Document RJbzQGNm2D49BzL3MkxbpwYxk

General Statement on Hygienic Status of - The Manufacturing Plants of The Lowe Brothers Co. A study of the potential occupational hazards in the two plants of the Lowe Brothers Company at Dayton, Ohio, has been made by testing the air of work rooms for their content of substances which might have a deleterious effect, and also by subjecting representative groups of workmen to clinical examination. Tlie results of the study and the recommendations which arise out of them, can be summarised briefly, as follows: 1. The conditions within the plant compare favorably with those generally prevailing in industrial plants of this type. 2. The type of exposure which offers the greatest possi bility of hazard to the workmen is that associated with the handling of lead compounds. Other hazards are believed to be negligible. 3. The lead exposure is of an order of magnitude that is not unusual in the lead trades. It has not caused lead in toxication among the workmen, so far as therresults of present examinations show. The evidence obtained in recent years indicates, however, that occasional cases of lead poisoning, of the milder type, may develop out of conditions similar to those observed in certain parts of these plants, and it is considered wise to bring about reduction in the lead exposure by introducing greater ventilation into cdrtaln of the work rooms, - 2- notably the mixing rooms. Ij.* It is also considerad advisable to warn the workmen to avoid the unnecessary exposure of swallowing lead with food ahd tobacco as the result of taking these articles into work rooms or handling them with unclean hands. This is advised because of the considerable differences in the degree of lead absorption of persons doing the same kind of work and presumably exposed to the same conditions. These differences may well be due to variability in the personal habits of the workmen with respect to care and cleanlinoss. 5 Likewise, the workmen should be advised to avoid the inhalation of lead-containing dusts in certain areas, such as within oars and the r eceiving room, through the proper u3e of du3t-masks, which are ouppliod for that purpose. These masks must fit perfectly and must be kept in perfect condition if they are to be useful. The recommendations to both management and workmen are not intended as criticisms of past practices, but as suggestions for the avoidance of future hygienic difficulties, taking into account the facts obtained by our recent observations. Signed Robert A. Kehoe, M.D KE 0