Document x18oq4dZvDmxxQ0da7VxQYv7g

V ' `hi , tm piPli <i...r. fy. . , A FRONT PAGE -. SECTiOW 8 -- -' IttTl 0"";. -section b 242&6001 's.u.Kv^v'iS BFG29775 In past, some found hands damaged Sty WAN KAUFFMAN C*vr1TJm>il ttlt Wrote ( * The polyvinyl manufacturing process ' that w* cited recently as the probable cause vt liver cancer In at least six B. F. ,l Goodrich Co. worker# has caused health ,.. problems of a less serious nature In the past. . in the late 50? and 'AOs, some of those who cleaned the largo vessel* In , which the plastic is made at the com* puny's Bells Lane plant experienced severe damage to bones in their finger-, tips. for softie, the blood circulation Into the fingers was markedly reduced their fingers sot shorter and started clubbing. Their fingernails began to curve around . the ends of the shortened fingers. During the worst stages of the disease, X rays of: the fingertips show little evi dence of any bone. Some of the workers also experienced thickened sitla, particularly on their arms. in all, 31 employes who cleaned the vessel* experienced some damngc to their hands, according to a company report that appeared in the Journal of the';American Medical' Association l ,. 1W17. , Company officials say fight or nine of, the mod 111x111 ..him) problems worked In . the Bell* .Lane plant The rest worked at other Goodrich plants. .. . The taunt factoring process- has been changed and the cleaners now wear plastic or rubber-coated gloves instead of leather one*, apparently eliminating the problem. Mo hand problems have surfaced, recently. , v. Company officials say they arc still .unsure what caused the disease. They . -say attempts to Pcpruduco it In laboratory animals tailed. But those who experienced the trouble still have short fingers and oecaMoftaily arc bothered by poor bWod circulation in them. Vm -^4 iL..L.rj liNtiim ^'- "f .to,,,*, c, .ipYolytng, Bernardfikms#*, Two more victim hem hem added to the list of 9. F. Goodrich, cm pfojws. known to hose conXroctcd an sttrs-melp rare form of Kocr cm- c*r. Pups A 1. who Hw la Pknsurc Jticlgo Pari:, all of n!i fingers wore affected except one ring Finger. When ho held his two ring lingers together lust week one of them appeared to bo a quarter oi an inch to half an Inch shorter then the other. The 15167 report In tine medical journal says Goodrich workers began com plaining of the problem In UX3-t, and the company started ir.vesUgattng whether the problem might be Job-rctat cd. Skaggs said ho'started noticing Some thing was happening to his hand* before he had completed his first year m bio Job. which included cleaning the plastic- . manufacturing tanks. Starting with the changes In his hand! in 1935, he said, his wife started asking ' him to see a phyririan. But ha didn't then. 'll kepi corning on but It wm m slow that you get used to :lt and'just keep going,4' he said. But by lgf>9. he added, it had gotten "so bad that I went to a doctor down hi ' the country." v The doctor told him t might besomo- thlng he was working in arid referred tolas to the company doctor. After going . through a. number of doctors ho teamed, that Use blood was not circulating In Ms hand* properly and the fingertip bone*' ' were dfcrercly damaged. 1 "I wasn't feeling bad tswspt that my ' hand* wore swelled io bad that I couldn't open or dose them completely and the end* of my fingers were sore that I couldn't button rtiy clothes or dial a tr>- phone," Skaggs said. . rare tout IF* nothing you're working in. "Of course that didn't convince me; t always felt it was something to do with work. But t couldn't got the dcctora wen ' Interested in cheeking U. out." < After a four-numth my In Viei'*ns Hospital in Loulsvilla In 1959, Skaggs wont back to the "poly cleanins'' job. He said that toy that time other worker* were having hand problems. By 1962. SkaRit* said, he had enough seniority to bid on a day-work job, nisd "I got but and began to got some belter." Skaggs eventually got together with, other employes suffering the same malad ies and they filed fox workmen's com pensation. The company paid, ths' claim* ' without contest. OragfW said he is no longer bothered a. great deal toy Ms short fingm. The bones bare 'knit back together pretty well." "It's hard to pick up little objects bc- ctuws theyVo stubby, and I just don't have the touch,'' he said. "Just this morn- _ ,. tag i hSifi, throe fingers tuftt white as ' ghiwst. It happen# all Hie tirnto Sn the win ter. ...... "There'* not any pain to It ^ they just , kind of get numb and look lute a dostd prison's fingers. I don't think there's a ' drop of Mows in them." .,, , ! ' Stotggs added:that huh** toad "si* or seven*' blood clots removed from his .Xtandt since J802.', Test* have shown that Skaggs' liver Is normal but this part summer ho was again hospitalized, with, a pancreas condi tion. "The doctors wiy that as far s they know ttoo'cbcmicsts are dot causing It," bo said. "BUt Who can really say? , "Ttc got a pretty good Job out there. L wouldn't want tfw plttco shut down be cause that's where iVe made my firing , foe ttm last 18 year*. It's important to make a living but health Is Important, > r-o, , Lt you, .can't. Jive jmittrtn't nwmt. w i