Document MVEe5bZZqQEyjpmkpDB4X9eL

FILE NAME Industrial Hygiene Foundation IHF DATE 1940 Nov DOC IHF066 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION AHFA Conference Proceedings - Article - Industrial Hygiene and the Navy in National Defense AIR HYGIENE FOUNDATION OF AMERICA Inc. PITTSBURGH PENNSYLVANIA NOVEMBER 12-13 1940 hedical Brown ^' i INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE AND THE NAVY IN NATIONAL DEFENSE CAPTAIN ERNEST W. BROWN MC U. N. 1. Introduction One of the most important concerns of the Medical Department of the Navy today is industrial hygiene and especially in Navy Yard practice This is a situation of ever increasing moment in view of thien ptrheesehnitsteorray ofofentohri-s mous expansion in naval constructivoanstunipncarreaalsleeleind the industrial force of country This is bringing about a our Navy Yards and in all probability new problems in industrial hygiene will emerge incident to new materials and processes It should be remembered in this connection that the policy of the Navy is to allot new naval construction on an equal basis to govern- Department that the commercial establishments ment and commercial yards It follows rise in industrial are also undergoing rapid development with an enormous personnel They will therefore be confronted with the problems of industrial arising in Navy Yards hygiene similar to many of those Industrial hygiene is a field which is now undergoitnhge rmaopsitd diempvoerltoapnmtenotf This appears to be due to certain significant trends of many Industrial Hygiene Units which has been the recent setting up funds released by the pas- in state or city Departments of Health through of the Social Security Act These trends in fact particularly that sjuasgte mentioned reflect a definite renaissance of industrial hygiene as a phase of public health in the United States This movement is receiving increasing recognition recognition in naval industrial and industrial hygiene is now listed as a specialty of the naval medi- circles outside of the purely clinical fields cal officer along with other specialties chemical warfare medi- such as aviation medicine submarine medicine ; cine etc. with naval Those just mentioned however aortehecronhcaenrdnedis plrairmgaerlyilyoccupied with personnel Industrial hygiene on the It therefore follows that the status of the federal MienddiucsatrliaOlffipceerrsoonfnaelmajor Navy Yard in relation to the Industrial of the Medical Director Senior Department is analogous in many respects to that is to of a large commercial industrial plantof Tihnedusotbrjieaclt hoyfgtiheinse pianpeNravy Yaprrdes- sent an outline of the administration which are the chief industrial units of the Navy Mention should be made in this connectionCoomfmitthteeecoomf mthiettNaeteionoan l Industrial Hygiene of the Health and Medical been established The Surgeon General Defense Council which has recently with this Sub- of the Navy is represented by liaison offipceerrstiinnenctontjountchteioNnavy and indus- commihtetaleteh wIilmlporrestualntt arnedcm omamneyndoaftitohnesm will undoubtedly be put in effect trial industrial hygiene as applied in the present discussion is used The term and control of occupational disease in the specific sense of the prevention law for occupational The fact may be of interest that the first compensation for U. S. Civil diseases in this country was one paslsaewds ifnor19i0n8dusbtyriCaolngdriseesasses have lagged Service employees Compensation behind legislation covering accidents Only 16 states of the Union pro- far 77 vided compensation for one or more occupational diseases up to the year 1937 although all but two provided legislation for accidental injuries 2. The Industrial Organization of Navy Yards The mission of a Navy Yard is primarily the construction maintenance and repair of naval vessels The central administration of Navy Yards and in fact of all industrial shore stations of the Navy is vested in the Assistant Secretary of the Navy in whose office is the Shore Establishments Division of the Navy Department ; There are eleven Navy Yards located as follows Portsmouth N. H Boston New York City Philadelphia Washington D. .; Norfolk Va Charleston S. C Mare Island Calif Puget Sound Wash Pearl Harbor Hawaii and Cavite in the Philippines In addition mention should also be made of the following specialized industrial plants for the building of submarines at Portsmouth N. H. and Mare Island Calif the Naval Gun Factory at the Navy Yard Washington D. C. for the production of high caliber naval guns torpedo tubes and accessories the torpedo factories at Newport R. I. and Alexandria Va for the manufacture of torpedoes the powder plant at Indian Head Md for the production of Navy smokeless powder the aircraft factory at Philadelphia for experimental air craft construction and repair the naval armor plant at Charleston W. Va and the Naval Clothing Factory at Brooklyn N. Y. Organization of the New York Navy Yard The organization of the New York Navy Yard may be taken as typical of a major yard It falls under two departments i e the Industrial Department headed by a naval captain of the engineering branch and an Operations or Military Depart- ment under the direction of a naval line captain As a conservative esti- mate it may be stated that 90 of the activities of a Navy Yard are industrial ; . Under the Industrial Manager there are at present twenty shops of different types with a force per shop varying from 30 to 3,200 men The total of civil employees of this yard is now 17,000 This is rapidly rising and it is estimated exceed 20,000 in 1941 3. Extent of the Civilian Industrial Force of the Navy The combined industrial force of all