines 1956. The list is complete as far as our records go, but there may b a few esses diagnosed elsewhere who were not examined unde either of the relevant Mining Acts and therefore not broug to our notice* Some newly diagnosed oases of Silleosis are not included because of previous lengthy gold-mining histo which could reasonably be held responsible* There have also been a few esses of workers developing pulmonary tuberculosis without Silleosis or Asbestosls, but their number does not suggest any partieul hazard at Wlttenooa, other than that associated with mlnir. in general* t m **a x a. &S83S a"3S*W#SQ0o5xA*?e0H> o ssr **> #a !ArS--Se *4 8 a'J8 aa ah eV_ 2 a **-a* **-& 3 Soo .*ah< a3a **<>e <a iaa-*aaj SM2SftS sss1:?- ** ft* ^ H 5 5SSe8# S' sr** * S sia** a ft* o'*2 ft* 8S g 8*g? 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Ilf at 009 2 &SSU o AO a a o 5 A _ O } a "as E- 8 ?s O <* O' O 5 <*30 30 *a*.O.h O 9 M< *8 o < o The percentages quoted above (i.e* 12* ot asbestos workers suffering from industrial chest disease with over J* years exposure eospared with 1* of gold siners with over 10 years exposure) are erude and probably paint too black a picture of the conditions which elated. With a shifting working population it is alaoet impossible to work out eoeurate incidences.-- However, the Terr high labour turn over at Wlttenooa ie necessarily aasoelated with a abort average exposure per worker end many workers at risk were protected simply because their exposure time wee too short. At least one of these ahort-term workers has been diagnosed ae suffering from Abbestosls many years sfter he left the industry* The problem is eseentlelly one of ventilation conducted with e proper appreciation of the relative importance and medleal significance of the eabeetoe fibre as distlnet free the silica particle. Despite the many marked improvements which have been effected at the Mine and Mill, I am not satis fied that the risk of industrial cheat disease has been eradlca or even "brought to par with the risk of ellieoale In the gold mining industry. The prevention of Industrial disease Is a medico-engineering problem and requires close liaison between the Mines Deportment, who are responsible for ventilation and dust counts, and the medical officers, who are responsible for the periodical ellnieal and chest x-ray examinations. CHS9T PRYSICTJUt AJTD UINZS MEDICAL OFFICER.