Document yrKYDb5qqV0wOxqZnkpKB3rxD

FILE NAME: Pennsylvania (PA) DATE: 1964 Sum DOC#: PA026 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: PA Dept of Health - News & Views - Vol.2, No.3 ' D ivision o f O ccupational H ealth Summer' 1964__________________________ ' P ennsylvania Department o f H ealth ___________ :______________ -V o l. 2 , No. 3 Conference on Pneum oconiosis The f i r s t m eeting o f th e Program Committee f o r th e G overnor's C onference on Pneum oconiosis was h eld on A p ril 20. P re lim in ary p la n s f o r th e C onference, w hich i s to !fce h e l d i n t h e F a l l , w ere d i s c u s s e d and program s u g g e s tio n s w ere made. Members o f t h e Com m ittee a r e : C. L . W ilb& r, J r . , M, D ,, S e c r e t a r y o f H e a lth ; M a rtin H. B r a c k b i l l , Budget S e c re ta ry and Deputy S e c re ta ry of A d m in istra tio n ; W illiam P . Young, S e c re ta ry of fLabor and In d u s tr y ; H. B. Charm bury, S e c r e ta r y of Mines & M in e ra l I n d u s tr ie s ; Jam es A. E e ic h le y , G o v e rn o r's L e g i s l a t i v e S e c r e ta r y ; J a n L ie b e n , M. D.., D i r e c t o r , D iv is i o n o f O c c u p a tio n a l H e a lth ; M ario B a t t i g e l l i , M. D ., A s s i s t a n t P r o f e s s o r o f O c c u p a tio n a l H ealth, U n iv e rsity o f P itts b u rg h G raduate S chool o f P u b lic H ealth; M erle 3undy, K. D ., M e d ica l D i r e c t o r , U. S , S t e e l C o rp o ra tio n ; L e s l ie A. F a lk , M. D ,, A rea M e d ic a l Admini - t r a t o r , U n ited Mine W orkers o f A m erica W elfare & R e tire m e n t Fund; E a r l Lamb, M o ffa tt ! Coal Company; P a u l Moomaw, A n th r a c ite I n s t i t u t e ; Jo h n S . P a c k a rd , M. D ., P r e s i d e n t , P e n n s y lv a n ia T u b e r c u lo s is & H e a lth S o c ie ty ; Eugene P . P e n d e r g r a s s , M. B . , D ep a rtm en t o f R a d io lo g y , U n iv e r s it y o f P e n n s y lv a n ia H o s p ita l; G ordon S . S ie g e l, M. D ., C h ie f , Em ployee H e a lth Program s S e c tio n , D iv isio n o f O c c u p a tio n a l H e a lth , U. S, P u b lic H e a lth S e rv ic e ; and Jo sep h Y ab lo n sk i, U n ited Mine W orkers o f A m erica, D i s t r i c t #5 J ~ K H azard in D em olition Work Lead continues to be a p e re n n ia l hazard in in d u s t r ia l o p era tio n s as i t h as been e ancient tim es. A recen t in c id en t in v e stig a te d by th e D ivision bears th is out S ev eral cases of le a d poisoning w ere re p o rte d in v o lv in g em ployees o f a demo| l i t i o n company engaged in ra z in g hammerhead cra n es a t a d e fu n c t w a te rfro n t p i e r . I n jv e stig a tio n by one o f th e D iv isio n 's p h y sician s d isc lo se d the fa c t th a t fiv e of th e te n [men p e rfo rm in g th e work had b e e n h o s p i t a l i z e d w ith le a d p o is o n in g . I t was d e te r m in e d i th a t th e w ork was done by s te e p le ja c k s and c o n s is te d c f b u rn in g o f f s e c tio n s of t h e le a d p a in te d s t e e l s t r u c t u r e s and lo w e rin g them t o th e g ro u n d ; No r e s p i r a t o r y p r o t e c t i o n was a f f o rd e d th e workmen. The s i t e o f o p e r a tio n s on t h e c ra n e w as a t a h e ig h t o f a p p r o x i m ately 150 f e e t so t h a t c o lle c tio n o f b re a th in g zone sam ples was n e ith e r p r a c t i c a l n o r B afe. (We have no s t e e p l e j a c k i n d u s t r i a l h y g i e n i s t s . ) The p r o p rie to r o f th a firm was v i s i t e d and m ethods t o be used f o r k ee p in g th