Document ppxL2wjoQmneen3d1aD8QjZBd

FILE NAME: Pennsylvania (PA) DATE: 1964-65 Win DOC#: PA027 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: PA Dept of Health - News & Views - Vol.3, No.l OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH News & Views ^D ivision of O ccupational H ealth P en n sy lv an ia D epartm ent o f H ealth W in ter 196/>-65________________________________________________ _______________ Vol 3 , No- 1 G overnor's C onference Held - The P ennsylvania G overnor's Conference on P neum oconiosis (A n th ra c o -S ilii c o s i s ) , w hich has b e e n ann o u n ced in p r e v io u s i s s u e s o f News & V iew s, was h e ld in ,$ ,arri3 b u rg on November 30, December 1 and 2 . C a lle d f o r th e p u rp o se o f rev iew in g .-the pneum oconiosis problem in th e P ennsylvania co al m ining in d u s try and making re c ommendations f o r th e re d u c tio n and p re v e n tio n o f th e d is e a s e , th e C o n feren ce was a tte n d e d by o v e r 300 l e a d e r s i n t h i s f i e l d , i n c l u d i n g r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f t h e m edi ca l p r o f e s s io n , la b o r , in d u s tr y and governm ent. G ov ern o r W illia m W. S c r a n to n , a d d r e s s in g t h e o p e n in g g e n e r a l s e s s i o n , c a lle d f o r a new lo o k i n t o t h e p r a c t i c e s o f c o m p e n sa tin g c o a l m in e rs d i s a b l e d through em ploym ent-connected lung ailm ents and su g g ested a stu d y o f com pensation =pf th o s e who a r e n o t t o t a l l y d i s a b l e d and who can p e rfo rm o t h e r w o rk . " I n o r d e r to c o rre c t t h i s , f a i r and e f f e c tiv e d i s a b i l i t y e v a lu a tio n i s needed which should be follow ed by r e h a b ilita tio n and re tr a in in g o f p a r t i a l l y d is a b le d m in e rs. The prevention o f the d isease must be heavily s tre s s e d " , he s ta te d . S p ecial s e s s io n s o f th e C onference were d evoted to P re v e n tiv e Program s w ith Regard to th e In d iv id u a l; Du3t C o n tro l; D is a b ility E v a lu a tio n ; R e h a b ilita tio n ; and Workmen*3 C om pensation L e g i s l a t i o n . Among f i f t y - f o u r s p e a k e r s who p a r t i c i p a t e d i n t h e C o n fe re n c e w ere D r. John Rogan, M edical D ir e c to r , N atio n al Coal Board o f G re a t B r ita in ; P . B. McCrodan, M anager, M cIntyre P o rc u p in e M ines, Tim m ins, O n ta rio ; and D r. J . E . Cowle from th e O ntario Department of H ealth . I t is hoped t h a t, through im plem entation o f recom m endations form ulated as a r e s u lt of th e C onference d e lib e r a tio n s , a com prehensive program o f pneumoconi o s is p rev e n tio n and c o n tro l w ill be e s ta b lis h e d in P e n n sy lv a n ia . The C onference was j o i n t l y sp o n so red by th e P e n n sy lv a n ia D ep artm en ts o f ie a lth , Mines and M in eral I n d u s tr ie s and L abor and I n d u s tr y . A g r a n t- in - a id was received from th e P u b lic H e a lth S e rv ic e . ianganese Poisoning - Two c a s e s o f m an g an ese p o is o n in g w ere r e c e n t l y i n v e s t i g a t e d b y t h e D i v is io n . To o u r know ledge t h e s e a re th e f i r s t c a s e s in P e n n s y lv a n ia s in c e th e 930's and th e f i r s t in m an g an ese-steel-w o rk ers.