Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1900-11-15

Some of the Acids Manufactured Are
So Fatal to Life That to Even In
hale Their Fumes Would Mean Ger
tnin Death.
1t is not generally known that Gin
| cinnati has within her confines a half
! dozen factories that manufacture every
! day enough deadly poisons to annihi-
late the entire population of the city.
These factories are carefully guarded
| from all intruders, and even the en-
! ployees have to be skilled in their
work and be well aware of the risk
they take before admittance is granted.
Some of the poisons are SO deadly
that inhaling the fumes that arise from
| their manufacture would mean certain
| death. This Is especially the case with
anhydrous acid, drug that is never
| placed on the market in its pure state,
! and even in the chemists laboratory it
IS handled with all the care that would
! be given to a poisonous reptile. If the
! fumes of this acid should escape, the
chemist would never live to tell the
| tale. The man who discovered it was
! killed by inhaling its fumes, and other
men have met similar deaths.
| Probably the most dangerous of the
| drugs manufactured here is the cy-
anide Of potassium. Its fumes are
said not to be poisonous, and one can
work in the room where it is manufac-
tured without fear, except that he
must not touch it. The slightest guam
| tity Of the poison in its pure state
would kill instantly If swallowed. The
| fumes arising from it have rather n
| pleasant odOr and 1t Is said that it
produces n witching effect upon the
workmcn. The finished poison looks
| like crystallized sugar, and as you gaze
on it and smell the fascinating odor
| there Is n strong temptation to taste
| 1t. The fascination is probably much
| like that which draws a man over q
steep precipice. At any rate, the at
| traction to taste of the poison is so
well recognized that n workman is
never allowed to remain alone in the
room where 1t is being manufactured.
| Nitric and sulphuric acids are poi
| sons equally fearful in their results
when once liberated. These poisons
eat away and through almost any
thing, and they can only be kept in
carboys. When one of these carboys
Is broken, the factory Is doomed The
acid spreads round and begins to eat in
to everything 1t touches and incidental
| ly sets everything infiammable on fire.
| TO collect the acid or to pour anything
over it to counterfeit its effects is an
| impossbility. AS it burns and spreads
around its fumes become deadly in
| their effect, and tiremen attempting to
| put out the flames would suffer. The
| fumes do not kill at once, but IL breath
! ed for 81 hours they poison the sys-
| TEN, and death ofttimes results.
The fumes of corrosive sublimate
are rs deadly as almost any poison,
and in factories where the drug is
made the greatest care is used to pre-
vent them from escaping.
There are many other poisons made
for commercial use that are only lit
tie less powerful, but nearly all of them
are diluted when placed on the mar
|
state OF potash, nitrate of silver, ace
! tate of lead and copper, ferrocyanide
of potash, white and red lead and
many other poisons. BY their being di-
lutcd the danger of using and handling
is minimized.
There is one factory in Cincinnati
| that does n thriving business securing
| .,fI -, ~,
raphcrs' stock and still another that
makes the drug in crude way. The
proprietor of the latter establishment
is native of Switzerland, and the gar
ret of his house is his workshop. Some
time ago he was overcome by the
fumes from his crucibles and came
near dying. He had met with n young
| German learning the trade, and the APP
| prentice suddenly quit his job when
| he discovered that his skin was turn
ing blush hue.
| The accidents that have resulted from
| handling this class of poiSons are many.
| Several years ago n Carboy of nitric
acid was accidentally broken in fac
tory in Eastern avenue, and the acid
began to have its way without opposi-
| ton. 1t soon started the interior of the
| factory on fire, and 1t was eating its
way into an adjoining room, where
large quantities of other poisons were
stored. Several workmcn volunteered
to put out the flames and to check the
acid in It's deadly work, Several hours
were occupied before they succeeded,
and when matters seemed all right
! they returned home. The next day all
were sick, and one Of the men died, the
fumes of the acid having been inhaled
and enough Of the poison absorbed to
cause death. 49, Cincinnati Commercial
Tribune.