Document MJmEJNByxb8N2mZxjzgXdBLk7

HHB8-0009786 /CS5V oc aj, 4^. m a) @ References to Recent Litereture - 12 54 THE TRAVELERS CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR. Travelers Standard 26. 164-6 (September 1933). VA carbon monoxide detector which is inexpensive and easily assembled has been developed by the Travelers Insurance Company. The method consists in converting the carbon monoxide in the sample to carbon dioxide by means of a cigar lighter coil and absorbing the converted carton dioxide, in a strontium hydroxide solution. The sample is first cleared of carbon dioxide and any hydrocarbons by.passing it through calcium oxide and silica gel.. A 10 inch bicycle pump is used as the source of suction. 55 ACUTE LEUCOSIS FROM BENZENE. M. Perrin, P. Kissel and L. Pierquin. Paris med. 28, 523-0 (1958). (French). The authors report in detail the case of a shoe factory worker, a 44 year old woman, who had repeatedly sufferod symptoms of acuto rheumatism of the joints then fell ill with fever, very severe anemic condition, skin hemorrhages,, dyspnea and woakness. The blood count showed 1,56 million red cells, 1800 white cells, 16 per cent polynuclear colls, 16 per cent polynuclear neutrophilee, 1 per cent polynuclear basophilic cells, 9 por cent large mononucloars, 17 per cent leucoblast3 and many Btreptooocci in the blood. At autopsy the bone marrow was seen to bo in marked proliferation but the whito blood cells of the myelogram were ex clusively loucobiasts. It was an acute leucemia which was hidden by a hypogranulocytosis and there thus existed not a truo aplasia of the bone marrow but.a metaplnstie proliferation. Benzene poisoning, which in its classic form causes an aplastic myelosis, is under certain conditions (according to exposure and sen sitivity) also on irritant of the hemopoetic tissues, causing a leucemic symptom complex, acute, or chronic. This latter would be seen more often, no doubt, If systematic myelograms wore made. 56 BENZENE POISONING IN A PREGNANT NOMAN. J. Leronge. Progres. med. Jgft, 901 (1938) (French). A woman rubber worker suffered fatigue and anemia (2.1 million red cells, 11,000 white cells) from benzene poisoning. After a few weeks away from her work the red cell count roso to 3.6 million. The dolivory of her child wae normal but the child wolghed only 2.8 kilograms (6.2 lbs.) 57 MERCURY POISONING IN MINING, J,Am.Med,Assoc. (Queries and minor notes) iU, 467 (1933). The inquiry concerns the possibility of being acutely poisoned by mercury vapor in a day'3 work in a gold mine, and the determination of mercury or lead poison ing several months Inter. The reply states that, with high concentrations, mer cury poisoning con tako place in a few hours, although hard rook mining seldom offers a hazard. Stomatitis is the chief symptom in acute poisoning from the compounds. In poisoning from the vapor, the symptoms are tzsor, control nervous system signs, diarrhea and nausea; and some of the muscular and nervouB symptoms may persist. Mercury does not always eppoar in ths urine of poisoned persons. References are mule to methods of determination in urine and in air. A SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURE FOR THE DETERMINATION OF MERCURY IN URINE. A.O. Gettler and R,A. Lehman. Am. J. Clin. Path. Tech. Supplement &, 161-4 (1938). A 50 cc. portion cf the urine is ashed in a 500 cc. Kjoldahl by means of potas sium permanganate and sulfuric acid. The mercury is dttoriiinod by means of the color compared with that of known standards. The ordinory chemically pure re agents were found to be satisfactory. The time required for a series of five determinations is about throe hours. The procedure is more rapid than the Wink ler method and equally accurate. i