- .P r io r case3 have, been in m in ers nd o re c r u s h e r s . A new p r o c e s s o f c a r b o n - a r c b u r n in g o f m anganese 3 t e e l c a s t i n g s (Nursing news on page U ) - 2had been in tr o d u c e d . I t was c a r r i e d out in a fo u r--a id e d b o o th w ith o u t lo c a l e x h a u st v e n t i l a t i o n . The r e g u la r w orker on each o f th e two w o rk -s h ifts developed manganese poisoning. I n d u s t r i a l hygiene su rv e y showed s i g n i f i c a n t manganese exposure a t th e w o r k s ite . B oth men had t y p i c a l symptoms and s ig n s o f manganese p o iso n in g and e l i v ated u rin e manganese c o n c e n tra tio n s . They were im m ediately removed from exposu and were p la c e d tinder tr e a tm e n t w ith calcium EDTA. They seem t o be im proving. U rin a ry e x c r e tio n o f m anganese in c re a s e d m arkedly fo llo w in g EDTA a d m in is tr a tio n . The manganese exposure a t th e w o rk site was reduced im m ediately by use c r e s p ir a to r s . Adequate lo c a l exhaust v e n tila tio n was in s ta lle d s h o rtly afte rw a rd I n d u s tr ia l Hygiene Course In cooperation w ith th e G raduate School of P u b lic H ealth, U niversity oi P itts b u rg h , and th e U .S. P u b lic H ealth S e rv ic e , th e D iv isio n o f O ccupational Hea] w i l l conduct a b a s ic course of i n s tr u c tio n in I n d u s t r i a l H ygiene. The two-week c o u rse i s sc h e d u le d f o r May 1965 fo llo w in g th e A nnual I n d u s t r i a l Hygiene C o n ferer a t Houston. Although th e se ssio n s are intended p rim a rily fo r in d u s tr ia l hy g ien is and in d u s tr ia l hygiene chem ists re c e n tly appointed to p o s itio n s w ith th e P e n n sy l vania Department o f H ealth , fiv e o th er persons can be accepted. I f you are in te i e s te d i n a t t e n d in g t h i s c o u r s e , p le a s e a p p ly p ro m p tly t o E, J . B a ie r , P . 0 . Box S H a rrisb u rg . There i s no ch arg e. Short-Term L im its I n o u r l a s t issxie we announced t h a t A r t i c l e 432, R e g u la tio n s E s ta b lis h ! T hreshold L im its in P la c e s o f Employment, had been re v ise d by th e A dvisory H ealth Board. In clu d ed in th e re v is io n s was th e ad o p tio n o f sh o rt-te rm lim its o f expos u re f o r 38 s u b s ta n c e s . F o r y o u r in fo rm a tio n we in c lu d e w ith t h i s is s u e o f News & Views a su p p lem en tary s h e e t l i s t i n g th e su b sta n c e s f o r which s h o rt-te rm lim its hs been adopted. P ro b a b le B e r y l l i o s i s From B e ry lliu m A llo y s The r e p o r t o f a stu d y on t h i s s u b je c t appeared in th e O ctober 1964 is s u o f th e A rc h iv e s o f E n v iro n m e n ta l H e a lth . A u th o rs o f th e p a p e r a re Jan L ieb en , M. and John A. D a t t o l i , M0D,,, o f th e D iv is io n o f O c c u p a tio n a l H e a lth , P e n n sy lv a n ia I partm ent o f H ealth and H arold L. I s r a e l , M .D., o f th e S a rc o id o s is C lin ic , J e f f e r s M edical C o lleg e, P h ila d e lp h ia . Three cases o f p ro b ab le b e r y llio s is from working w ith low b e ry lliu m c o n ten t a llo y s a re re p o rte d . R e p rin ts o f th e paper a re a v a ils upon r e q u e s t t o News & V iew s. f" C onference on A sbestos Hazard An i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o n fe re n c e on th e " B io lo g ic a l E f f e c t s o f A sb esto s" was h eld in New York C ity O c to b e r 1 9 -2 1 , under th e a u s p ic e s o f th e New York Academy c S cien ces. Speakers from South A fric a , Canada, England, I t a l y , F inland, Ire la n d , and Germany p re se n te d d isc u 3 3 io n s o f can cer in a sb e sto s w orkers and in persons l i v i n g i n th e neigh b o rh o o d o f a s b e s to s p l a n t s . I t i s now g e n e r a lly ag reed t h a t m esothel i a l t umors a r e much more p r e v a le n t among th o s e exposed t o .a s b e s to s th a n among th e g e n e r a l p o p u la tio n . T h is view was s u b s t a n t i a t e d by s e v e r a l o f th e s p e a k e rs who p r e s e n te d p e r t i n e n