Document dQmRErJgzEooVBOZepRdqZ9E6

Ifirch 5, 1973 Legal Secti.n Industrial Commission of Ohio OMo Departsienta Building Columbus, Ohio i3215 Attention: Hebert L. Robbins Room 1C4 Cent1, enen: Re: O.D. 9743-22 Mr. Charles Dickess Cr. February 22, 1973 3 visit vas made to the plant of lb-' ''or*'' `.verican Re free lories Company at Ironton, Ohio to check conditions under which the claimant had worked. The corTv.rr/ manufactures firebrick and refractories. Acc^rdinr to corrparxy records, the claimant's experience is s? follows: Jtcrted work: April 24, 1934 Last day: Currently eunloyed with North .'.-nerican Refractories, Inc. The clair.ant throughout his cai-eer of some 3* years with the subject employer served as a drypati operator. A drypan is mechanical device which simply brooks down large lumps of clay or brick into f- much smeller workable size. This operation is usually a very dusty one. The drypan at North American Refractories Ironton Plant is located outdoors underneath an overhang attached to the north end of the plant. At the time of this visit the drypan was down so no dust counts .ore trie.':. Presently there is an exhaust system built into * - .r., ...Ich. according to personnel who work in this area, crv.tiy i:.-.;-,roved the level of dust concentration in the ' . t . l:\ity. Furthermore, materials are presently conveyed Ly .. conveyor system which eliminates the need for 1 .7Mtu^ily feed material into the drypan and bo '~4: . ti tcons:1 Icralile dust that is raised when the material iLL' i.'i :.~c t.-.e drypan. The clelaMUXt worked-Tor years at this .'or l-';. 'v f.r; improvements of the exhaust system and conveyer lordi:v of notorial were incorpo?"Btidaand consecpiontly was exposed -<:-r rust then ho presently is. Since the drypan i3 essentially 3 located outdoors it ie exposed to rendow air currents. It is cl sliced, bovever, that tha effect of the air currents in reduain.; the dust concentration ia insignificant. Ibe coapcny does provide dust respirators bnt d<j*3 not aaRa it mandatory that they be vom. The claiiiumt wp.s riven a pre-enplorient physical examination which did not include a chest x-ray. Bo cheat x-rays vers required cr given the clalvjurt yutaeguont to hio employment. It is concluded that this claimant by virtue of tbs fact that for nost of his adult life he hr a been employed by the subject employer rod that the .greater portion of bhia employment has been as a drypin operator h-'-o hid considerabls exposure to occupaticvil dusts containing frcv silica. It is also probable that this exposure contributed Lr. u sipjaifieftnt vay to his present ph.nric.al disability. Very truly yours* JW'tJ.p Jooeph H. Paeao, P.E. Industrial Hygiene Engineer