Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-07-21
WORKING UNDER WATER.
The Pressure Men Have 90 Bear IN
Digging Tunnels.

r,r,.,, the r,os,.r u.-,a r-
Tahors,., 90 ,na Co., earth nth ..u ,,,e
-, 49,. ., - ,,s,,,r,,r %, -
OF ooors 10 preaehe' pefsPirhe anu may
hap, grumbling al ones hard luck, a person
seldom, IL ever. stops TO think that men
u,ork a,v after dav deen down IN the wafer
-, - =. -. :, II 49,
or the muo' WIN none ou' arunciai nsh' 70
guide their movements. ana only the air
that Is pumped 10 them 10 preathe.
People VINE Work IN tne open ar would
have only TO work Tor short time IN q
divers suit. a caisson, or an sirlock, get
ting taste OF what IL LIS Ike and how IL
feels. TO be cured forever OF grumbiing at
their lot and to thank their lucky stars that
IL has been ordained that they work on
top Of the earth. ..a N
The work OF q diver. his sensations while
under the water, and his experiences have
often been written about, but those OF the
airlock and caisson worker have not. While
he does not face the danger Of fouling pipes
and lines as does the diver. he stays down
longer. gets warmer, and his great danger
lies In the stagnation OF blood and par
alysis. resulting from the change Of atmos-
phere. = 81" 1900
Mr.. r. c. Rapier of No. IS Cambridge
street East Cambridge is an airiock work.
er. and talks most Interestingly. His work
was mainly IN the alrlocks used In building
the great Hudson river tunnel To a Herald
reporter he talked OF some Of the sensa-
lions. dangers and experiences. - ..
He said that. while q man working on the
surface OF the earth bears up an. afmss-
pheric pressure Of fifteen pounds TO the inch.
men In the locks bear a pressure of from
fifteen to fifty pounds of compressed air.
according TO the depth. The heaviest pres
sure ever worked under was horne by five
divers on the Swedish coast-sixty five
pounds. Four of these died FIVE minutes af-
ter coming out
While as a gener al thing the diver stand.
not nearly that amount Of pressure and
seldom stays down more than two hourp
the men In the Hudson river tunnel stood "a
.zfF g.
ore-half pounds and worked In four hour
shifts. Some men STAYED down twenty
hours at a stretch. but did not work an the
time. and Superintendent Haskins stayed
down once twenty-four hours
The sensations experienced are peculiar.
When a man first steps in there n a ting
ling in the ears and a pain in the head and
when he talks il is, apparentlv. through the
nose. This is caused by the pressure. and
the remedy is TO hold the nose close the
mouth and blow against the ears This re-
lleves the pain and stops the sensation.
When the pressure is all on the worker feels
all right and experiences no discomfort
Then there is a sort Of eNhilaratlon and a
man does more work in the lock than he
could do outside.
Another peculiar thing about the action
Of the p-sssure is that a man may have
liquor enough aboard when outside TO just
make him feel Jelly. but when he steps into
the lock he is as drunk as a loon
The danger lies in coming out Of the pres
sure into the open air IL IS then that "a
man is apr TO suffer from staghation Of
the blood and paralysis caused by the
change of atmosphere Besides this a man
NAV be attacked in the head or stomach
with severe pains Three out of FIVE cases
where the head and stomach are attacked
result fatally.
Anothe- severe mslady resulting from the
change is what is called the bends" This
is the air getting I'm between the flesh and
the bone Ii is extremely painful and so
severe that a quart Of whisky administered
in half an hour would not intoNicate the
patient The stsgnation and paralysis are
the worst dangers. and do the work quickly.
Many men have been keeled over 10y these
causes and not a few die. Old timers at
the business sometimes get caught Mr.. Ra-
pier himself was twice attacked. The REM
edy for this paralysis Is quick return to
the airlock.
The effect OF the pressure varies on ami
mails. as Is shown by the mules used In the