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FILE NAME: Warning Labels (WL) DATE: 1946 July DOC#: WL102 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: West Virginia Medical Journal Article [Smyth Warnings] Solving the Problem of the Toxicity of New Chemicals in Industry July, 7946 T he W est Virginia M edical J ournal 177 SOLVING THE PROBLEM O F THE TOXICITY O F NEW CHEMICALS IN INDUSTRY danger the health of the public, and to inform cus tomers, by proper labelling and otherwise, of the hazards of the compounds they buy. By H E N R Y F. SM Y T H , Jr., Ph. t>. Mellon Institute, Pittsburgh, Pa, One may say that the solution of the problem of new chemicals is simple. T u rn each one over to a T h e prevention of occupational fiiseiise requires university pharmacology department for study be that k n o w le d g e of tlic potential hazards of the ma fore any is sold. Tin's may be practical for the firm terials h an dled by workmen shall he readily available with one or two new compounds, but the m anu tn in du strial physicians and industrial hygiene engi facturer with more than 100 new ones every year neers. U seful information concerning the more finds that there are not enough pharmacology de fam iliar chemicals is widely circulated hut every year partments to do his work, and that the professors are the re se arch departments of several manufacturers reluctant to repeat the same tests over and over arc fin d in g ways to produce economically one hun dred o r m ore chemicals new to industry, or some upon a continuing series of samples, in spite of the generous subsidies which may be tendered. times n e w oven to science. M any firms are becoming active in the field and in the aggregate well over More important than this is the objection that ft 1,000 chem icals arc newly available each year. M ost is impractical to spend thousands of dollars studying i the health hazards of each of 100 chemicals every ; of th e se will never enter commerce because appli year when it is certain from past experience that cations justifying their production will not be dis sufficient applications to justify manufacture will be covered, hut the sales departments of the corpora found for only 10; and that it may be several years tions in volved are staffed by resourceful, imaginative before even these 10 will earn a profit. Y e t if one men, on e of whose jobs is to find uses for new compound injures a workman or customer, the chem icals. Perhaps 25(1 new molecules will he made direct financial loss may well be measured by thou and sh ip p ed in small amounts each year and about sands. | 10 w ill eventually fill such a large need that tons will be sh ipp ed ato n e time. All producers of chemicals are probably aware of ; T h e physician knows that ui excess of any chemi the problem which the flood of new materials pre- " cal w h atso e v e r will injure the body, although lie lias sents to the industrial physician and the hygienist. f con fid en ce in the industrial hygienist who tells him T h e matter is the responsibility of industry and in t that a n y chemical can be used safely once its par only rare instances is it proper to depend upon fed- jf ticular bav.ords are known and guarded against. cral or state agencies to alleviate the situation, Sev- N everth eless, it is pertinent to ask what is being done era! solutions have been evolved by single manu- j to p r e v e n t injury to the health of workmen by way freturers and it is of interest to examine one of them of d isc o v e rin g the nature and degree of the hazards in some detail. E igh t years ago one firm established, of th e se new compounds, and to what extent the at its own expense, an industrial fellowship under health of the public is being protected in the matter my direction at the Mellon Institute of Industrial of k e e p in g unsuitable chemicals out of the prepara Research of the University of Pittsburgh. T h e or tions it c an purchase for its own use or abuse. ganization has grown steadily and we now have a staff of 18 technically trained persons, and facilities ; U n fo rtu n a te ly , only hroud generalities about haz to house .about 3 ,5 0 0 animals, with further expan- j ards c a n he predicted in advance of pharmacological sion visible in the near future. j experim entation. Consequently, research chemists m ust m ak e a new chemical to obtain a sample for By means of close contact with the research, pro test b e fo r e they themselves can know how dangerous duction, sales, and medical departments of this ; to h a n d le it may be. If they are wise they will pro manufacturer our group is made aware of all new j ceed a s if the danger is great until the contrary is chemicals which he develops, In most cases we | proven. are informed before more than a few pounds have { been produced, and always before the compound 1 I t is clearly the duty of a manufacturer to delay has been sold for larger than trial orders. O ur p ro d u ctio n of a chemical until the health hazards are records o f 'continuous toxicological studies over the [ w ell en ough defined so that protection of his work years allow us to discriminate