The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1917-03-23
UNKNOWNPOISONS
IN new INDUSTRY
Uncle Sam Seeks to Guard
Health of Workers In
Munition Plants.
THOROUGH INQUIRY IS MADE
Methods Of Preventing ooeupatlonal
Disease VIII Be Devised as Re-
suit Of Investigation Of Many
Factories.

suit Of investigation Of Many
Factories.
The new munitlon manufacturing in
dustry built up in the United States
since the beginning Of the European
war has brought new dangers to in
dustrlal workers. Industrial poisons,
about which little or nothing was
known in this country have developed
and Uncle Sans experts have just
completed an investigation TO deter
mine the extent of this danger and the
steps that are being, or may be, taken
by manufacturers to combat IL.
Although the great rush of contracts
FOR the European market has been di-
furnishing during the last few months,
there is still a great deal of high ex-
ploslve manufactured in the United
States, and millions of shells are still
being filled with explosive charges.
Moreover, 1t would be a mistake, say
the experts, TO suppose that these
plants will close down after the war is
over. Many men in the industry be-
lleve that the compounds now being
manufactured for military purposes
can be used for peace explosives OF
as basis for the manufacture of dyes
and other chemicals for which we for
merly depended entirely on Europe.
This is a new and unfamiliar indus.
try in the United States. We have
manufactured nitroglycerin and mer.
curry illuminate for many years to a
very small extent, and such explosives
as guncOttOn, smOkeless powder and
metric acid, but carbolic acid and ben
zene and toluene and aniline, so neces.
sary in the making of explosives, used
to come from Germany, and the new
materials for detOnatOrs and shells
have been made here to a very limited
extent. This means that only in few
established factories were the
problems connected with such work
well understood, and there were only
a few company physicians who knew
anything about the polsons involved in
the industry.
VIII propose hemedleS.
The experts Of the United States bu-
reau of labor statistics have made their
investigation in 40 munitiOn plants in
the United States and as a result in
the near future will formulate methods
of prevention and treatment of the
poisoning incident to work in these fac.
tories.
Those who conducted this study say
that 1t has not been possible to discov-
er how much OccupatiOnal disease has
been caused by work in this industry
since the war broke out. Some plants
1t is said, furnish no medical service
to their men, who must go to outside
doctors, and if the physician is not ia.
miliar with the work in that plant he
does not think of CHASING the illness
as OccupatiOnal.
There are numbers of poisonous
gases around the munition plants, but
it is said that the two explosives that
are attended with the greatest amount
Of poisoning from nitrous fumes are
and picric acid, and in
some ways the latter was found the
more dangerous. Picric acid can be
made, it is said, with a very simple
provided no attention is
paid to the safety of the workmen, and
It was found in the investigative work
Of the bureau that men were nitrating
phenol to picric acid in ways which
were primitive and very dangerous be-
cause Of the escape of nitrous fumes.
AS a matter of fact, the conditions
around many of the munition plants,
hastily constructed, were very bad for
he Workmen.
Fear to Frlghten Men.
In connection with the very thorough
study that was made Of these plants
n various parts of the country it is
said that there is not as a usual thing
much, If any, instruction given the
men as to how to protect themselves
against the dangers of sickness brought
IN by the work. Indeed, in some no
Instruction at all seems to be given,
perhaps, it is suggested by the ex.
)erts, because the company fears to
'righten away men at time when la
)Or is scarce. Men working In a large
plant told the investigators
hat they had never even been told the
ituff was poisonous. On the other
land, a great guncOtton plant visited
las a regular system of instruction for
he force, taking the men, according
o departments, and giving them lee
ures in English and in their own lam
'uages, explaining the dangers peculiar
O the departments in which they work.
20 far as possible, 1t is said, these
alks are illustrated by steIeOpticon
Dictures. The effect is shown by their
eport of fume sickness for five months.
The first month there were 266 cases
mOng $50 men; the fifth month "a
ases among 621 men.
AS result of the study the officials
ay that men with LESSONS in lungs or
.idneys will be unduly endangered ~
york Of this character and should be
discharged as soon as the condition is
discovered. The same is said to be
rue of alcoholics, their resistance to
hese pOiSons being far below the aver
ge, and they should not he employed
a such work.
~NJoN~NN~~~~~N~ON~
lroollng over fences stand on four legs
Christian Herald.