Navy Yards is now approximately 100,000 In view of the pending program of naval construction it is esti mated that this will reach 130,000 in 1941. If inclusive of all shore stations , this would probably be close to 160,000 In addition to the industrial force of Navy Yards we should also con- sider the employee volume in the commercial naval ship building plants such as the Newport News and Dry Dock Co. the New York Shipbuilding Corporation at Camden N. J. and the Bethlehem concern at Quincy Mass which now employ from 12,000 to 15,000 men each It is a conservative estimate that the combined industrial personnel of all such plants on both east and west coasts will reach a peak of over 100,000 4. Organization of the Medical Department of a Navy Yard The medical staff of the New York Yard consists of 10 medical officers 5 dental officers 1 nurse 45 enlisted men and 2 civilian clerks The chief activities with reference to industrial personnel may be summarized as fol- 78 lows a Pr jobs are exa to some extr tions these of certain gr- as foundrym employees fo opinion as tr treatment an e Administ sanitation 5. The Indu- An office for industrial Medical Office a Advi hygiene in Na efficient corre It is essential order to prop b Insp general super supply gener He also condu measures of | He canno occupational through the 1 measures aga erly utilized create greater c Super when the app hazards such . exposed to su blasters exar there is a que as to industri d Medic e Admi occupational ^' mission f Supe reports for th 6. The Safet A civilian advisor to the is assigned to 1 Accid ance and tant sion .: Va rbor duc- for nt at f the falls naval part- esti1 are shops shops shopss hops shops . The The rising examinations all applicants for federal lows a employment physical the standards for acceptance vary examined physically although jobs are for different occupations b Periodic physical examina- of medical supervision to some exteonft course are conducted with the object health hazards tiocnesrttahinesgeroups of employees exposed to definite potential examination of federal of painters c Physical of disability and as foundrymen and spray this is for evaluation of degree employees for retirement total disability is alleged d Diagnosis opinion as to disposition when industrial injuries and occupational diseases and disposition of f Industrial hygiene and plant treatment e Administration of compensation cases sanitation 5. The Industrial Medical Officer Yard is specifically detailed medical staff of the Navy of the Senior direction An officer of the to the industrial hygiene administration subject of his activities for The accompanying slide outlines the scope Medical Officer The adequate practice of industrial a Advisor to the Safety Engineer is dependent upon the close and hygiene in Navy Yards as in civil industry and the industrial medical officer efficient correlation of the safety oefngtihneefeurnctions of both of these officers in It is essential to obtain a grasp business administration order to properly visualize industrial is responsible for the The industrial medical officer water b Inspections sanitation i e ventilation illumination general supervision of plant and condition of sanitary facilities etc. supply general cleanliness adequacy for occupational health hazards and their He also conducts shop inspections measures of control conditions and thereby detect He cannot expect to evaluate working makes periodic inspections early unless he of existing occupational health hazards he can observe the adequacy through the plant In this way hazards and whether such methods are being prop- measures against specific hazards value in that they also have a psychological These inspections inspections service in the minds of the employees ecrrleyatuetiglriezaetder respect for the medical employment cases c Supervision of Special Physical Examinattoipoontsential industrial health when the applicant reports previous exposure foundry dust periodic examinations of groups hazards such as lead fumes or hazards as spray painters and sand- exposed to such potential occupational for transfer to other shops where blasters examination oocfcucpaasteisonraelfedrirseadbility clinical studies for a decision there is a question of to industrial origin in obscure cases as this will be discussed later Medical surveys of occupational groups claimed for d of the medical aspects of compensation Com- e Administration before the U. S. Employees Compensation occupational disease pending mission of accident and occupational disease f Supervision of preparationpreparation reports for the Navy Department 6. The Safety Engineer at the Navy Department A civilian Safety Engineer is stationed Division A naval the head of the Shore Establishments advisor to each Navy Yard as the safety engineer is assigned to control Safety engineering is 1 Accident and unsafe practice 79 as the officer one of the divisions of the Navy Yard organizations an investigation of all time accidents and advising as to measures to prevent of approach to the safety problem in Navy devices such as mechanical guarding and The Safety Engineer conducts a view to fixing the cause securrence The basic features Yards are provision of safety the safety education of workmen and their supervisors is Another important aspect the compet very effective in stimulating interest in Department publishes the comparative safety e approach which has proved dident prevention The Navy scores of all Navy Yards monthly The accompanying slide emphasizes advance made by the Navy in accident reduction beginning beginning an intensive safety cam- Department Yards in 1926. We find frequency accident rate lowered paign in