Document yr7go9GjjYzDLdvdpoOpMwG72
,g Medical Control of Industrial Exposure to Lead
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1. Is it necessary, in view of the relative success of modern
environmental control?
Do cases of lead poisoning occur in significant numbers in
American industry?
Are the cases of such severity as to be medically and hygleni-
cally significant?
(a) Incidence (Unknown because of unsatisfactory quality
of medical practice in industry generally and negligible
covers of small industry)
Foundries - brass - fume from furnaces and molten alloys.
dust from molding materials
Storage battery manufacture - dust - some fume (burning)
Smelters - particularly of scrap - fume (furnaces), dust
(scrap of batteries, etc.)
Manufacture of paint pigments oxides, chromate.
carbonate - dust
Coatings - dust, spray (batch mixing of pigments, etc.)
Lead burners in chemical plants - fume (dirty shop work)
Potteries - glazes - glass manufacture - dust and spray of
glazing materials
Car body work - dust - finely divided metallic lead
Manufacture of wire - dust - finely divided metal (wiping)
Manufacture of cans - extensive, continuous soldering -
fume, dust (wiping)
Ship building but particularly ship cutting - volatilized
paint
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Bridge building - volatilized paint (paint burning and rivetingj
Paint spraying - especially objects of variable shape and
size, for which hooding is difficult to design
(Many types of uncontrolled operations in small industries
(everything) )
(b) Severity (Unknown in any precise sense because of poor quality of medical supervision and records)
Recurrent cases - prolonged disability - paralyses rare but
do occur, occasional encephalopathy, occasional
prolonged weakness with anemia oy vnya//a orankrttigi^.' First episode - often prolonged absence from exposure
required with dislocation of employment (6 months or more)
Prevention requires recognition of hazard
How recognized?
(a) By detailed observation of plant operations - criteria?
(1) Evidence of uncontrolled, or inadequately controlled
sources of fume in high temperature operations - furnaces, making castings, cutting operations
(2) Evidences of uncontrolled or inadequately controlled
sources of dust
Nature of operations - nature of ventilating devices
Housekeeping
Watch men at work and see what they do and how they do it
Use of respirators
Evidence, in themselves, of inadequate control
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of cleanliness of air - bad sign usually Misuse of respirators - evidence of lack of
discipline and supervision
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Prevention - real prevention - requires regular, periodic /
(interval depends on degree of hazard) measure
ment of hazard
How? By direct observation of working conditions
and by use of appropriate technical measures
This is a procedure subject to medical interpretation)
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Air analyses - orderly, systematic, representative
a medical procedure and it should be carried out asSvsii)
^. --fr(b) Analytical determination of lead absorption (blood or urine
or both)
(1) Measurement of intrinsic hazard of each occupation
Determination of extent of control of environment
and location of chief occupational hazards
(2) Measurement of total hazards to individuals
Determination of extent of control (instruction, super
vision) of personnel
(3) Careful investigation of circumstances associated with
occurrence of cases, or undue fluctuation in enviror
ment or personnel
4. Control of Occupational Hazard, when known to be significant,
generally or focally, involves certain carefully
executed medical procedures
(a) Medical examinations, the periodicity of which should depend
upon the degree of hazard - more frequent in
relation to operations of relatively great hazard
(1) Investigation of symptoms
(2) Search for physical signs of absorption (3) Investigation of extent of absorption -
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Hematologic evidence V3 specific analytical urinary porphyrins - significance
4 (4) Placement of personnc . (b) Complete familiarity vith plant operations at all times.
Including nature of jobs and manner of their performance, and full knowledge of all environmenta conditions (c) Educational program - managers, supervisors, exposed personnel (d) Removal of persons who give evidence of hazardous ' absorption from job - partially or entirely Mechanism and criteria for transfer to another job Involving less exposure Criteria for removal from all occupational
exposure Criteria for return to work involving exposure (e) Systematic rotation of men In and out of exposure Criteria for determining necessity and interval
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