e em p lo y ee s' le a d exposure t o a minimum w ere e x p l a in e d . He r e a d i l y a g re e d t o con fo rm t o a l l o f th e c o n tro l m easures recommended which in c lu d e d th o se f o r r e s p ira to ry p r o te c tio n and p e r io d i c u r in a ly s e s f o r d e te r m in a tio n o f le a d a b s o r p ti o n . The f a c t t h a t th e p ro p r ie t o r seemed amazed to le a r n o f th e harm ful p r o p e r tie s o f le a d p o in ts up th e need f o r continued and co n stan t v ig ila n c e and ed u c atio n in th e f i e l d o f o cc u p atio n al h e a lth . This i s p a r tic u la r ly tru e in th e caBe of th o s e i n d u s t r ie s , such as d em o litio n w ork, whose o p e ra tio n s have no f ix e d lo c a le and in v o lv e moving from lo c a tio n t o lo o a tio n a s job c o n tra c ts a re re c e iv e d . M oreover, th e la b o r fo rc e f o r such ty p e s o f work i s g e n e r a l l y r e c r u ite d on a jo b - to - jo b b a s i s , w ith few workmen r e g u la r l y em ployed by firm s con tra c tin g fo r such work. H ealth Conference The 1 3 th Annual H e a lth C onference w i l l b e h e ld a t th e P en n sy lv a n ia S ta te Uni v e r s ity , U n iv ersity P ark , A ugust 16-20* The g e n e ra l them e o f t h i s y e a r 's co n feren ce be "Men, M ethods and M a t e r i a l s ''. S p o n so rin g a g e n c i e s , w ith t h a P e n n s y lv a n ia D e p a r to f H ealth, are th e P ennsylvania H ealth C ouncil, th e P ennsylvania M edical S o c ie ty and the P ennsylvania P u b lic H ealth A sso c iatio n . S essio n s w i l l encompass a wide v a r ie ty o f su b jects p ertin en t to the p u b lic h e a lth f ie ld . Of p a rtic u la r in te r e s t to o ccu p atio n al h e a lth w orkers w ill be a p a n e l devoted to th e "PhilosoD hy o f A ir and W ater S ta n d a rd s'1 in - LXBB4RJ - 2v h le h o u tsta n d in g speakers w i l l d isc u ss "American and R ussian Threshold Lim it V alu e s", "Ambient A ir Q u ality (A ir P o llu tio n ) Standards" and "D rinking W ater S tan d ard s". A spec i a l se ssio n w ill be concerned w ith "P e stic id e s" and a question-and-answ er "curbstone c o n fe re n c e " i s sc h ed u le d on "R ad io a ctiv e F a llo u t " . You sh o u ld p la n t o a t t e n d . A dvisory Committee The A dvisory Committee to E s ta b lis h Short-Term L im its o f Exposure t o A irborne C ontam inants met on May 22 . L im its f o r 38 s u b sta n c e s have now been approved and a defd n i t l o n o f a sh o rt-te rm lim it has been fo rm u late d . The A dvisory H ealth Board w i l l con s id e r th e s e proposed changes and ad d itio n s to A rtic le 432 during t h e i r August m eeting. Noise The H ygienic In fo rm a tio n Guide in clu d ed w ith b h is is s u e i s on th e s u b je c t o f N o ise . H earing lo s s may be caused by a v a r ie ty o f c o n d itio n s b u t t h a t r e s u lt in g from exposure t o i n d u s t r ia l n o ise i s of p a r tic u la r concern, inasmuch as P ennsylvania, l ik e many o th e r s t a t e s , i s co n tem plating th e adoption o f l e g i s l a t i o n which would p la c e i n d u s t r i a l l y induced h earin g lo s s in th e categ o ry of compensable d is e a s e s . S elf-S erv ic e Hazards .A lthough th e D iv isio n has prep ared and d is tr ib u te d a "Guide f o r P ro p er Opera t i o n o f C oin-O perated Diy Cleaning E sta b lish m e n ts" , th e pro ced u res recommended i n th e p u b lic a t io n a r e n o t alw ays adhered t o , a s th e fo llo w in g i n c id e n t i l l u s t r a t e s . Two wome had