Navy in a 11 year period the severity rate from 20 to practically 10 per year hand it will be noted that the reduced from 2.2 per year to 0.5 On the other increased to 115 million from 65 total man hours wotrhkeedavdeurraigneg ntuhembpeerrioodf employees rising from approxi- million per year mately 30,000 to 66,000 Health Control The 2 rol of occupational disease in 2 Occupational naturally lies within the sphere of both the safety engineer is adminis- Navy Yards and the industrial medical officer Although safety engineer coordinate tratively charged with this task the medial officer is actually with him in this phase As matter of fact the medical officer of industrial disease in Navy Yards in tos the tence The diagnosis having been made examination record are carefully employment whether the hazard a decision if possible employment If ascribed to or aggravated medical officer confers with the Safety Engineer survey is usually recommended to the Commandant key man in the prevention usually discovers its exis occupational history and the reviewed in order to reach traced to present or past invironmental conditions the 7. The Industrial Hygiene Survey Such a survey is of course a combined - Heal and engineering task a The Medical Survey This consists of a complete clinical study histories of all exposed personnel as a case supervision of the industrial medical officer ble beyond the matter of the medical survey officer have a reasonable grasp of the entire position to utilize all data that have any bearing medical findings In addition he may a safety engineer with respect to certain technical conduct of the engineering aspects of the with detailed occupational finding procedure under the Although Although not directly responsiit is important that the medical problem so that he will be in a bearing on the interpretation of his an advisory capacity to the phases in the planning and b The Engineering Survey The engineering phases of an industrial fall naturally under the direction of the cial industry this embraces essentially duties physical conditions of work and +. ment of the individual shop in other wir Laboratory facilities There are %* uygiene survey in a Navy Yard engineer engineer As in a commer- mplete story of the occupational materials processes and equip- the environmental conditions vilities provided for technical $ studies in the Na unit in Washingto This is an urgent end of setting up- The Departnservices of the D to conduct such te states utilize the The safety e ard on the basis disclosed preven problem 8. The Reportin An importa on July 1st of accident and ille civil personnel Su Medicine and Su known as C nosis of the inju made up from t a sorting mach these accidents reaching contril a crude form o was not adapte 9. Occupation The chief be considered ees Compensat emphasis that new hazards 1 Dust a The dust industry One of th in navy yards obnoxious in age As re workers and order to acco for this attit ers exposed develop silic A medic was conduct 60 had a studies in the Navy Yard organization and there by unit in Washington which could supply industrial This is an urgent need and recommendations have end of setting up such an agency central laboratory sts for field studies - been made to the The Department has been most fortunate in the services of the Division of Industrial Hygiene of <7: wa to conduct such technical studies much in the same states utilize the facilities of State Bureaus of Ind past in securing the Health Service hat industries in the 2. Hygiene The safety engineer formulates the control program ard on the basis of the data of the survey After :_ disclosed prevention of occupational disease is program of the health haz- once the etiology is an engineering problem 8. The Reporting of Industrial Accidents and Illnesse An important advance in accident prevention >. us Navy was initiated on July 1st of this year when the Secretary directed a report of each accident and iliness both time and no lost civil personnel of Navy Shore Establishments be occurring among to the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery The report of each accident > submitted on a form known as F shown in the accompanying slide 7 + presents the diag- nosis of the injury and the essential details as to the ...++. made up from these records for mechanical tabulating tabulating a sorting machine This provides facilities for these accidents and diseases and the data obtaine: reaching contribution to the subject of accident cor was a crude form of accident reporting to the Department Punch cards are indexing through statistical analysis of imise to be a farPrior to this system was in effect but it was not adapted to statistical analysis 9. Occupational Health Hazards in Navy Yards in The chief potential occupational health hazards reports be considered the data being based chiefly on reports ees Compensation Commission over a series of years emphasis that industrial medical officers must be conly new hazards Navy Yards will now . the U. EmployIt hardly requires conly on the alert for 1 Dust Diseases a Silicosis Important units of all Navy Tards are iron steel : and brass foundries The dust control problem is a major concern in 7:-3+ plants as in civil industry One of the difficulties met with in combating ' 2:. dry dust problem in navy yards is the fact that silicosis dust is not =< obnoxious in concentrations which may ultimately - ularly irritating or :: pulmonary dam- age As a result we find a tendency to an indiffer workers and even supervisors and executives whi order to accomplish effective and permanent dust on the part of the 1st be overcome in Another reason for this attitude is the long period of time