Document LgO184kDdy8bYy98j3R4q1ekg

MEMORANDUM January 6, 1955 j/DR. P. SHEPARD, SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT DR. E. C. EONNETT, MEDICAL DIRECTOR MR. FRED ULMER, THIRD VICE-PRESIDENT Attached is the Annual Report of the T.ork of the Safety and Occupational. Health Bureau, Health end Welfare Division, for the year 1954* This contains sections on Occupational Health; Traffic and Occupational Safety; and Home, Child, and Community Safety. Associate Medical Director Safety and Occupational Health Bureau ai. & act es.se*# sb* x Gs.cr or.sw *Ok.jaa*.*ttr. % <m WM^wai OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH 1954 Sinnwarv Home Office Interviews - 12 Special Inquiries: Industrial - 2,405 General - 570 Metropolitan - Representatives 40 Publications and Catalogues: New ' -- - - - Revised - 1 5 Films Loaned to: Group-insured Firms - 21 Non-Group-insured Firms - 27 Literature Distribution - 147,692 Hone Office Inspections - 4 Meetings - 18 Talks - 4 Exhibits - 1 Percentage of Time Spent in the Field - 10.4$ I E F "P" .tic Home Office Interviews Representatives of many industries visited the Bureau and requested assistance in conducting their employee health programs and other health and safety pro blems. Listed below are a few of these requests to give an idea of the type of assistance asked for: Onion Carbide Co. New York, N. Y. Mr. IV. H. Winams Vice-President, Insurance Relations Functions and policies of an occupational health department. Otis Elevator Company New York, N.Y. Mr. William Niederauer Safety Director Assistance in outlining a plan for giving all employees tetanus toxoid periodically and a method for keeping records of these inoculations. The Pennsylvania Railroad Philadelphia, Pa. Dr. W. W. Woodward and Dr. Stengel Review of medical program and physical examination forms. American Metals Company New York, N. Y. Mr. R. P. Hemsdorf Three representatives (one from Mexico City) called to discuss complaints of sulphur dioxide poisoning among residents in the vicinity of their Mexican plant; Safe concentrations and methods of detecting material in the air as well as methods of control were outlined. Mutual Chemical Co. Baltimore, Md. Mr. George . Best Manager of Technical Services Medical aspects of the use of chromates as corrosion inhibitors in air washers. ftr~X * -- r L_ 2- - Western Onion Telegraph Co. New York, N.Y. Dr. P. E. Rand, Jr. Medical Director Employee health and physical examination services and the service of a part-time industrial physician; standing orders for nurses in industry. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company of Canada, Ltd. New Toronto, Ontario, Canada Dr. A. N. WcKillop Director of Medical Services Occupational health program. McGraw Hill Publications New York, N.Y. Mr. Thomas E. Dewey, Jr. Executive health. National Tuberculosis Association Nev; York, N.Y. Miss Genevieve Harkin Associate in Health Education Employee health education programs in industry, particularly the pilot study in Newburgh, N.Y. r.1 I -2 - Western Onion Telegraph Co. New York, N.Y. Dr. P. K. Rand, Jr. Medical Director Employee health and physical examination services am i the service of a part-time industrial physician; standing orders for nurses in industry. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company of Canada, Ltd. New Toronto, Ontario, Canada Dr. A. N. WcKillop Director of Medical Services Occupational health program. NcC-raw Hill Publications New York, N.Y. Mr. Thomas E. Dewey, Jr. Executive health. National Tuberculosis Association New York, N.Y. Kiss Genevieve HarkLn Associate in Health Education Employee health education programs in industry, particularly the pilot study in Newburgh, N. Y. Special Inquiries During the year requests for advice on health matters were received from Groupinsured firms, industrial firms not covered by Group insurance, and local and national health organizations. They covered a large variety of subjects. It may be of interest to note some of the names of several large Group-insured firms and non-Group insured firms which have asked for assistance. Groups Non-Groups Liberty Mutual Insurance Company Monsanto Chemical Company Shell Oil Company Botany