cleaned th re e loads o f heavy m a teria l such as b lan k ets and co ats a t a neighborhood c o in -o p e ra te d d ry clea n in g e s ta b lish m e n t. The machine u t i l i z e d had a r e l a t i v e l y s h o r t c le a n in g c y c le o f 37 m inutes as compared t o th e u s u a l cycle o f one h o u r0 P e r c h lo r o e th j le n e wa3 th e s o lv e n t u se d . The women sp e n t ap p ro x im ate ly 20 m in u tes i n th e e s ta b lis h m e n t, th e n hung t h e clean ed garm ents i n t h e i r autom obile and drove hems, about a q u a rte r of a m ile d i s t a n t . They w ere concerned o v er t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f n o t re a c h in g home b ec au se th e y f e l t " q u i t e in to x ic a te d , d iz z y and lig h t-h e a d e d , had a s t i f f to n g u e, were ho arse and were becoming h y s t e r i c a l " . The c lo th in g was hung i n one room o f t h e home and soon th e e n t i r e h o u se became perm eated w ith p e rc h lo ro e th y le n e v ap o r'. A3 t h e fa m ily was h av in g g u e s ts f o r th e ev en in g , th e y w ere q u ite concerned w ith th e odor and co n seq u en tly moved th e a r t i c l e s to th e garage where th e y remained fo r s ix days u n til th e odor disappeared.- The in d u s t r ia l h y g ie n is t determ ined t h a t o n ly two o f th e f iv e i n s t a l l e d d ry cleaning machines were a c tu a lly functioning a t th e tim e of th is in c id e n t - th e o th e rs d id n 't w ork. A H w ere d e sig n e d to be o p e ra te d b y th e custom er and no em ployee o f th e e s ta b lis h m e n t was on d u ty a t th e tim e . None o f t h e m achines w ere eq u ipped w ith i n t e r locks and could, th e re fo re , be opened during th e cleaning cy c le . F o rtu n a te ly , no s e rio u s consequences r e s u lte d from th e in c id e n t d e s c rib e d , but the n ecessity fo r adherence to accepted safe p ra c tic e s in the operation of s e lf s e rv ic e d ry c le a n in g equipm ent i s made r e a d ily a p p a re n t. AHA - San F ra n c is c o Ja n L ie b e n , M. D ., D ir e c to r 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 r e s e n te d a p ap er e n t i t l e d "The Course o f Pneum oconiosis" a t th e re c e n t m eetin g o f th e American M edical A sso ciatio n held in San F ran cisco . Co-authors w ith Dr. Lieben were Dr3. Eugene P . P endergrass, Department o f Radiology, U n iv ersity o f Pennsylvania H o sp ital and H ein ri B rieg er, P ro fesso r of O ccupational M edicine, Je ffe rso n M edical College o f P h ila d e lp h ia . The paper d e sc rib e d t h e i r stu d y of th e p ro g re ss o f pneum oconiosis in 2 groups o f c o a l m iners and form er co a l m iners b y com parisons of c h e s t X -rays ta k e n over a p e rio d o f yea betw een " f i r s t X -ray " and " l a t e s t X -ra y " . The q u e s tio n i s w h e th e r p r o g re s s io n o f pneuxo c o n io si3 , once e s ta b lis h e d , i s in flu e n c e d by f u r th e r d u st exposure. The stu d y o f 130 p a ire d X -rays, ta k en 7 to 15 y ea rs a p a rt, re v e a ls t h a t th e re i s no d e f in ite answer to t h i s q u estio n and t h a t each case should be judged in d iv id u a lly . H y p e rse n sitiv ity to Chlordana Over th e p a st few y e a rs, th e D ivision has received com plaints from in d iv id u a l who have become i l l a f t e r th e ir-h o m e s w ere t r e a t e d f o r t e r m i t e s . I n a l l c a s e s th e home were tre a te d w ith chlordane, an in s e c tic id e in g red ien t used by p ro fe ssio n a l ex term in a ti - 