Document z92yaxpMnQ120XkMgdEnqx3n

FILE NAME: Edison Electric Institute (EEI) DATE: 1939 Jan DOC#: EEI002 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: EEI Bulletin - Occupational Disease Hazard in the Public Utility Industry T *o Sections Section One JANUARY, 1939 Electric Light and Power Industry in 1938 ........................ C. W, KELLOGG Five Years of T V A ..........................................................WILLIAM M. CARPENTER Electric Rale Increases in English Municipal P l a n t s ............................................. The Better Light-- Belter Sight Program as a Business Builder C. A. EASTMAN [' '(Occupational Disease Hazard in the Public Utility Industry DR. J. J. WITTMER The Depreciation Problem for Income Tax Purposes as It Relates to Public U t i l i t i e s ......................................... R. C. STAEBNER Legal Aspects of New Uniform Accounting Systems F. M. HUNTER Methods of Installing Continuing Properly Records, GEORGE M. VESSELAGO nnd GEORGE BOYD The Impact of Economics on A c c o u n tin g ........................HERBERT B. DORAU What the Engineer and Accountant Can Do About Original Cost and Continuing Property R e co rd s......................................... H. P. TAYLOR 29 Coordination of the Accounting and the Engineer in the Field o f Properly A c c o u n tin g .........................................A. A. LIPSCHUTZ 31 Taxation Accounting ...................................................................... S. J. BARRETT 33 Commercial News N o t e s .......................................................... C. E. GREENWOOD 36 Meetings of Joint Subcommittee on Development and R e s e a r c h ........................38 Series Sodium Highway Lighting Circuits ................................................................ 38 Conventions and Meetings, 40 nuirr, 1 9 JB j,aury, IW) EDISON E U I T R K ' IN S T l'I T T h III I I.BTIN Pace 9 Occupational Disease Hazard in the Public Utility Industry By J. J. Wittmer, M.D. Medical Director, Consolidated Edison Co. of N e w York, Inc. A paper presented before Public Utilities Section at ihe 25th Safely Congress, National Safery Council, Chicago, Oct. 10*14 umiliti angers urgiiniz mng. T | -- Bettf ns, and ds of eo Name! dandi PH, Pc trie Povvf idiarir 1 Ei Tractiop Port'andi PortianJ the Eorg dy smgiel unity wK in the e u | f years fa| nd been e. Th riffirh at uary 4. upon Ml sr his coil rout a prtf he Federg e and th ut also la solve k n o | industrie tre t con lointed na]} t aetivitie s in tvhie vice to rJifl tear ' Hight ps3 ss w orld.j B t of rf Compani THE Public Utility Industry as compared to other types of manu facturing, processing, or mining operations, enjoys an enviable position in being relatively free from occupational disease hazards. True, definite accident hazards pe culiar to the manufacture and distribu tion of the commodities of the utility companies have always been present and are very obvious, i.c., electric shock, elec tric burns, gas poisoning, and steam burns; and, because the accident hazard has been so obvious, every advancement in the industry has been paced with pro visions to reduce these hazards to a mini mum. W ith the innumerable contacts and ever present exposure, the present : low incidence of electric shock, electric burns, gas poisoning, and steam bums in "the industry is a great compliment to modern engineering achievements in safe practices and operation. W hile these conditions, of course, will not be treated in this paper, I will take this opportunity to stress the importance of intensive and unceasing effort in devising a better treatment of electric shock and particu larly the low voltage shock. On casual observation it would appear that the possibility of occupational dis tases can be ignored in the manufactur ing, distribution, and sale of electricity, p s, and steam. W hile the high hazard of disease definitely peculiar to employ ment and common in some industries is not present, investigation and experience has shown that the "possibility" is pres ent- T h e fact that the occupational dis ease hazard is not obvious makes it all the more insidious and demands more alert and persistent efforts on our part in order to protect the employee. T he purpose of this discussion is not to enter into a controversial question as to what is an occupational disease. In those States where scheduled 'occupa tional diseases are specified in the W ork men's Compensation Act, comparatively httle controversy arises. I t is in those DR. WITTMER States where the so-called ''blanket" or "all inclusive" A ct has been passed that we must look for interpretation. An occupational disease has been de fined as; "A disease peculiar to the occupation in which the employee is or was engaged and due to 'causes' in excess of ordinary hazards of employment as auch." In 1935 the N ew York State Indus trial Board, before the "all inclusive" amendment became effective, offered the following definition for the guidance of its referees: "The disease must be characteristic and peculiar to the occupation to make it come within the provision of the law." A recent court decision in the Con necticut Supreme C ourt of Errors ruled that: "To come within the definition, an occupa tional disease must be a disease which is a natural incident to a particular occupation, and must attach to the occupation a hazard which distinguishes it from the usual run of occupations, and is in excess of that, attend ing employment in general." I t is with this interpretation that we will consider tile occupational disease hazard in the Public Utility Industry. Consistent with uniform experience, dermatitis is one of our major problems. A dermatitis can vary from a