Document q34N3Dz19egY5GddmyDjaRMbG

s \ Industrial Hygiene Digest i i INDUSTRIAL HEALTH NEWS LITERATURE ABSTRACTS MEDICAL ' ENGINEERING CHEMICAL TOXICOLOGICAL LEGAL - * - decision* and trends i JUNE, 1951 (Vol. 15, No. 6) INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE FOUNDATION MELLON INSTITUTE 4400 FIFTH AVENUE PITTSBURGH 13, PA. / ARMY MEDICAL jun 2.j isci: LIBRARY SlllfSlS ISftl,.......... 'pm &r/i is.Si &< Ill - . ' fe. .,:.? ;*?) Foundation **$t*)| to lnduotrl Rtxannn < advanewm f * W| ,,i m ; c p <\Av| June, 395rv&\V*TO **,, ,# 1 r> -- * ma&aa ^v-v.j&Kk. ** *-:*Lv.'-'> l- 1 i V.p'-t^i. ^ " r Massss^ ' * ~.' tw feprintd of the articles "AisJiting-tnduS, M^lnistration" by C." Richard *Vainer, teprt^ ^^|onT' by, H.H. Schrenk, `published Jin`fchemic. of nenibers. , *** 1. V ^; .* '/ - KNB FOUNDATION * ' ^K i ", Ip V'V''t\.. ** Industrial Hygiene Digest - ltt June, 1951 59& Identification of Castor Bean Allergen in Green Coffee, E.J. Coulson, JJR1. Spies and H. Stevens, J. Allergy 2l7"554j~(Nov3nft)'er, 1950). Thi3 report supplements the clinical evidence which led Figley end Bawling to recognize apparent sensitiveness to green coffee dust as actually castor "bean allergy. Their interest in the identification of castor heart allergen prompted examination of additional specimens of green coffee dust and other coffee products collected from different sources. Castor hean allergen was identified in three samples of green coffee dust from different coffee-roasting plants. Castor bean allergen was also found in one sample of cleaned green coffee beans from a commercial source. Thus the results amplify Figley and Bawling's observations and imply that it is not excep tional for green coffee to be contaminated with seme castor bean derivative. No castor bean allergen was detected by Coulson and his co-workers in samples of parchment coffee or cleaned green coffee beans Tdiich were produced at a Guatemalan experiment station and were known to have had no contact with castor bean. Available evidence indicates that hazards resulting from caster bean contamination of green coffee are significant only to those who are exposed to green coffee, -- Arch. Ind. Hyg. & Occ. Med, INDUSTRIAL DUSTS 597 A Beviev of Illnesses in the Cotton Textile Industry. Anon. Tenn. Ind. Hyg. News 8, 1-5, (April, 1951) At least four different illnesses associated with exposure to cotton dust have been described to date. Byssinosis is a disease resulting from long exposure to cotton dust. There are three stages of the disease, in which the symptoms progress from irritation of the air passages, through bronchitis, asthma, cough and expectoration until total disablement is reached. Removal from the dusty atmosphere brings relief and complete recovery in some cases in Hie first and second stages. Complete recovery is impossible in the third stage. Mill fever occurs in new workers exposed to a dusty atmosphere and to older .workers returning to work after extended absence or to a dustier atmosphere. Complete recovery Is possible after a period of continuous work. "Weavers'* cough "is 'associated "only"With -the use of mildewed yarns. Removal from the working area or substitution of nonmildeved yarns results in complete recovery. An illness of similar charac ter and symptoms occurred from the handling of low grade stained cotton, which was contaminated in the field. Considerable reduction in the exposure to cotton dust may be effected by use of dust suppressing agents applied to the cotton, and by the use of local exhaust ventilation. Respiratory pro tection may be used in some instances. 598 A Contribution to the Study of Asbestos is. P. Cartier. Arch. Malad. Profess. 10, 589-595, (19^9). (in Jlench). The author, has been in medical charge of 3,2^2 men employed in asbestos mines in Canada, where over "JO per cent of the world's supply of asbestos is mined. Cases of asbestos is were found only in those who had Industrial Hygiene Digest - 19 June, 1951 been employed for at least 14 years and exposed to air containing at least 5 million particles of asbestos fibers per cu, ft., the fibers being from 10 to 250 microns in length. The outstanding feature of this report is the mildness of any pulmonary trouble among the asbestos miners compared to that reported in the United States and Great Britain as occurring in factories where asbestos is spun and woven, No clinical- symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis were present. No case of pure'asbestosis Was detected in those under age 60, and no physical incapacity was evident. Gases of tuberculosis were not more frequent among the miners than among the clerical staff and the nest of the community, although that incidence was high. It was difficult to ascribe any cardiac affections present to asbestosis, because of the late age at which it appeared. Postmortem' findings and roentgenologic examinations indicate that asbestosis is a pathological entity;, lut among the miners it develops, so slowly as not to shorten wording life, and there is no evidence that it predisposes to tuberculosis. The conclusions reached are supported by the opinions of experts at Saranac. -- Cond. from Bull. Hyg. 999 On -Hie Retention of Air-Borne Particulates in the Human Lung? II, H.D. Landahl, T.N. Tracewell'and W.H, Lassen. Arch. Ind. Hyg. $ Qcc. Med. jj, 359*366, (April, 1951). The results of experiments to determine the retention of triphenyl phosphate droplets in the human respiratory tract are reported, and they are much as would be expected from other experiments. A study of subject variability revealed no marked correlations, though it would appear that retention decreases with body size and is somewhat larger for women than for men. Experiments in which the expired air was divided into four equal fractions suggest that the variability is greater in the fractions exhaled first than in those exhaled last. Different patterns of respiration were used, in which the retention^ of various-sized particles were measured. The results of these experiments are compared with previous calculations, extended somewhat. Agreement is general, with some discrepancies. The results indicate, however, that the calculations for deposition in various parts of the respiratory tract are fairly accurate. -- Authors 1 Summary 600 Occupational Factors in Pulmonary Dust Disease. G.C. Smith. ----'-----TfT.rf?----niLlllHI--Till IJ " I - ---- -------1 M. J. Australia 2, 777, (November "25, X9d0). Smith briefly reviews some of the main factors of pulmonary dust disease of occupational origin and adds some evidence from his own experience. He emphasizes that the diagnosis should not be made unless it is known that the* patient has been exposed to harmful dusts. The problem is examined from the point of view of dust composition, particle size, and duration of exposure, A short description is given of one of the less fre quent dust hazards to basalt workers, biograph operators, and those exposed to talc, graphite, cement, and certain metallic and vegetable dusts. The principles of prevention of pulmonary dust disease are summarized. -- Arch. Ind. Hyg. & Occ. Med. 601 Delayed Pneumoconios is . E. Martin. Eev. Med, Miniere, p. 25, (October-November-December, 19^9). - Martin describes six subjects with delayed pneumoconiosis who were followed over a long period and whose case histories are illustrated with