3ompanieB. The c h e m ic a l i s u s u a lly mixed w ith an o i l b ase f o r sp ra y in g o r b ru s h in g o n to [baseboards and beam s. A w a te r s o lu t io n i s used i n t r e a t i n g th e s o i l around th e h o u s e s . The in v e s tig a tio n s showed a g e n e ra l p a tte r n . A few days a f t e r a house was tr e a te d , one o r two a d u lt members o f th e household would experience dryness o f th e th r o a t j ^ h e a d a c h e , n au sea , d iz z in e s s , m uscle p a in s , and i r r i t a b i l i t y . The c o n d itio n s would become progressively w orse, re q u irin g m edical a tte n tio n and even h o s p ita liz a tio n . The in d iv id - in a ls would re c o v e r when away from t h e i r h ouses f o r a day o r two b u t became i l l a g a in on | | returning, H A ir sam ples were c o lle c te d in a l l th e homes. C oncentrations ranged from none fd stec te d to one m illigram per cubic m eter of a i r . A pparently, highly su scep tib le in d i viduals can b e a f f e c te d even when th e chlordane c o n c e n tra tio n s a re le s s th a n t h a t which 3 can be d e te c te d b y in s tr u m e n ta tio n . H The th re sh o ld lim it v alu e fo r chlordane i s 0 .5 m illigram s per cubic m eter of ^ a ir . However, t h i s is an in d u s tr ia l stan d ard which a p p lie s to a w eighted average ex- posure over an e ig h t-h o u r day f o r h e a lth y a d u lts . I t i s not d ir e c tly ap p lica b le to a | 'some s i t u a t i o n w here ex p o su re s would be more th a n e i g h t h o u rs and i n w hich t h e exposed i :ould be c h ild r e n , ag ed , and o th e rs w ith reduced v i t a l c a p a c itie s . The D iv isio n re p o rte d i t s fin d in g s t o th e com plainants and recommended t h a t plith e chlordane be removed e ith e r by n eutralization or by scrubbing ' w ith d e te rg e n ts . * . '*. > Si Conferences - Members o f th e D i v i s i o n 's m e d ic a l s t a f f a tte n d e d th e I n d u s t r i a l H e a lth Con ference, in P itts b u rg h , and m edical and te c h n ic a l p erso n n el atten d ed th e American Indus t r i a l Hygiene C onference, in P h ila d e lp h ia . Both o f th e se m eetings were held during A pril. At th e P h ilad elp h ia m eeting the D iv isio n p resen ted a d isp lay o f in d u s tria l hy- fjgiene in s tru m e n ts a t l e a s t tw G n ty -fiv e y e a rs o ld i n commemoration o f th e s i l v e r a n n i versary o f th e American I n d u s tr ia l Hygiene A sso c ia tio n . 4 Decontamination Procedure - ft A radium -contam inated dw elling in Lensdowne i s in th e p ro cess of deeohtaminar* by th e P en n sy lv an ia D epartm ent of H ea lth and th e U. S. P u b lic H ealth S e rv ic e . The Idw elling, h a lf o f a duplex stucco-fram e house, became contam inated in th e 1920's and ^1930' s when a p h y sic s p ro fe s s o r used th e basem ent to p ro c e ss radium . The o th e r h a l f o f fthe house i s n o t co n tam in ated . The D iv isio n o f O ccupational H ea lth had made a check o f a l l P ennsylvania ra d firm s who o p e ra te d d u rin g th e p a s t 50 y e a r s and i t was during- th iB su rv ey t h a t i t |fwas d is c o v e re d t h a t th e lansdow na home had once b een u sed a s a p la c e to p ro c e s s ra d iu m , p When h e a lth p h y s i c i s t s checked th e c e l l a r o f th e house v iiera th e p r o f e s s o r , ^|who d ie d many y e a r s a g o , had p ro c e sse d rad iu m , r a d i a t i o n l e v e l s c o n s id e re d h ig h u n d e r sp resen tly accep ted sta n d a rd s were found. The le v e l