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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 .I4P9 1940 AIR HYGIENE FOUNDATION OF AMERICA Inc. PITTSBURGH PENNSYLVANIA NOVEMBER 12-13 1940 Brown 3 4 esti vactes ke INDUSTRIAL HYGIENEHYGIENE AND THE NAVY IN NATIONAL DEFENSE CAPTAIN ERNEST W. BROWN MC 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 constructivoanst uinnpcarreaalsleeleind 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 dimepvoerltoapnmtenotf This appears to be due to certain significant trends of many Industrial Hygiene Units which has been the recent setting up of Health through funds released by the pas- in state or city Departments Act These trends in fact particularly that sage of the Social Security renaissance of industrial hygiene as a phase just mentioned reflect a definite of public health in the United States movement is receiving increasing recognition in naval industrial This is now listed as a specialty of the naval medi- circles and industrial hygiene outside of the purely clinical fields cal officer along with other specialties chemical warfare medi- such as aviation medicine submarine medicine personnel cine etc. Those just mentioned however are conhcaenrdnedis plrairmgaerlyilyoccwuiptihednwaivtalh Industrial hygiene on the other It therefore follows that the status of the fSeedneiroarl MienddiucsatrliaOlffipceerrsoonfna elmajor Navy Yard in relation to the Industrial is analogous in many respects to that of the Medical Director Department commercial industrial plant The object of this paper is to pre- of a large of industrial hygiene in Navy Yards sent an outline of the administration which are the chief industrial units of the Navy . Mention should be made in this connectionCoomfmitthte eecoomf mthiett Naete iono an 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 officers in conjunction and indus- committee Important recommendations pertinent to the Navy in effect trial health will result and many of them will undoubtedly be put industrial hygiene as applied in the present discussion is used The term control of occupational disease in the specific sense of the prevention and law for occupational The fact may be of interest that the first compensation for U. S. Civil diseases in this country was one paslsaewds ifnor19i0n8dubstyriCaolngdriseesasses 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. 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 consider 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 exte tions these of certain gr as foundrym employees fo opinion as to 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 | 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 nately s esti- .0 con- e chief as fol- examinations all applicants for federal lows a employment physical the standards for acceptance vary jobs are examined physically although b Periodic physical examina- to some extent for different occupations with the object of medical supervision tions these of course are conducted definite potential health hazards of employees exposed to of federal of certain groups c Physical examination and disability as foundrymen and spray tphaisinitserfsor evaluation of degree of employees for retirement total disability is alleged d Diagnosis opinion as to disposition when industrial injuries and occupational diseases and disposition of Industrial hygiene and plant treatment cases f Administration of compensation e sanitation 5. The Industrial Medical Officer Yard is specifically detailed medical staff of the Navy of the Senior direction An officer of the administration subject to ththeethe scope of his activities for industrial hygiene slide outlines Medical Officer The accompanying The adequate practice of industrial a Advisor to the Safety Engineer is dependent upon the close and hygiene in Navy Navy Yards as in civil industry and the industrial medical officer efficient correlation of the safety engineer of both of these officers in It is essential to obtain a grasp of the functions administration order to properly visualize industrial business is responsible for the industrial medical officer water illumination b Inspections The sanitation . e ventilation of plant facilities etc. general supervision and condition of sanitary eran supply general cleanliness adequacfyor occupational health hazards ; and their eras He also conducts shop inspections Nar measures of control conditions and thereby detect He cannot expect to evaluate working makes periodic inspections = See early unless he of existing occupational health hazards he can observe the adequacy through the plant In this way whether such methods are being prop- hazards and value in that they psychological measures againTshtesspeeciinfsipcections also have a utilized minds of the employees erly for the medical service in the create greater respect Examinations employment cases health c Supervision of Special Physicaelxposure to potential industrial when the applicant reports previous 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 as to industrial origin in obscure cases this will be discussed later groups for Medical surveys of occupational claimed d medical aspects of compensation e Administration of the the U. Employees Compensation Com- occupational disease pending before mission of accident and occupational disease f Supervision of preparationpreparation reports for the Navy Department 6. The Safety Engineer at the Navy Department is stationed A civilian Safety EntghieneSehrore Establishments Division A naval advisor