Mills, Inc. Socony Vacuum Oil Company Employers Mutual Liability In surance Company of Y.ausau Pitney-Bowes, Inc. Republic Steel Corporation General Motors Corporation Aluminum Company of America Ethyl Corporation Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Co. Avco Manufacturing Corporation - Crosley Division H. C. Bohack Company Liebmann Breweries, Inc. Frank G. Shattuck Company Batten, Barton, Durstine, and Osborn, Inc. Coats and Clark, Inc. Remington Rand Co. United Tool and Die Company Atlas Powder Company United States Rubber Company National Gypsum Company Time, Inc. International Harvester Co. McGraw Hill Publications Forbes Magazine Yvestem Electric Company Bell'Telephone Laboratory Alliance Manufacturing Company Toledo Scale Company The following list will give an idea of the nature and type of information requested: Effect of the use of tobacco on health Incidence of bladder tumors Value of health examinations for executives Noise in industry Toxicity of perchiorethylene Setting up an industrial first-aid room; training courses for first-aid attendants Pre-employment physical examinations Standing orders for nurses and data on industrial medicine Inad&sability of an employment office distributing aspirin to employees in the absence of a trained nurse or doctor Dental health programs in industry Various effects of air-conditicning Silicosis in the foundry industry Effect of carbon monoxide on the heart and blood vessels Non-service -4- Fluoridation of drinking water and its effect on teeth Efficiency through better lighting and ventilation Low sodium diets for executives Nutrition in industry Radiation sickness Hazards of zirconium manufacture Dangers of using welding fluxes and coated welding electrodes Toxicity of chromates Trends in occujjational accident and health frequency rates in the chemical industry and comparisons with rates in other industries Prevention of skin irritation from tape made of glass fiber; possibility of hazard to respiratory tract from inhalation of fiber glass dust Toxicity of plastic compounds. State controls of food handlers Policy of employing blind typists Methods of treating minor and severe bums Proper shoes for employees in a super market - clerks, checkers, and butchers - both men and women. Methods of installing paint and cleaning booths for prevention of health hazards Drug addiction Occupational hazards in handling hot marine spray paint Toxicity of ozone and threshold limit value for 1954 Effects of neon signs on health Uses and abuses of drinking water fountains in industry Establishment of a blood bank for employees Effect of excessive and prolonged overtime work on production Effect of glare on the eyes Incidence and cost of the common cold and efficiency cf cold vaccine Use of chlorine gas in treating respiratory conditions Industrial eye protection Methods of controlling mercury hazards Relationship of humidity to colds 570 requests from individuals were referred to this bureau from all parts of the Company because they inquired about medical information not covered by our health literature. Some of the questions concerned: Use of aluminum ware for cooking Use of radioactive iodine Tachycardia Insipidus and mellitus diabetes Tne common drinking cup Geriatric nursing Emphysema Psoriasis Thyroid conditions end protein- bound iodine tests Legg Perthes1 disease Effect of carbon monoxide on the heart and blood vessels Cancer of the uterus Tic douloureux J aundice Advisability of using an electric blanket Bell1s Palsy Meniere's disease Spinal curvature Hyperacidity of the stomach System of sign language for a person suffering from a stroke Bronchiectasis Diverticulitis Epithelioma Beneficial climate for a victim of sinus trouble or arthritis Hiccoughs 0 steomyelitis Nephrosis -5- Infectious hepatitis Pancreatitis Vertigo Effect of television on the eyes Harmfulness of smoking a pipe Effect of hysterectomy operation Polycythemia vera Cause of tumors of the brain Methods of artificial and natural speech after removal of larynx Amebiasis Treatment of casualties caused by atomic or H-bomb explosions Intervertebral disk N arcotics Information on ail blood diseases Migraine headaches Parathyroid glands Pituitary glands