in th e basem ent, which was used o n ly j f o r s to ra g e , ranged from. 1 t o 5 m illirem s p e r h o u r. The average le v e l of background 1 ra d ia tio n i s .02 to .05 m illire m s p e r h o u r. In th e decontam ination procedure, th e P ennsylvania Department of H ealth is u m ish in g th e p e rso n n e l, w hile th e U. S. P u b lic H ea lth S e rv ic e su p p lie s c o n s u lta tio n fand eq u ip m en t. S p e c i a l p r o t e c t i v e c lo th in g a s w e l l a s s u p p lie d a i r r e s p i r a t o r s a r e worn fto avoid u n n e c e s sa ry e x p o s u re . S crubbing and vacuum equipm ent a re a ls o u se d . Some f u r - a n itu r e , to o ls end household item s have been removed from th e basement fo r d is p o s a l a t a U site outside of Pennsylvania. The S ta te H e a lth D epartm ent and t h e USPHS w i l l u t i l i s e e x p e rie n c e g a in e d in decontamination of th e house to prepare a manual on decontam ination procedures which |w i l l be h e lp fu l to o th er h ealth departm ents faced w ith sim ila r decontam ination problem s. ^ I n te r n a tio n a l Trad F a i r One o f t h e D iv 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 , H enry J . S u ro v ie c , a s s i s t e d th e |U . S. Department of Labor a t th e I n te rn a tio n a l Trade F a ir held in Poznan, Poland during 'the p e rio d o f June 7 t o June 2 1 . Hank p a r t i c i p a t e d i n manning an i n d u s t r i a l s a f e t y ex h ib it p r e s e n te d by th e Labor D epartm ent. He was s e l e c t e d f o r t h i s assig n m en t b ec au se 'a of h ia P o lia h -a p o a k in g a b i l i t y and h is background i n i n d u s t r i a l h y g ie n e . .a P ersonnel N otes -- John A. D a t t o l i , M. D, h as r e s ig n e d a s C h ie f , P l a n t H e a lth S e r v ic e s S e c tio n , m t o a c c e p t th e p o s itio n o f C h ief, Bureau o f S p ecial S e rv ic e s , in th e Di t r i c t o f Columbia Department o f P ublic H ealth. This bureau i s comprised of the D ivisions o f O ccupational and Employee H ealth S erv ic e s, A ccident P rev en tio n , N u tritio n a l S e rv ic e s, C lin ic a l S o cia l S e rv ic e s and H ealth M o b iliza tio n . D r. D a tto li has been w ith th e P ennsylvania Department o f H e a lth s in c e A p ril i 960. - S h iro T anaka, M. D ., h as b een prom oted from P u b lic H e a lth P h y sic ia n T rainee to I n d u s tr ia l Hygiene P h y sician . - Ronald H. Boyer has been promoted from Chemist I I to Chemist I I I and i s in charge of th e la b o ra to ry . - Three i n d u s t r i a l h y g ie n ists have returned to duty a f te r graduate study, having 'received M asters Degrees w ith s p e c i a l t y i n i n d u s t r i a l h y g ie n e : P . G. R sn to a, U n iv e r s ity o f M ichigan; R. T . R ich a rd s , U n iv ersity of P ittsb u rg h ; and E. R. E bersolo,. U n iv ersity o f North C a ro lin a. H a rry J . P Ista w k a , M. D,,, h as b ean ap p o in te d P u b lic H e a lth R esearch P h y s ic ia n and w i l l work on th e D iv isio n 's pneum oconiosis p rev en tio n program . O ccupational H ealth Nursing We a r e p le a se d t o announce t h a t th e T rane Company, Durmora, h as e s ta b l is h e d an employee h e a lth se rv ic e . Miss L illia n Giovans111, R .N ., is th e o ccu p atio n al h e a lth n u rs e . F is h e r E le c tro n ic s in M ilroy has also e s ta b lis h e d such a services w ith M rs. Pa t r i c i a P ad en , R .N ,, as o c c u p a tio n a l h e a lth n u r s e . We welcome L i l l i a n and P a t r i c i a warml to occupational health