mild irri tation lasting a few hours or days to a chronic weeping lesion which may con tinue for weeks or months. Dermatitis may and can be produced by the pre servatives and insulating substances in corporated in various kinds of equipment. In order to avoid dermatitis, particular care is necessary not only in the selection of insulating materials, preservatives, and even transformer oils, but also in the way it is to be handled by the men. One would little suspect that rhus toxicodendron was a problem with a metropolitan utility company, yet each Summer we have had several compensa tion cases arising in our distribution work where contact with poison ivy was a natural incident in the employees' par ticular occupation. Certainly education in the recognition of the poison ivy plant and immunization of the more suscepti ble helps to eliminate this hazard. Care must be used in the selection of all materials used for cleaning purposes. Even the ordinary hand soaps made available for the personal use' of em ployees must be carefully selected. In considering any problem of industrial dermatitis we are all aw argi6| the fre quency of individual sensitivity where the material itself may not Be considered at fault. A substance may be, entirely harmless to the vast majority of the men but peculiarly harmful to a certain few. Therefore, our problem is not only in the selection of materials and education in the proper handling of these materials but also, in not permitting the employee who is allergic to certain substances to w ork where he will be exposed to them. T h e only solution for elimination of dermatitis in a man who is individually sensitive is tp permanently remove him from exposure. One of the most troublesome problems of the industry is the hazard incident to E E I 00020 PjK 10 EDISON ELECTRIC INSTITUTE BULLETIN January, i volatile Movents, Outstiimling in thin group is carbon tetrachloride. Carbon tetrachloride is cMremelj^jirid dangerous!v toxic. W hen inhaled in concentrated form in space that is poorly ventilated, it will produce unconsciousness with practically no premonitory symptoms, followed by almost immediate death. Sev eral years ago we made a study of the use of carbon tetrachloride and found a surprisingly large amount used in vari ous maintenance operations. As a noninflammable grease solvent, it was a favorite in maintaining good housekeep ing in a generating station. It was ex tensively used in cleaning meter parts and in the inspection and repairs of meters. While no claim had been filed, and to our knowledge there had been no cases of poisoning, we discourage its use entirely wherever the operation permits. Carbon tetrachloride is not as vitally necessary, as one woutd think, for clean ing purposes in most of the places where it is used. Stations where it was con sidered indispensable have since its exclu sion maintained a clean house and effi cient operation by using only clean rags to keep the equipment free from dirt, grease, and grime. W here carbon tetra chloride is essential to the operation of the plant, we insist on a dosed system, adequate down draft ventilation or n fresh air mask for the workmnn, which ever is the more practical. A close check is kept through our Purchasing D epart ment of the amount of carbon tetrachlo ride used and through inspectors of the safety group, as to where and how it is used. Another important use of carbon tetrachloride in the industry is in the fire extinguisher. Happily, fires do not oc cur often and the incident exposure is rarely in a small confined space. T he use of a substitute such as rrichlorethlene has been discouraged. W e Are of the opinion that from a practical operation standpoint it presents a greater health hazard than carbon tetrachloride. When it is used the same precaution mentioned above should be followed. T he extreme fire hazard incidental to the use of ben zene, gasoline, or alcohol discourages their use, and accordingly, they present practically no health hazard. W herever lead is used in any combina tion whatsoever, the possibility of lead poisoning is present. However, the use oi lead in the utility industry is so ap parent that the hazard is easily con trolled and can be quickly eliminated. T he lead covering the transmission cable and the soldering of splices offers no problem of lead poisoning, if the work man follows ordinary rules of personal hygiene so that he dots not ingest the lead. T h e soldering operations inciden tal to meter repair work offers no diffi culty if hooded ventilation and strict personal hygiene is followed. Lead melt ing operations in the reclaiming of scrap conduit or for surfacing parts is not hazardous, if the temperature of the lead pot is held to that point where there is no emanation of extensive fumes but, even then adequate exhaust ventilation is advisable since one cannot always vis ualize chemical vapors. Acetylene cut ting of lead pipes does present a problem of lead poisoning, if the workman is not given adequate protection from lead fumes. T h e maintenance of equipment and properties require the services of painters who still must use paints con taining lead. T h e degree of hazard and the possibility of controlling the hazard is the same as with painters in any other industry, viz., to eat food unsavored with paint particles from the hands and to keep the hands out of the mouth. Prob ably the greatest possibility of the work man ingesting or inhaling lead dust in the utility industry exists in the operation of chipping or blowing off lead paint from old structures preparatory to re painting. Here, respirators and good hy giene are absolutely necessary. It is well here to call attention to the utmost care which must be