t c a se h i s t o r i e s o f p e rs o n s who had worked w ith a s b e s to s as f a r back a3 World War I . Publications "O ccupational D ise a se s, A Guide to T h e ir R eco g n itio n ", a re fe re n c e boci to a id p h y s i c i a n s , c o n s u l t a n t s , i n d u s t r i a l h y g i e n i s t s , and a l l i e d p r o f e s s io n a l pc sonnel in th e d e te c tio n and c o n tro l o f jo b -re la te d illn e s s e s has ju s t been re le a ; by th e D iv is io n o f O c c u p a tio n a l H e a lth , P u b lic H e a lth S e rv ic e , U. S . D epartm ent c H ealth , E ducation and W elfare. The book, P u b lic H e a lth S e rv ic e P u b lic a tio n No. 1097, was p re p a re d by e ig h t e x p e rts in th e f ie ld o f o c c u p a tio n a l h e a lth and e d ite d by Dr. 'W illiam S. G a fa fe r, I t covers th e th re e m ajor c a te g o rie s o f o c c u p a tio n a l hazards -- chemic; p h y s ic a l, and b io lo g ic . S p e c ia l d ia g n o s tic t e s t s and recommended th re s h o ld lim it - 3 ~e l i 's t e d u n d e r c h e m ic a l h a z a r d s . O c c u p a tio n s a s s o c i a t e d w ith p o t e n t i a l l y h a rm fu l iv iro n m e n ta l a g e n ts a r e a l3 o l i s t e d . B a sic in fo rm a tio n on th e mode o f e n tr y o f irio u s hazards and t h e ir e f f e c ts in th e body a re a lso explored in th e t e s t . Beluse of th e ir im portance in o ccu p atio n al h e a lth , se p a ra te se c tio n s on akin i r r i m ts and s e n s i t i z e r s , pneu m o co n io sis, and p e s tic id e s have been p re p a re d . T here re a ls o s e c tio n s on p l a s t i c s and s y n th e tic r e s in 3 and p la n t and wood h a z a rd s , Sugssted treatm ents fo r jo b -re la te d d iseases are not covered in th e book. As an a d d i t i o n a l a i d , " O c c u p a tio n a l D is e a s e s " c o n c lu d e s w ith a l i s t i n g o f Durces o f c o n s u lta tio n on o c c u p a tio n a l h e a lth and i n d u s t r i a l hygiene problem s and basic reference lis to The 175-page te x t book is a v a ila b le f o r $2.25 from th e S u p e rin te n d e n t o f ocum ents, I!. 3 . Government P r i n t i n g O f f i c e , W ash in g to n , D. C. it -it # The C o u n cil on O c c u p a tio n a l H e a lth , A m erican M ed ical A s s o c ia tio n , 535 o rth D earborn S t r e e t , C h ic a g o , I l l i n o i s 6 0 6 l0 , has a v a i l a b l e some v e r y v a lu a b le am phlets on a l l a sp e c ts of O ccu p atio n al H e a lth . Send fo r th e c a ta lo g u e e n t i t l e d , P u b lic a tio n s o f th e C o u n cil on O c c u p a tio n a l H e a lth " . From t h i s l i s t , you may s e s e t any b o o k le t which i s o f i n t e r e s t and one fr e e copy o f each w i l l be s e n t to you. i s i t o r s From Abroad S ev eral v is ito r s from o th e r c o u n trie s have been g u e sts o f th e D iv isio n u rin g r e c e n t w eeks. D r. W, D. B uchanan, H er M a je s ty 's D eputy S e n io r M e d ic a l I n p e c to r of F a c to r ie s , G reat B r ita in M in is try o f L abor, was h e re a f t e r ap p e a rin g as s p e a k e r a t th e i n t e r n a t i o n a l a s b e s t o s c o n f e r e n c e . He c o n f e r r e d w ith c e n t r a l o f ic e s t a f f members and a ls o in s p e c te d an i n d u s t r i a l r a d ia tio n i n s t a l l a t i o n in th e itts b u r g h a r e a , - D r, M u rie l L. Newhouse o f th e London S chool o f H ygiene and T ropc a l M edicine, London, E ngland, spent two days in H arrisb u rg p r io r to p re s e n tin g a ap er a t th e in te r n a tio n a l conference on th e h azard s o f a s b e s to s . D uring h e r v i s i t r . Newhouse was e s c o rte d on a t o u r o f an a s b e s to s - p r o c e s s in g p