necessar ers exposed to only moderate concentrations of 2: Lose foundry workas molders to develop silicosis | A medical survey of the foundries of the Navy Washington D. C. was conducted by the speaker in 1939 of 525 men red approximately 60 had a record of 10 years or over and 36 a r^' of 20 years or over 81 of total foundry employment Twelve cases of silicosis were found or 2.4 of the total in Stage I or II these data leading to recommendations for improved dust control methods Industrial hygiene surveys in foundries other than the Washington Navy Yard have not as yet been carried out but would in all probability disclose a certain incidence of silicosis even if not of disabling type The medical control of silicosisin the naval establishment consists of an ray of the chest before employment and an annual radiograph of all men higher exposed to the shake men silica dust concentrations such as sandblasters and Itis believed that medical surveys of foundriesin all Navy Yards will soon be required b Asbestosis This is a potential occupational disease hazard from the inhalation of asbestos dust among workers engaged in the manufacture of asbestos insulating covers for flanges valves and high temperature steam turbines The speaker recently conducted a medical survey of the workers of the Pipe Insulating Shop of the New York Yard inclusive of ray studies the maximum working period of exposure being 17 years No asbestosis cases yards reported were found Similar findings have been from two other the study should be extended to all men in this trade but Medical control consists of an ray of the lungs annually The asbestos is moistened and localized exhaust ventilation is installed over the work area A respirator is worn during the dustiest aspect of the process 2 Lead and Lead Compounds Lead poisoning has become comparatively infrequent in recent years both among industrial and service naval personnel apparently due in part to changes in materials and methods and partly to improved measures of control Zinc and titanium paints have largely replaced leaded material for ship interiors Red lead paint is still in use as the priming coat on hull exteriors but the finishing coats contain either no lead or a greatly reduced proportion All painters regularly handling containing paint are examined annually for evidences of lead absorption 3 Volatile Organic Solvents Lacquer spray painting occurs on an extensive scale in Navy Yards and therefore demands rigid medical supervision Another important application is in degreasing measures All spray lacquer personnel are subject to annual physical examination 4 ray and Radium Hazards The ray and radium are continually utilized for the detection of flaws in castings and pipe welded joints for high pressure steam installations Radium has an advantage in the small size of the equipment in that it is adapted to tests in the confined machinery spaces of ships The question of protection from irradiation of the operating and other personnel working in the vicinity of the apparatus has received thorough study the practice of the Bureau of Standards being generally followed Complete blood counts of all technicians are conducted quarterly and special employment examinations are prescribed Another potential hazard of radium is that of ingestion incident to radium painting of luminous dials more especially for fire control instru- 82 ments and Service are 5 W The hy medical res the combin New York to rise The im naval weldi contains aj mandatory welder to w question of The ch fume pois ophthalmia poisoning No acc . further red utilized It reported at occurred an adjacent to Chroni silicon wh oxides in t reported of time pre 10 Annua Portal These emphasis o their duties injury to t corrective to some ot operator f to his priv 11. Time In a li United Sta ago it was approxima capacity a following 7,000 num lost from | from non and aircraft The control measures advised by the Public Health toes ments Service are generally in force plus certain local regulations eet 5 Welding of welders is another outstanding feature of yogege, The hygienic supervision welders were on the rolls of responsibility a . medical Approximately 2,500 including 653 at the combined shore establishments as of January 1 1940 New York This number has progressively increased and will continue , . Povarcsteghed approximately poisoning to rise volume of work in confined spaces is characteristic of The immensA e battleship of 35,000 tons displacement under construction electric welding is naval welding 500 compartments in which contains certain of these spaces being extremely small and forcing the mandatory These conditions complicate the * welder to work in very cramped positions question of effective preventive control of the hazards The chief hazards which have to be considered at present are nitrous zinc fume fever as it is popularly termed and actinie 3 - fume poisoning ultraviolet radiation of the welding arc Nitrous fume et. ophthalmia from is serious condition ag while comparatively rare a the fact that these injuries would be still No accent need be placed on provided were properly further reduced in number if the control measures of actinic ophthalmia utilized It may be of intereYsatrtdo innot9e mtohnatthosf 3o1f7tchaesecsurrent year only 20 reported at the New Yorkthe remaining 80 among men exposed in spaces occurred among welders not utilizing available protective goggles adjacent to the welding are but fluorides or , Chronic poisoning among naval welders from manganese mineral 4 which might be ascribed to inhalation of these metallic or co n & silicon fumes originating in the rod coatings has not been oxides in the welding cannot be