nursing. * -w R e c e n tly we were p r i v i l e g e d t o v i s i t th e new p la n t o f W inthrop L a b o r a to r ie s I n M yerstown, Lebanon County. T h is p la n t is so modern t h a t i t p ro v id es a f a l l - o u t sh e l t e r ! The h e a lth se rv ic e departm ent can be considered a m odel. The fu rn is h in g s a re n o t o n ly a l l t h a t on w ould w ish i n te rm s o f b e a u ty , b u t th e y a r e ex tre m e ly f u n c t i o n a l . M r. Donald Shepherd, th e ex ecu tiv e v ic e -p re s id e n t, Mr. W illiam Means, p erso n n el d ir e c to r , and K is3 Mary T ic s , th e o c c u p a tio n a l h e a lth n u r s e , w i l l welcome any o f you who c a r e to v isit. * * -a- The fo llow ing i s a n e x c e r p t from I n d u s t r i a l N ursing i n t h e U n ite d S t a t e s , An I n te r v ie w w ith Mary Louise Brown, R,,N., Chiei O cc u p atio n al H ealth N ursing S e c tio n , Di v is io n o f O ccupational H ealthy U. S. Department o f Health., E ducation and W elfare, which appeared in th e January 1964 is s u e o f I n d u s tr ia l M edicine and Surgery. In te rv ie w e r: What do you c o n sid e r t o be th e m ost c r i t i c a l problem i n occupa t i o n a l h e a l t h n u r s in g , and how do you p ro p o se t o s o lv e i t ? M iss Brown: Th m ost c r i t i c a l problem i 3 th e lim ite d demand f o r e x p e r t occu p a tio n a l h e a lth nursing c o n s u lta tio n s e rv ic e s and th e v e ry lim ite d supply o f p rep a re d n u rses to give occupational h e a lth nursing co n su ltatio n . In order to solve t h i s , nurses and o th e rs in c lu d in g in d u s t r i a l management and occu p atio n al, h e a lth p h y sic ia n s m ust le a rn to ex p ect h elp from o cc u p atio n al h e a lth nurse co n su lta n ts and to req u est th e s e s e rv ic e s . Few n u rs e s have had th e o p p o r tu n ity t o vrork w ith a c o n s u lta n t and few know how t o us h e r s k i l l s . They se e h e r a s a n u rse s u p e rv is o r r a th e r th a n a s a c o n s u lta n t, one who can h e lp them i d e n t i f y th e p ro b lem , f in d r e s o u r c e s and p la n t o u se th em . The occu p a tio n a l nurse and th e o c c u p a tio n a l h e a lth p h y sic ia n need to remember t h a t i t i s t h e i r r e s p o n s i b i l i t y t o accep t o r r e j e c t th e p la n t h a t I s made. The c o n s u lta n t h a s no a u th o r i t y . She i s a f a c i l i t a t o r . The upgrading of o c c u p a tio n a l h e a lth n u rsin g p r a c tic e depends upon th e a v a ila b i l i t y o f n u rs e c o n s u lta n ts who have th e know-how t o g iv e e x p e r t o c c u p a tio n a l h e a l t h nursing co n su ltatio n . Job d e sc rip tio n s th a t o u tlin e a tru ly consultant ro le and channel . o f communication th a t p en u lt e f f e c tiv e working must be e s ta b lis h e d . H ost im p o rtan t of l1 1 , t h e n u r s e s employed t o g iv e e x p e r t o c c u p a tio n a l h e a l t h n u r s in g c o n s u l t a t i o n m ust be m a tu re , w e ll- a d ju s te d p e rso n s who have a c q u ire d b o th n u r s in g c o n s u lta tio n s k i l l s and th e dep th o f understanding th a t p erm its them t o give ex p e rt o ccu p atio n al h e a lth n u rsin g con s u l t a t i o n . Those who work i n o c c u p a tio n a l h e a lth pro g ram s and th o s e who a r e a b o u t t o b eg in a program should expect h elp from th e nurse c o n su lta n t and th e y should ask f o r I t . S u p p ly and demand a r e i n t e r r e l a t e d h e re a s th e y a r e i n b u s in e s s .