l a n t . - T hree in d u s r i a l h y g i e n i s t s from I n d i a , M e s s rs . Roy and G upta and D r. C h a k ra v o rt, v i s i t e d th e e n t r a l o f f ic e t o d is c u s s m u tu al problem s i n o c c u p a tio n a l h e a lth . - Mr. A. T re v o r one3, C hief I n d u s tr ia l H y g ie n ist, Departm ent of P u b lic H ealth , Sydney, A u s tra lia , as a l s o a g u e s t . He s p e n t c o n s id e r a b le tim e w ith members o f t h e i n d u s t r i a l h y iene s ta f f and concluded th a t most o c c u p a tio n a l h e a lth problem s in A u s tra lia are ot s ig n if ic a n tly d if f e r e n t from th o se experienced in P en n sy lv an ia, espiratory P rotection Our re c e n tly p u b lish e d H ygienic In fo rm a tio n Guide on th e s u b je c t of P e r e n a l R e s p ira to ry P r o te c tiv e Equipm ent p r e s e n ts a summary o f g e n e r a l in fo rm a tio n oncem ing t h i s im portant to p ic . A copy of t h i s Guide i s in c lu d e d as a supplem ent 0 our current issu e. Drewarned i s Forearm ed The v e r a c ity o f th e w ell-know n Boy S cout m otto "Be P re p a re d " i s e v i- sneed by th e f o llo w in g i n c i d e n t . One o f t h e D i v i s i o n 's i n d u s t r i a l h y g i e n i s t s i n je c te d a r e l a t i v e l y s m a ll m ilk p r o c e s s in g p l a n t some m onths a g o . D uring t h e c o u rs e f th e in s p e c tio n i t was n o te d t h a t ammonia was used in th e r e f r i g e r a t i o n u n it b u t ra t no one had a n tic ip a te d w hat would happen sh o u ld a le a k d e v e lo p i n any o f th e my p ip e s , j o i n t s and f i t t i n g s in h e r e n t to th e system . The p la n t m anager was ad Lsed t o o b ta in an ammonia g a s mask a s a p r e c a u t io n a g a i n s t such an em ergency. T h is 5 d id im m e d ia te ly . On a r e c e n t r e i n s p e c t i o n o f t h i s p l a n t t h e m anager b eam in g ly anked th e i n d u s t r i a l h y g ie n is t f o r h i s p r i o r recom m endation. One o f th e p ip e s id sp ru n g a b ad le a k a n d , by d o n n in g t h e m ask, t h e m anager had b e e n a b le to s h u t )wn th e equipm ent and th u s a v e r t a p o s s i b l y s e r i o u s a c c i d e n t . I n c i d e n t a l l y , he night two more ammonia g a s m a sk s. Are you p re p a re d ? urtal L aboratory Study A stu d y o f more th a n 50 d e n ta l la b o r a to r ie s has r e c e n tly been com pleted 1 order to define th e p o ssib le h ealth hazards asso ciated w ith th is occupation, 'i m a r i l y , t h e s e f ir m s a r e engaged i n m a n u f a c tu rin g a c r y l i c d e n t u r e s , w ith seme --b -- la b o r a to r ie s p erfo rm in g gold crovm c a s tin g and a 3 m all number c a s tin g co b alt-ch : mium a l l o y s . One l a b o r a t o r y was fo und t o b e w orking w ith T ico n iu m , an a l l o y coi tain in g beryllium . A cry lic d en tu re m anufacture in v o lv es the use of m ethyl m ethacrylate (; a c r y lic monomer) and a few ca se s o f d e r m a titis were r e p o rte d . The d e r m a titis p: lent i s c o n tr o lle d by t r a n s f e r r i n g s e n s i t i v e em ployees t o o th e r work area3 and/o] th e use of p ro te c tiv e sk in creams. Atm ospheric sam pling a t th e cobalt-chrom ium a llo y c a stin g o p eratio n s : dicated th a t exposures are fa r le ss than th e re sp e c tiv e threshold lim it values 1 mg o f c o b a lt and 0 . 