Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-20
CITE FACTS AND FIGURES
Chief Chemist Urges Abolition Of
Water Product.
MORTUARY STATISTICS GIVEN
Great Increase in Loss of Life.
Manufacturers Counsel Admits
Gravity of Problem.

OH tie blStTlcI OIL
this morning on the bill introduced by
Representative Smith of Michigan at lie
instance of the Commissioners. to limit
the amount of carbon monoxide in the
gas furnished by the Washington and
Georgetown gas light companies.
| DR.. Harvey w. Wiley. chief of the bu-
reau of chemistry, Agricultural Depart
ment, and DR.. j. X. Hayward. chief mis-
| cellaneous division, bureau of chemistry.
were heard by the committee General
| Counsel Goldborough of the Washington
Gas Light Company. Corporation Coun-
sci Thomas. Gas Inspector Runyon and
| DR.. Skinner. bureau of chemistry, were
| also on hand. but the committee in the
two hours the hearing lasted. didn't get
around to them.
At the regular weekly meeting of the
| District committee tomorrow morning il
Will be decided when the hearing will be
| continued. Attorney Goldsborough gave
| notice for the gas company that he wanted
| time in which to summon witnesses from
other cities where water gas forms part
of the Illuminating product and in which
carbon mOnoXide is found to be present.
Would Prohibit Water Gas.
| DIR. Wiley made the fat statement that
the use of water gas as a part of the illu-
minating product of the District should be
prohibited by legislation.
In good coal gas, he explained the per-
centage of carbon monoxide does not run
| over 3 or or per cent. in extreme cases
getting as high as q or Z. The per-
centage of water gas in the local supply
is about 10 per cent, and of carbon mo-
noxide. which is found in water gas, about
| 80 per cent.
Dr. Wiley urged that the committee. in
ieslslatlng on this matter. by fixing a
| limit of 10 per cent for carbon monoxide,
should make it certain that after the
coal gas product had been manufactured,
the manufacturers could not increase the
carbon monoxide percentage to the legal
limit with water gas.
Citing the report of the departmental
committee which investigated the gas
supply of cities in Great Britain and the
United States. Dr. Wiley said it had
been proven that when water gas was
the percentage of deaths from gas poi
soning increased enormously.
1t was reasonable to suppose more
over. he said, that citps using water
gas with large quantities of carbon
monoxide present had just good an
equipment, pipes, etc cites using
coal gas exclusively, thus demon strating
the vastly more dangerous character of
the former product
DR. Wiley. calling attention to the fact
that the use of gas for Illuminating pur-
poses was growing less all the time. in
sisted that the candle power imposed by
law upon Washington was entirely too
high.
The best results I'm gas illumination he
said, We're now secured by burning a
blue fame gas with an inca ndescent
mdntei. and there was no such ncceS
sty for having gas of Twenty-Five o-candle-
power as existed before the incandescent
mantle came into general use.
Dangers Set Forth.
The question, he thought was simply
that no matter how efficiently plumbing
might be done and no matter how many
precautions were taken accidents would
continue. But whereas with coal gas
such accidents might make people i'll and
in rare cases cause death. it was fair to
say that when there was a considerable
portion of carbon mOnoXide present such
accidents were nearly always fatal.
You can diminish the danger from es-
Gaping gas he said "by Iegislating
against water gas with high percentage
of deadly carbon mOnoXide.
Representativ" Sims wanted 20 know if
a plant like that of the Washington Gas
Light Company. which now makes an il
Eliminating product containind about three
fourths water gas. could be changed
without difficulty. into coal gas plant.
D.. Wiley didn't know but Mr. Colds
borough volunteered the information that
the present rctorts could not be used for
the manufacture of coal gas.
rs water gas coal gas the cheap
cr?'' asked MIR. Sims.
DR.. Wiley thought water gas was. but
couldn't say for sure. Mr. Goldsborough
informed Mr.. Sims there was little differ
ence in the price and that the gas COM
panies of the District of Columbia did
not make a water gas product as IL mat
ter of economy.
''The gas company" he said wants
the best and the least dangerous gas it
is possible to make
Are you going to take issue with Dr.
Wiley as to the dangerous character of
carbon monoxide?" Mr.. Sims asked Mr..
Goldsborough.
Mr.. Goldsborough replied that he had
no such intention, that he considered the
matter grave and one that should be
looked into with greatest care.
DR.. Hayward Testifes.
DR. Hayward was called before the COM
mittee. He gave statistics on the danger
Gus quality of carbon monoxide that had
been referred to. in passing. by DIR. Wiley
He said that in Massachusetts in the thir-
teen years from 1876 to 1884 before the
use of water gas in the state there had
been eight cases of gas poisoning to
given number of people compared with
4J9 deaths to the same number OF people
in the following fourteen years during
~
gas with its dangerous percentage of car
bon monoxide
Then also citing the report of the de-
partmental commission of Great Britain
he gave other statistics, From 1896 and
1897 in Boston. with an Illuminating prod
uct composed of 30 per cent water gas
the percentage of deaths from gas poison
ing had been GO compared with 3 in
England and Wales where a straight coal
gas was used. On this same basis the
percentage of deaths from this same
cause had been 40 in Philadelphia where
rs per cent water, gas is used and 400
in Brooklyn. where the water gas per-
centage is a trifle higher
He thought this excellent evidence
of the more dangerous character of an
Illuminating product containing a per-
centage of water gas
DIR. Hayward referred briefly to the
Bremerton- case and told OF his expert
ments with the hot-water heat that be-
ing out of order aud throwing off carbon
monoXide in quantities, resulted in the
death OF three people.
Small Quantity Fatal.
He said that one-tenth Of one per cent
of carbon moncxide in the air OF "a room