taken in con cluding that an occupational disease real ly exists. It must not only be clearly demonstrated that the individual's com plaints or incapacity is due to a toxic material, but very definitely that the par ticular occupation exposes the employee to that toxic material. Three recent cases illustrate this problem. First, a middle-aged employee who had been a painter for fifteen years was confined to his home suffering with headache, nausea, vomiting, and elevated temperature. T h e attending physician informed on his first visit that the man was a painter, filed a report with the State Labor Department that the employee was suffering with lead poisoning. Extensive studies of blood and urine during the next month failed to show any evidence of pathological lead absorption. T h e employee actually pre sented a classical picture of acute intesti nal infection. He received treatment for this condition and was sent back to work in two weeks. Subsequent investigation has shown the man to be in good health since. Conversely, another employee in his thirties who had worked as a painter less than two years was treated, uv period of three months by several i tors, for gastroenteritis and cystitis: n close checkup, cystoscopic examina revealed his urinary tract ctsmpla were due to the heavy metal poison This diagnosis was confirmed by test the blood and urine. Again, a case of lead encephniop: occurred in a fifty year old Italian borer, who had always done pick shovel work. W hile the mental *y toms might have been thought of as dicative of lead poisoning, extcc investigation revealed the fact that li no time had ever worked with lead, I nearest clue to the source of the poisoning was the fact that the empli had always made his own wine. T he reconditioning of equipment, niture, and vehicles presents the prob of spray painting with all the tient risk of poisoning from volatile solvi contained in the paint removers, pai enamels, and lacquers. I cannot em; size too strongly that the employee c be protected by forced draft ventila of a spray paint booth or b; wear suitable fresh air mask. W elding is a necessary prucedur construction and maintenance w W hile it is generally conceded that health hazard associated with wtli operations is not great, yet preeuut must be taken. W e all arc aware o f j | necessity of protecting the eyes f the rays of electric arc welding. different metals to be welded, the im ties in these metals and the man contained in the coating used on welding rods make it necessary to ' te a the men from th metal ft emanating therefrom. W e insist on following procedures in our welding erattons. O n the smSjl job in a 1 ventilated area theij is*Yio metal, h hazard. `O n the big job .requiring eral days or more of exposure, fresh masks roust be worn, if forced e.\h ventilation cannot be maintained, the welding shop where small well operations are going on continuou adequate exhaust ventilation must ways be maintained. Under all ctnei stances, the eyes of the welder and rounding" workmen must be proiecti Silicosis is not a problem in the i tine operation in the industry. Wj there js any tunneling job which requ drilling through silica-bearing r there is, of course, a silicosis hazard p ent. In the average street excava work, the laying of mains, or the re EEI 00021 JaUttf Jr,l 193V EDISON ELECTRIC INSTITUTE RUU.ETIN Ps,e 11 teil, y underground transmission lines, 1 bc- several 1. t|,at it can safely be conceded that cystitis : uch drilling operations incidental to this rk present no silicosis hazard. T h e a! poisu; d by tesi rkman's head is usually well above the street *eve* an<* ^Cln|i !n f^e open' ihe is not exposed to such a dust concenItration as to cause silicosis. It is con!crivable that even in some street excavii- cephaloj oon j0bs that the character of the ex- i [taliait] oration can be such, that unless dust ne pick tentai sy! protection equipment is applied, that the loan may be exposed to a dangerous con ?ht of a*] centration of silica-bearing dust. All g, rxte, ct that jobs must be studied and answered ac cording to the conditions presented. W e th lead, are often, of course, confronted w ith the of the lj the empi ne. problem of the rock driller being in capacitated from silicosis contracted in the course of previous employment. In lipment, the prpb| my opinion, this troublesome problem has been at least partially solved by the he arteni tile solvi ivers, pai nnot emp] provision in New York State whereby the workman is not deprived of employ ment even though by x-ray and history he shows evidence of silicosis, but on the iployee mj t i entiled other hand the employer is protected by fixed period of liability, should the workman become incapacitated. O u r in formation and knowledge as to relation- jrocei V lsh ip between pulmonary tuberculosis and ance ^ ^ d u s t exposure is in such a state of con- led that ^ fu sio n that I merely mention pulmonary ith w eldShtuberculosis as an associated problem prec-autii^B;which still has to be satisfactorily solved nvare of tB .w herever there is a possibility of execs- cyes fn^KMve dust exposure. T h e solution of this Iding. t K confused state rests more w ith the med- . the im p S k k a l than the engineering fraternity, he trm tei^R p The inventive mind of the engineer ised on tHft'and chemist in developing new processes, ?ary to p q B new materials and new uses of old ma- letal fu d H p ttrialt, places mechanical progress in nd- nsist on tH p v tn ce of our knowledge of the health welding e [hazards which may be present in the new 3 in a w '^procedure. As an example, I cite the metal fui quiring si re, fresh t process of metallizing wood and Other surfaces. T his new metallizing