1 mg o f c h ro m a te s , a s CrOrj, p e r c u b ic m e te r o f a i r , b ased on posure over an e ig h t-h o u r working d a y ). S ilic o n d io x id e i3 used as an investm er m a te ria l fo r t h i s c a s tin g p ro c e ss. S ince th e amount o f tim e spent working w ith th e se m a te ria ls is 3hort and only sm all q u a n titie s a re u tiliz e d , i t i3 thought th ese o p eratio n s do not p resen t a serio u s h e a lth h azard . P e rso n n e l Motes R ecent appointm ents to th e c e n tr a l o f f ic e s t a f f in c lu d e : Dr. Vernon I S p itz n a g le , I n d u s t r i a l Hygiene P h y sic ia n ; Dr. Donald L. B ottcm ley, P h y sician I I Don Hamner, R a d ia tio n H e a lth P h y s i c i s t I I I ; J o rd a n S . D a v is , R a d ia tio n H e a lth P h y s i c i s t I ; F r e d e r i c k H. V onder H e id e n , C hem ist I I ; and M a rg a re t A, R e i l l y , Ch< i s t I . G erald K azm erski and Edward Z e h le r a re new I n d u s t r i a l H y g ie n is ts I in Ri ion V II, P h ila d e lp h ia . P. G, R entos has been prom oted from I n d u s tr ia l H ygienist t o I n d u s t r i a l H y g ie n ist I I I w ith tr a n s f e r from R egion I I I (M ead v ille) to th e Cer t r a l O f f i c e . A. M. S ta n g , I n d u s t r i a l H y g ie n is t I I I , h a s r e s ig n e d . I n Memoriam Edward R. A s to n , D .D .S ., 6 7 , a member o f t h e D i v i s i o n 's s t a f f s in c e 1< d ie d on November 2 9 . A3 I n d u s t r i a l D e n ta l C o n s u lta n t he co n d u cted many s t u d i e s d e n t a l h a z a r d s i n P e n n s y lv a n ia i n d u s t r i e s and was one o f th e fo u n d e rs of th e Ame can A s s o c ia tio n o f I n d u s t r i a l D e n t i s t s . He s e rv e d a s s e c r e t a r y - t r e a s u r e r o f t h i o rg a n iz a tio n f o r s e v e r a l y e a r s . More r e c e n tly h is d u tie s were th o se of a ra d ia l s p e c ia lis t w ith prim ary concern fo r th e ra d ia tio n hazards presented by operatioi d e n ta l and m edical X -ray equipm ent. O ccupational H ealth Nursing Many o f th e o c c u p a tio n a l, h e a lth n u rs e s have in q u ir e d a s to w h eth er t h Good S a m a rita n A ct m ig h t be a p p lie d t o th e em ergency c a re g iv e n i n th e p l a n t s . At th e 29th Annual M eeting of th e I n d u s t r i a l Hygiene F ou n d atio n , D r. S id n ey S h i n d e l l , who i s a p h y s i c i a n , an a t t o r n e y , and an e x p e r t on m e d ic o le g a l m a tte rs , spoke on t h i s to p ic . D r. S h i n d e l l s t a t e d t h a t , i n h i s o p in io n , t h e Good S a m a rita n Act woul have no a p p lic a tio n in an i n d u s t r i a l h e a lth f a c i l i t y where em ergencies a re ex p ected and f o r which p re p a ra tio n i s made. - L e g a l A s p e c ts o f H e a rin g P rogram s - Leo G. D o e r f l e r , P r o f e s s o r o f Auc ology, U n iv ersity of P ittsb u rg h , in a recent ta lk to occupational health nurse: s t a t e d t h a t n u r s e s o r t e c h n i c i a n s v/ho do au d io g ram s m ust have s p e c i a l t r a i n i n g , c i t e d an i n c i d e n t in w hich l i t i g a t i o n a g a i n s t a l a r g e s t e e l company was won by e r a l em p lo y ees when t h e au d io g ram s w hich m ight have proved t h e h e a rin g lo s s wa: p r e s e n t when h i r e d , w ere th ro w n o u t o f c o u r t b e c a u s e th e n u rs e s who had done tl audiogram s had not receiv ed s p e c ia l tr a in in g . The U n iv e rs ity of P itts b u r g h conducts a one-week co u rse in au d io lo g y nurses and te c h n ic ia n s. T his course is given tw ice a y ear. The o c c u p a t i o n a l h e a l t h n u r s e s may w ish t o b r in g t h i s m a tte r t o th e a tio n of management. * *- The S o u th w estern P e n n sy lv a n ia A s s o c ia tio n o f I n d u s t r i a l N urses i s cor ducting a survey to determ ine i f occupational h e a lth nurses are in te re ste d in in s workshops o r sem inars and to a s c e r ta in what a s p e c ts of o ccu p a tio n a l h e a lth