Document K64aZVwxaJjx38bBX9y7VpYw2

' Industrial Hygiene Digest February, 1956 Statistical Department Report for the Period July l to September l, 1955. R. R. Quiggle. Detail* of the 1954 Wisconsin State Fair Hearing Surrey are described. A Uat of publications by members of the Subcommittee end the research staff is appended. 258 Occupational Deafness, Medical. Medicolegal, and Compensation Aspects and Constructive Approach to Problems. A. 1. Goldner. Arch. led. Health IZ. 643.1U6" (ri.... iocd'1-------- In general the following industries are apt to har* a noise hazard: (1) metal industries, especially in the fabrication and shaping of metal; (Z) pneumatic tool employ, meats; (3) spinning and weaving; (4) railroad transportation and repair shops; (5) aviation; and (6) telephone. There is no single numerical value below which noise exposure could be considered as harmless, but the gross classification of noisy Industries, a simple observe, tionon audibility of conversation, the character and type of exposure, and the clinical ob. serration of impairment in large groups of workers, should be more than adequate to estab. liah the presence of a noise haaard in the absence of specific criteria. The clinical picture of occupational deafness is discussed at length. The medical and compensation aspects are of the most concern. Problems associated with the New York compensation taw are discussed. Experience in that state and others have demonstrated that the measures that have been adopted are temporary and will be changed when sufficient evidence and experience have been accum ulated. The ultimate goal is the eradication or minimization of hearing impairment due to excessive industrial noise. Regulation of hours of exposure, with provisions for periods of recovery of the inner ear, elimination of confined spaces, use of ear protector, and elimin ation of vibration in machinery are important features of a program designed to eliminate oc cupational deafness. The examination of workers with long exposure presents a serious economic problem to employers. On the other hand, U the discovery of hearing loan is not made with the employ er's cooperation, it may be made through leas desirable sources. Insurance companies, legis lators, unionists, employers, and compensation boards can do tha most to effect measures which would permit evaluation of these employees. Another question is what type of worker should be hired, how he can be protected against further loss, and how the employer can be protected against unwarranted claims. The workers with established occupational deafness or with established conductive deafness are not poor risks if their deafness does not progress. The worker with damaged eardrums is a poor risk, and elderly persons should bs employed with caution. In the area of evaluation of established occupational deafness for claims purpose, the utilization of the service# of an otologist experieucsd in the evaluation of compensable in juries will save large sums of money. 259 Asphyxia from Oxygen Lack in Underground Workings. A. Stofcly. Arch. Gewerbspathal. Gewerbahyg. 13, 564-600 (1955). German. This paper gives some technical details of tha construction of shafts and adits required for the purpose of hydroelectric power installations and records the circumstances under which a worker lost his life, owing, it is believed, to oxygen lack in an underground shaft. Same other similar cases are described and discussed in considerable detail. Clinical particulars are also given of cases in which illnesses suffered by workers were regarded as attributable to the same cause. The evidence on which the diagnosis of asphyxia due to oxygen lack was based U described. U Is believed that tha oxygen was reduced to a dangerously low level through biological oxidation, as rotting wood is known to take up oxygen. The need for taking ail precautions and for adequate las truetioo of workers in the practical use of oxygen apparatus Is stressed. - Bull. Hyg. 260 Some Cases of Microtraumatlc'Arthritis of the Elbow of Workers Who Had Never Handled Pneumatic Tools. E. Guysnot and R. VC Ducauquis. Arch, maladies profess. 16, 234-236 (1955). French. Four instances are quoted of men who through physically active lives, following such occupations as road-making and navvy-work, had subjected their elbow joints to repeated efforts which must have been traumatic; but they had never used pueuras.de tools. X-rays disclosed that their elbows exhibited lesions similar to those who have been attributed to the 11 206 1381 . 'v 25.