denied The limitation reported Such a possibility of course of time prevents mention of additional hazards 2 10. Annual Examination of Crane Operators Enginemen Hoisting and Portable and Locomotive Engineers _ classes of workers are physically examined annually with special fi These and vision In view of the nature of emphasis on blood pressure hearing sudden collapse might involve critical : their duties physical failure such as to material If injury to themselves andimoptrhaecrtiscaabnlde itnheadwdoirtkieorn idsamreatgiered or transferred corrective measures are for which he may be suitable A crane to some other type of employment would be referred for instance presenting a marked hypertension operator and transferred transferred to other duties to his private physician *. . & : - from Industrial versus industrial Disabilities 11. Time Loss in various parts of the In a limited study of 116 industrial companies a few years United States conducted by the American College of Surgeons of illness was it found that the time loss from industrial types in his ago was that industrially connected The speaker approximatelyaproximately 15 times Officer of the Washington Navy Yard made the capacity as Senior Medical 1938 Total industrial force following observations for the calendar year accidents 0.14 number of days of days lost from industrial The number of days loss 7,000 number or accident 5.20 industrial illness 37 times that from industrial lost from disability was therefore from industrial disability 83 causes A similar study by the speaker at the New York Yard for 1939 revealed that the industrial loss was roughly four times the industrial figure The possible factors in the difference between the two yards have not been analyzed Disparities of the same general order have been reported in recent sta- tistical studies by certain large commercial industries and reflect an enormous economic loss Much of this industrial illness is preventable It is believed that in the naval establishments this wastage of preventable illness can be greatly reduced if the problem is attacked by an annual physical examination of all employees referring cases requiring corrective treatment to their private physicians or other agencies This would require a heavy increase in medical staffs but it would be a profitable investment by naval industry in the saving of man power for national defense It is a . question worthy of being explored PROFESSOR DRINKER We were informed the other day in Washington that the Navy is now in the mining business and is confronted with the conventional mining hazards as well Therefore we can say that their hazards are about all those we meet in all of our industries am sure that Captain Brown will be glad to answer questions MR WEIL I should like to ask Captain Brown what his eye test consists of for his men in called key positions We are using a keystone and we are a little at a loss as to how to interpret some of the findings CAPTAIN BROWN I didn't get the drift of that MR WEIL I want to know what the eye examination consists of and what is your experience in interpreting the keystone test if you use it CAPTAIN BROWN I don't particular test We simply use , standards think we have had any contact with that the ordinary southern test with definite PROFESSOR DRINKER A teacher always judges the value of a book first by his ability to keep it in his own library or in his own laboratory They have a way of disappearing particularly if your students are eager for it One also judges the value of a book by the general appearance of the cover whether it begins to fall apart after a month or two Noxious Gases is the standard book throughout the Eng- Haggard's fourth copy I don't know speaking world on the subject am on my how the rest of you are doing Two of mine have been stolen one is worn and the one I have has been rebound once The University also has a out the Engineering School Libra- number of them at the Medical School and at to use it and how much ries I state this to show you how eager we are we do use it It is pleasant to welcome to our group least it is for me as a professor at Harvard professor in a sister university and one with whom have friendly rivalry of all sorts In this case I have to admit with a w goeod deal of professional jealousy and very sincere admiration that there isn't any rivalry The lead is entirely with Yale It is to therefore a great personal privilege to be able to introduce to you Dr. Hm oweard W. Haggard of Yale University who will speak on the Absorption and Excretion of Volatile Solvents 84 ABSORPTION AN ---- As I look over the fact that the title assi other titles which are c the problems of Industr solvents and kindred s industrial occupations But here I deal with no particular situation A field far too much empi tion of fundamental pr and the specific problem volatile product as an e as there are individual should be approached b solvents These princip physiology the p get into the body and b of these principles that tion of exposure take o topic But I offer no s shall at moments desce very obvious situations Toxic substances & separately exercise th into the body And so little distinction as to m familiar volatile solven when absorbed into the of which are roughly p action again barring ! When alcohol is taken 1 and of the intestines a to every part of the bo ication would occur I substances Consequen in every tissue of the b the relations of the sol thus permeated with al This tension and corre proportional to the am The alcohol causes the tissues of the body the brain Brain funct develop Those functi development appear to reason are impaired ez sciousness and finally * Director Laboratory