promptly between j m en is possible. It is also his duty not to sell a those materials which almost certainly are devoid of ch em ic al for an application in which it would en hazard to health when handled in industry, and the PubA-02835 178 T he W est Virginia M edical J ournal July, 1946 smaller number which possibly may manifest in jurious action unless precautions are taken to protect workmen from contact. Upon all chemicals suspected of being potentially injurious to workmen or ahout which any doubt is entertained, we at once perform pharmacological experiments designed to elucidate the situation. By means of tests upon small animals we investigate the hazard of swallowing, of skin penetration, of inhalation, of skin contact, and of eye contact. T h e methods are standardized and the quantitative re sults allow us to select from our files another chemi cal, more familiar to the manufacturer, whose haz ards ( which he well knows how to guard against) bear such and such a relation to those of the new one under study. T his information, because of species differences, is not quantitatively precise, but it is a guide to plant physicians in observing the first men to handle the new chemical in quantity. We refer to this procedure as a range finding test.1 It is performed in a short time at a cost of only a few hundred dollars, and the results can be made known to the producer before the stage of pilot plant operation is reached. I f the chemical proves unpopular and is not sold, little effort has been wasted. If it is sold the toxicological data obtained serve as a guide for protecting workmen and also for judging the safety of proposed uses. After a time it may become apparent that the new material will he made and sold in larger quantities. Not until then is it appropriate to perform more detailed and more expensive studies which will em ploy several species of animals and perhaps a few human subjects, and which will reveal more pre cisely the quantitative hazards which must be guarded against in applications of the chemical, and the nature of injury which overexposure may pro duce. When this information is published in the medical literature, our function is fulfilled in respect to tlie particular material, and the physician and hygienist are thus informed so that they can intelli gently safeguard health. BIBLIOGRAPHY (1 ) Smy h, H. F,, Jr., and Carpenter, C. P, : The Place of the Range Finding Test in the Industrial T o xico logical Laboratory. J . Ind. Hyg. 6 Toxicol., 26, 269-273. 1944. More people in this country are suffering from arthritis or some rheumatic manifestation than the sum of all of the individuals who are affected with cancer, tuberculosis, diabetes, and heart disease. --J. F, in Ohio St. Med. J. OXYGEN TREATMENT FOR CHLORINE GAS EXPOSURES THOMAS W. N ALE, M. D. Medical Director Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corporation South Charleston Plant Chlorine is used in a number of industries. I t is an industrial hazard among several classes of w ork ers. These include dye workers, laundry w orkers, bleachers, chloride of lime workers, employees detinning tin plate scrap, and employees w orking in chemical plants where chlorine is utilized in the manufacture of various chemicals. Chlorine gas has a characteristic pungent odor with an irritating effect on the nose and throat. It has a high coefficient of expansion and its solubility in water at 2 0 C . is 215 volumes in 100 volum es. It has been commonly supposed that chlorine reacts with the moisture on the tissues to form hydrochloric acid, and that its detrimental effects arise from the action of tin's acid. A more probable theory of the action of chlorine is that it affects moist tissues in the same way that it does other moist organic m a terial, namely, by the abstraction of hydrogen from the water present, the liberation of nascent oxygen, and then the formation o f hydrochloric acid.1 Inhalation of chlorine elicits respiratory reflexes and causes coughing, smarting of the eyes, a gen eral feeling of discomfort in the chest, a hoarse cou g h , nausea and vomiting. T h e face may become red and bloated because of venous congestion. In h a la tion of chlorine affects, and produces inflam m ation of, tlie entire respiratory tract. Edem a of the lu n g s may occur after a severe exposure. T h e m ost p ro nounced symptoms are suffocation, a feeling o f con striction in the chest and tightness in the th roat. Fortunately, the gas lias adequate warning prop erties provided one can get away from its v ap o rs." PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPO N SE TO V A R IO U S C O N C E N T R A T IO N S OF CHLORINE^ Parts of chlor ine per million parts of air Maximum concentration allowable for prolonged exposure ............................. 0.35 to 1.0 Least detectable odor................................... 3.5 Maximum concentration allowable for short exposure (!A to 1 h o u r)............ 4 Least amount causing immediate irri tation to the throat, ........................... 15 Dangerous for even short exposure.. . . 4 0 to 6 0 Rapidly fatal for short exposure............... 1,000