process . under experimentation in one of our con- ced exhat : ruction shops resulted in a case of cad- tained. rimiura poisoning in one of our employees, ali weldii Fortunately, it was a mild exposure and snrinuous! the employee was not seriously ill nor n must a did he have any after-effects result. I t all circus , dhistrates the care which m ust be taken \t and "su |n making sure that no health hazard ex- protected ,sts in any new procedure, in th ' Recent attempts in the literature to ty- i ich requiri ring ro d tazard pre confuse the results of acute carbon raonoxide poisoning with claimed effects from so-called chronic carbon monoxide poisonmg warrants some comment. T here excavatio r the repsi can he no question but that in some cases harmful after-effects may result from acute carbon monoxide poisoning. It is also generally concedefTtfiaTthe possibility of after-effects is greater where the individual has been exposed to a low con centration of gas over a long period of time, that is continuous exposure for sev eral hours or even a day or two. W e also know that in this type of exposure the probability of fatality is greater. But these are still cases of acute carbon mon oxide poisoning and any unfavorable sequellae which may be attributed to the exposure are the result of ``acute" carbon monoxide poisoning. I have never seen, nor do I know of any authentic case where symptoms or pathology were the result of repeated exposure to a low con centration of the gas for short periods; or where at the time of the exposure the individual had no symptoms. So, while we do recognize the occupational disease consisting of the sequellae following acute carbon monoxide poisoning, yet we do not recognize any problem of socalled "chronic carbon monoxide poison*mg,,. >1 Contrary to popular belief, the inci dence of acute carbon monoxide poison ing in the utility industries is compara tively rare. T he requirement of efficiency in production and distribution demand a closed system and a minimum amount of waste due to leaks. I believe it can safe ly be said that the workman in a gas manufacturing plant or around a hold ing station is exposed to less carbon monoxide than the average traffic officer at a busy metropolitan intersection. It must not be inferred that just be cause the material is toxic, or capable of producing an occupational disease, that the material or process must be dis carded. If this viewpoint had prevailed you would not be enjoying the benefits of electricity, gas, or steam as we do to day. Only recently two methods of processing the ends of poles to prevent decay and termite destruction were preseniSrio" our Medical Department, for an opinion as to the health hazard. In each process the chemicals used were poisons. However, m conferring with fftiTengmeers, a procedure in the using of these two processes was devised, i.e., us ing heavy gloves or long handled brushes; or where the chemical was in jected into the pole, unbreakable con tainers are used, so that there is no health hazard at all present to the workmen who follow instructions. W ithout dis carding the material the h aza rd w as nice ly removed. In conclusion, study and analysis of the activities in the public utility indus- try reveal that some degree uf occupa tional disease hazard does exist. The fact that very often the hazard a not pronounced increases the problem uf pre vention. According to the necessity and the conditions, various approaches to avoid the hazard must be utilized. The knowledge and control of the amount of dangerous materials used is helpful. Be cause there is no alternative, many opera tions using materials which present a health hazard must be continued. The proper answer essentially is to provide safeguards so that the operation is free from all hazards. Any new materials or the institution of a new function should be carefully studied by both the medical and the engineering sections. They, to gether, should be certain that no health hazard is present before the material or operation is put to use. T he public utility industry must con stantly keep before them the possibility than an occupational disease hazard may exist in any of their various operations. It is only by a continuing preventive program that the employee will be ade quately protected. Need I say that the employer will also thereby be aided in getting a better job done? T here is no need for any hysteria over the occupational disease laws which are being enacted. A calm, intelligent, and rational approach to the problems which they present will eventually result in an improvement in the health of our work men and a benefit to the industry. O ne of the greatest hazards in this in dustry or in any industry is the human reaction to existing hazards. Contempt because of familiarity or long contact with a procedure or substance is hard to overcome. However, constant reitera tion of rules and regulations and in spe cial instances severe disciplinary action do aid in holding down thej-number of cases. Absent-mindedness'1'* , periodic lack of concentration does increase the exposure hazard. Close obsdria^pn and an understanding of the character and behavior of each employee by the im mediate supervisor is of material aid. A rule or regulation is enforceable and / * is highly successful only when it is clear ly understood and has the whole-hearted cooperation of the employee. ' Occupational disease should be held to a minimum because: 1. The emplpyef is entitled to and the f employer is morally obligated to see that work is performed under (he most healthful conditions that men and science can devise. 2. A healthy worker is happy, is efficient, and is regular In the performance of his duties. E E I00022