Otitis media Arteriosclerosis and myocarditis height lifting Asthma in babies Erythema nodosum Bunions and their cause Varicose veins Prostate gland disorders Nerves Vitamins Epilepsy Rh factor and blue babies White vaginal discharges Snoring Buerger's disease Parkinson's disease Bursitis Cirrhosis of the liver Canker scree Cockroaches Trichinosis Lupus Erythematosus Infectious mononucleosis Chiggers or mites Muscular dystrophy Glaucoma Colostomy, ileostomy Multiple sclerosis Pernicious anemia Hemorrhoids Sciatica Fibrositis Shingles Dropsy Raynaud's syndrome and St. Vitus' Dance Albuminuria Pinwonns Spastic colon and nervous stomach Pleurisy Cerebral vascular accidents Mental health Apoplexy Elephantiasis and erysipelas Gallbladder disorders Leukemia Electric shock therapy Muscular dystrophy Spondylitis Streptococcus Hype rinsulinism Catarrh Black xidon spider Sprue Child bet-*etting Water softeners Use of physiotherapy in the home Night sweats Mongolism Neurocirculatoxy asthenia African sleeping sickness Sebaceous cyst Stuttering Sacro-iliac trouble Sugar content of blood Keloids Leprosy Menopause -6- Metropolitan Representatives Forty requests for assistance were also received from various members of the Home Office, Head Offices, and Field. The following are typical examples of the information given: Modernizing toilet facilities for schools and disinfecting classrooms Cancer of the lungs as a result of smoking cigarettes Value of fluoridation of water supplies Toxicity of free silica, beryllium, and tungsten Rh factor Industrial recreation Comparative advantages of soda-acid wet chemical type fire extinguishers and carbon dioxide type Phlebitis Accident causes in the chemical industry Method of operation for angina pectoris Hernia Properties of selenium and its effect on individuals exposed Effect of the use of tobacco as a possible cause of lung cancer and the incidence of cancer in the glass industry Toxicity of indelible pencils and method of treatment Acne in adolescents Celiac disease New comfort air-conditioning code for use in Company1s new building Warts and moles Rehabilitation of the physically handicapped Building of office quarters for physicians Effect on health of emery or carborundum dusts Life expectancy of tuberculous individuals who have been cured Effect of hiack light on health Publications and Catalogues During the year, a new booklet entitled "Physical Examinations for Executives" v.as published. Tnis is Number 7 in the Occupational Health Series. The following were revised: Health Protection in Welding Employee Health Service in Small Plants Physical Examinations in Industry Catalog of Occupational Health and Safety Material Request Slip of Occupational Health and Safety Material Literature Distribution In all, 147,692 copies of publications including general health and safety and occupational health were sent on request. - 7- Films Twenty-one Group-insured and twenty-seven non-Group insured firms borrowed our films, and one non-Group insured firm borrowed one of our exhibits to show to their employees. Special programs were frequently arranged including the distribution of book lets on health and safety. Meetings. Addresses, and Conferences Members of the staff attended 1 meetings and conferences. These included: Y;orld Medical Association Conference on Occupational Health 24th Annual Greater New York Safety Convention and Exposition - At the Hom9 Session, Dr. McConnell gave a talk, "Rx for Poisoning." Industrial Nursing Meeting of the Greater New,York Safety Council Industrial Medical Association Meeting Canadian Nurses' Association Meeting Conference on Part-time Nursing Service in Industry - sponsored by Yale University Trustees of the National Fund for Medical Education - Annual Meeting Common Cold Foundation Meeting Canadian Public Health Association - Atlantic Branch Meeting Committee on Standards for Comfort Air-Conditioning of the American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers Meeting of the Commission on environmental Hygiene of the U. S. Armed Forces Epidemiological Board American Public Health Association Meeting Industrial Hygiene Foundation - Annual Meeting Civil Defense Meeting at Bellevue Hoopitd The Nursing