Document KR39VLK1d3VnOjLMyrMZkm1yQ
FILE NAME: Packings and Gaskets (PAG)
DATE: 1942
DOC#: PAG002
DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Book Excerpt - Occupational Tumors and Allied Diseases
OCCUPATIONAL TUMORS
"
AND
.
' ALLIED DISEASES
By
\V. C. HUEPHR, M.D.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND PRINCIPAL PATHOl.OGlST W ARNER INSTITUTE TOR THERAPEUTIC RESEARCH
NEW YORK CITY
: i
/
i
I
.i
V,
t
*' <i
fc * '
i :
i
i ,
* *. *
CHARLES C THOMAS PUBLISHER
<l' RlNCI;n:i.l> ILLINOIS
HALT!MOKE MARYLAND
V/*
4oo OCCUPATIONAL TUMORS AND ALLIED DISEASES
some types. T h e serpentine has a bandy or slate texture and may contain
traces c f nickel and copper. It is m ined in C anada, Russia (U ra l M oun tains),
G erm any, Corsica, Trance (Pyren ees), Siberia, and South A frica.
.
'Jh c Canadian asbestos, mined at T h etford near Quebec, where approxi
m ately 7 $ per cent o f the w orld production is obtained, consists of 3 3 parts
o f m agnesium , 41 parts of silicic acid, and 5.75 parts of iron oxide (O liv e r);
w hile South A frican asbestos is com posed o f 2 parts of m agnesium , 50 parts
of silicic acid, and 40 parts o f iron oxide. Italian asbestos contains 42 parts
o f silicic acid, 38 parts of magnesium , and 3 parts of iron oxide. N one of the
various types possesses an y free silicic acid.
T h e production o f asbestos has risen enorm ously in recent years. It re
ceived this great im petus from its use in the automobile industry. T h e total
production in 1868 was two hundred tons; in 1 8S0, five hundred tons; in
19 :5 ,3 3 0 ,0 0 0 tons; and in 19 2 9 , 4 30,000 tons. T h e U nited States is the prin
cipal consum er o f this product. M o re than 12 ,0 0 0 persons arc em ployed in the
chief asbestos plants o f this country. Occupational contact w ith asbestos i$_
present in m any industries urine; asbestos pi^cductsTAsbcstos is em ployed for a
"g lu t 'V a rie ty of p u rp o ses,'"such as the m an u factu re o f incom bustible and
insulating m aterials (fire resistant clothes, blankets, theater curtains, sheets,
rones, coixis, tVviiie, anti th read s), fdter cloths, m ill-board, w all board, shingles,
tiles, m ortar (together with cement and plaster of Paris for providing a fire
proof w all lin in g), clinkers, gaskets, packing m aterial of pumps, insulating .
m aterial of steam nines, water pipes, boilers, and electric wires, brake lining,
paper, m attresses, adsorbent "of dyes (fo r m anufacture of fire proof and acid *
proof stains), ingredient o f rubber products, and artificial wood (m ixed with
wood powder) (L an za; 'Lyn ch ; Stewart, Bucher and Colem an; U llm ann;
Encyclopedia Brit.nnnica; D ew irtz; N ord m an n ; A hvens; and C ooke). T h e
fibrillar types arc spun, tw ined, and w oven, w hile the brittle varieties and
the dusty waste arc com pressed and m olded into the desired shapes.
Condifions end Typf's of Exposure, T h e c h ie f health hazard consists in
the inhalation of asbestos dust, which is produced abundantly during the
propitiation of the m ineral for the spinning process (purification and rem oval
of stony im purities) and during various other phases of the production and
m anufacturing processes of asbestos and asbestos containing goods- Direct
contact o f the skin with asbestos is of m inor importance. T h e num ber of
actually exposed persons is rather large in the industries m anufacturing
asbestos products. O f the t :,o o o workers em ployed in the major asbestos plants
of the U nited States, Lan za estimates that 10 ,0 00 arc exposed appreciably to
the asbestos d u st; while in G erm an y, where several thousand asbestos workers
are present, only a fraction arc said to be actually exposed.
Syi/ipttwitUoh^y: Cuifunoiis Lcs`nn:s. T h e direct skin contact w ith m ined
asbestos is responsible for the production of pain fu l warts formed around the
asbestos needles, which penetrate the skin of the palm s of the hands, `Ih e
v>*.: v'f