to the ehaecahd Noafvy Yard as the safety engineer is assigned to unsafe practice control control Safety engineering is 1 Accident and 79 as the officer one of the divisions of the Navy Yard organization an investigation of all time accidents and advising as to measures to prevent of approach to the safety problem in devices such as mechanical guarding and the The Safety Engineer conducts a view to fixing the cause recurrence The basic features are provision of safety safety education of workmen and their supervisors Another important aspect is the competitive very effective in stimulating interest in Department publishes the comparative approach which has proved idenitdent prevention The Navy scores of all Navy Yards monthly The accompanying slide emphasizes Department in accident reduction beginning paign in Navy Yards in 1926. We find the from 20 to practically 10 per year in a reduced from 2.2 per year to 0.5 On the other total man hours worked during the period increased million per year the average number of employes advance made by the Navy with an intensive safety camfrequency accident rate lowered year period the severity rate hand it will be noted that the increased to 115 million from 65 mately 30,000 to 66,000 2 Occupational Health Control The ntrol Navy Yards naturally lies within the sphere and the industrial medical officer Although tratively charged with this task the medi ntrol of occupational disease in both the safety engineer safety engineer is adminisofficer is actually coordinate with him in this phase As a matter of fact the medical officer of industrial disease in Navy Yards in tence The diagnosis having been made employment examination record are care a decision if possible whether the hazard 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 environmental conditions the Commandant 7. The Industrial Hygiene Survey is of course a combined i: dical and engineering task Such a survey , occupational a The Medical Survey This consists of a complete clinical sidy with detailed the as a case finding procedure under histories of all exposed personnel of the industrial medical officer Although not directly responsithat the medical sbluepebrevyiosinodnthe matter of the medical survey it important that he will be in a officer have a reasonable grasp of the entire problem so of his to utilize all data that have any on the interpretation the position In addition he may act an advisory capacity to medical findings safety engineer with respect to certain phases in the planning and conduct of the engineering aspects of the iT%=Y. b The Engineering Survey in a Navy Yard The engineering phases of an industrial the survey engineer As in a commer- fall naturally under the direction of story of the occupational cial industry this embraces essentially a and equip- duties physical conditions of work and 7: , processes conditions ment of the individual shop in other words environmental Laboratory facilities There are no facilities provided for technical 80 studies in the Na unit in Washingto This is an urgent end of setting up- The Departn services of the D to conduct such to states utilize the The safety e ard on the basis disclosed preven problem 8. The Reporti An importan on July 1st of t accident and ill 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 workers and order to accc for this attit ers exposed develop silic A medic was conduct 60 had a studies in the Navy Yard organization and there is *. central laboratory hy unit in Washington which supply industrial sts for field studies This is an urgent need and recommendations have - been made to the end of setting up such an agency The Department has been most fortunate in the services of the Division of Industrial Hygiene of the past in securing the Health Service = to conduct such technical studies much in the same states utilize the facilities of State Bureaus of Indust at industries in the 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 problem of the health haz- once the etiology is largely an engineering 8. The Reporting of Industrial Accidents and Illnesses An important advance in accident prevention by tis Navy was initiated on July 1st of this year when the Secretary directed accident and illness both time and no lost- a report of each * occurring among civil personnel of Navy Shore Establishments be to the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery The report of each acciden : submitted on a form known as C shown in the accompanying slide _ presents the diag- nosis of the injury and the essential details as to the .:.:+. and made up from these records for mechanical tabulating a sorting machine This provides facilities for these accidents and diseases and the data obtain Punch cards are indexing through statistical analysis of mise to be a far- reaching contribution to the subject of accident con a crude form of accident reporting to the Department Prior 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 Navy Navy Yards will now be considered the data being based chiefly on reports the U. S. Employ- ees Compensation Commission over a series of years It hardly requires emphasis that industrial medical officers must be constantly constantly on the alert for new hazards 1 Dust Diseases a Silicosis Important units of all Na Tards are iron steel : and brass foundries The dust control problem is a major concern in 7: ++ plants as in civil industry One of the difficulties met with in combating the undry 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 result we find a