Consultant gave a talk at the Minnesota Industrial Nursing Section Meeting of the National League for Nursing and one at the Industrial Nursing Section Meeting of tae Connecticut Nursing Associa tion in Hartford. The Nursing Consultant met with Directors and Presidents of the Boards of Visiting Nurse Organisations in Essex County, N.J., to discuss the types of nursing services which these organisations might offer to industry. Dr. McConnell gave a talk on Industrial Accident Prevention to a junior class of physicians at the Lew York Medical College, Flower and Fifth Avenue Hospital. A member of the Bureau visited cur Pacific Coast He_d Office unu made several visits with nursing representatives in the Pacific Coast Territory; a trip to Minneapolis, St. Cloud, Duluth, Detroit, and Chicago, where she visited representatives of V.N.A.'a, Schools of Nursing, Health Departments, and Divisions of Occupational He_;tL; and a trip to nursing organizations and nursing representatives in Philadelphia, tne Philadelphia Bulletin (a Group policyholder,, and tv.o of our Group Office representatives. -8- Exhibit The Safety and Occupational Health Bureau had a booth at the Industrial Medical Association's 39th Annual Meeting at the Hotel Sherman in Chicago from April 27 - 30, 1954, which Ties veil attended. Kcne Office Inspections An inspection of the Publication Division was conducted because of a complaint about the lack of sufficient drinking vater fountains and the taste of the water. Several inspections of the Commissary were conducted (Commissary Inspection Committee). The Biochemical Laboratory was inspected in order to study the glare problem. A lighting ccmplaint in the Library v:as investigated, and also one in Unit 3, 5th Floor. Several conferences were held with members of the Heme Office Buildings Division and Company Engineers to evaluate the installation and maintenance costs of incandescent lighting versus fluorescent lighting; to discuss recom mended changes for Units 2 and 3; and to discuss with the illuminating engineers of the General Electric Company the cause of the short life of Bi-Post lamps. Testimonials Attached are photostatic copies of a selection of testimonials received during the year. -9- Dr. McConnalla Cmm/ilttees and Special Activities American Public Health Association - Committee on Atmospheric Comfort American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers Medical Advisory Committee on Code of Minimum Requirements for Comfort Air-Conditioning American Standards Association Committee on Toxic Dusts and Gases - Z37 and Z9 Committee on Industrial Sanitation in Manufacturing Establishments Z4 - Chairman American Welding Society Committee on Safety Recommendations - Medical Advisory Subcommittee Federal Civil Defense Administration Division of Special Weapons - Part-time Consultant Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Home Office Committee on Air Conditioning Home Office Lighting Committee - Chairman Commissary Inspection Committee Home Office Emergency Committee - Decontamination Services of the Civilian Defense Medical Services New Buildings Committee Consultant to Home Office Buildings Division with respect to employee complaints on lighting, ventilation, and possible exposure to toxic substances National Association of Manufacturers Advisory'' Committee - Industrial Health Section National Fund for Medical Education - Medical Advisory Committee New York State Department of Labor Committee on ttules Relating to the Control of Silica Dust in Stone Crushing Operations - Code 34 Advisory Committee - Proposed Revision of Industrial Code Rule 12, Rules Relating to the Control of Dusts, Gases, and Fumes I t. 0. S. Army - Industrial Hygiene and Occupational Health Section Consultant to the Surgeon General New York University - Management Department, School of Commerce Associate Professor in Industrial Hygiene (2-hour weekly evening course) Contributing Editor to Current Tnerapy - published by V,. B. Saunaera Cc. (Editea by Howard F. Conn, M J).j, Textbook of Medicine - published by IV. B. Saunders Co. (Edited by b. P. Cecil, M.D.) Manual de Terapeutica Clinica - published in Spanish (Requested by Dr. Arturo R. Ros of Havana, Cuba)