tendency to an indiffer on the part of the workers and even supervisors and executives which must be overcome in order to accomplish effective and permanent dust Another reason for this attitude is the long period of time necessary / - ose foundry work- ers exposed to only moderate concentrations of <.: ach as molders to develop silicosis Yard A medical survey of the foundries of the Navy Yard Washington D. C. was conducted by the speaker in 1939 of 525 men 60 had a record of 10 years or over and 36 red red approximately 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 silicosis in the naval establishment consists of an ray of the chest before employment and an annual radiograph of all men exposed to the higher silica dust concentrations such as sandblasters and shake men It is 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 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 reported yards 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 applica- personnel tion is in degreasing measures All spray lacquer annual physical examination are subject to 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 5W The hy medical res the combin New York to rise The im naval weldi contains aj mandatory welder to v question of The ch fume pois ophthalmia poisoning No acc . further red utilized It reported at occurred an adjacent to Chroni silicon whi 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 as following 7,000 num lost from from non ments and aircraft The control measures advised by the Public Service are generally in force plus certain local regulations Health progressively 5 Welding feature of The hygienic supervision of welders is another outstandoinngthe rolls of medical responsibility Approximately 2,500 welders were the combined shore establishments as of January 1 1940 including 653 at New York This number has increased and will continue to rise ae volume of work in confined spaces is characteristic of The immense under construction naval welding A battleship of 35,000 tons diisnplwahceimcehntelectric welding is contains approximately 500 compartments small and forcing the certain of these spaces being extremely mandatory These conditions complicate the welder to work in very cramped positions preventive of effective control of the hazards question which have to be considered at present are nitrous The chief hazards fever as it is popularly termed and actinic fume poisoning zinc fume Nitrous fume from ultraviolet radiation of the welding arc ophthalmia is a serious condition poisoning while comparatively rare would be still No accent need be placed on the fact that theseprionjvuirdieeds were properly further reduced in number if tthoenoctoenttrhoalt moefa3s1u7recsases of actinic ophthalmia utilized It may be of interest of the current year only 20 reported at the Nweew ldYeorsrkthYearrdemianin9inmgon8 th0s among men exposed in spaces Posy occurred taomothneg welding are but not utilizing available protective goggles ane adjacent naval welders from manganese fluorides or at mineral Chrownhiicchpomiisgohnitngbeaamsocnrigbed to inhalation of these metallic or silicon fumes originating in the rod coatings has not been tne oxides in the welding cannot be denied The limitation ena reported Such a possibility of course of time prevents mention of additional hazards ce en 10. Annual Examination of Crane Operators Enginemen Hoisting and ROR Portable and Locomotive Engineers _ classes of workers are physically examined annually with special These vision In view of the nature of emphasis on blood pressure hearing asnuddden collapse might involve critical their duties physical failure such as to material If injury to themselves and others and itnheadwdoirtkieorn idsamreatgiered or transferred corrective measures are impracticabfloer which he may be suitable A crane R to some other type of employment would be referred RS for instance presenting a marked hypertension operator and transferred to other duties to his private physician oe approximately Loss from Industrial versus industrial Disabilities 11. Time 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 found that the time loss from industrial types in his ago it was that industrially connected The speaker 15 times of the Washington Navy Yard made the capacity as Senior Medical Officer 1938 Total industrial force following observations for the cailnednudsatrriayleaarccidents 0.14 number of days loss of days lost from The number of days 7,000 number accident 5.20 from industrial illness or industrial lost was therefore 37 times that from 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 statistical studies by certain large commercial industries and reflect an enor- mous 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 con- sists 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 Haggard's Noxious Gases is the standard book throughout the Eng- world on the subject am on my fourth copy I don't know speaking 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 - ries I state this to show you how eager we are to use it and how much 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 me therefore a great personal privilege to be able to introduce to you Dr. Howard W. Haggard of Yale University who will speak on the Absorption and Excretion of Volatile Solvents 84 ABSORPTION AN HO 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 a 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 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 ea sciousness and finally * Director Laboratory (