The sun., 1919-09-14

UT space. IL Is eVlueII ITdL tne ntius
in which there is real need and real
interest on the part of the employer
Of labor is boundlesS.
THE establishment of schools of in
dustrial hygiene is Of vital importance
to research work, not alone because Of
the research work they do, but because
they train men for research. They es-
tablish the care of the industrial
worker as a profession, and send forth
men to spread it and conduct research
Of their own. Bound up with these
considerations and most important Of
all is the influence which 1t will have
on the amelioraton of labor conditions.
1t will dispel many of the clouds Of
ignorance under which the laborer is
sent to work to-day in many Of our in
dustries and move his position toward
the ideal, in which he has a full and
fair chance to live. In its discoveries
may be found the answers to great
many Of the causes of unrest in the
complicated industrial structure of the
time, which is being sorely tried in all
parts of the world. The problem of
the adjustment of labor and capital Is
| so broad and the result of so many
complex causes and impulses that one
| would hesitate to say that any one
thing could adjust it. But am. of
firm belief that no one thing can be
neglected the potentialities of which
are so great toward its solution"
Wood Alcohol's Ravages.
| OF all the causes of what physicians
call industrial diseases wood alcohol
and the various dusts are probably
the most prevalent, or at any rate
they are better known to the general
public. Wood alcohol, or methyl al ?
cohol, to give 1t its technical name, Is
used in many industries, and in prac-
| tlcally every manufacturing plant
there are dusts, many of them poison
| Gus and all of them causing a certain
degree Of Ill effect, which are the in
| evitable result of manufacturing pro-
| cesses. It is to eliminate as far as pos
| sible the danger from such things an
these that the Harvard school has
been formed, and the research which
the school has been conducting into
the deleterious effects of dusts is
bound to have an almost inestimable
value.
The State Labor Department of
course has given considerable atten-
ton for several years to industrial dis
eases and has procured the passage OF
a number of laws to safeguard the
health OF the worker, such as making
compulsory the reporting of certain
diseases contracted in manufacturing
l plants, establishing rules for the care
of the health of any one engaged in
industries in which considerable guam
titles of wood alcohol is used and re-
quiring the use of respirators in plants
! where harmful dusts are prevalent and
where there is no way of lessening the
danger by preventive methods.
Wood alcohol is the most dangerous
and the most prevalent industrial
poison Of all the alcohols used in the
various trades. y 1t produces toxic
effects whether taken internally, In
hailed through the lungs or when COM
ing directly in contact with the skin.
Impairment of vision, complete loss OF
eyesight and even death result from
drinking wood alcohol, as we'll as from
inhaling its fumes. People working
In places where large quantities or
wood alcohol are used frequently have
died from inhaling the fumes So dan
gerous is this poison that in some
cases death occurred when persons
were subjected only day or two to
the fumes. Direct action OF wood
alcohol upon the skin when used ex-
ternally, although not quite as dis
astrous, has serious consequences. IL
produces inflammation of the skin and
in extreme cases death of the affected
organ.
The fumes of wood alcohol are an
irritant to the skin and mucous MEM
brane, especially the palpebral ana
To fnY faf
the hands and arms frequently occurs
among workers exposed to the fumes
or handling wood alcohol; conjuncti-
Wits, at times with a swelling of tlfo
lids of the eyes, occurs among workers
when exposed to the fumes; near
sightedness, dim and blurred vision
are frequent; headaches and acute
amblyopia, or temporary blindness
lasting from twenty to forty hours,
frequently occurs; also a permanent
blindness and death sometimes ensue
as the result of the inhalation of tho
fumes. The wood alcohol acts locally
both as an irritant and internally as
a poison.
Rules Are Formulated.
In order to guard against the dan-
gers of wood alcohol the State In
dustrial Commission has recently pre-
pared a brochure on the subject, de-
failing the processes Of manufacture
and pointing out the probable dangers
and effects of handling the alcohol
throughout the work. Physicians Of
the State Health Department have
also been consulted. and as result
of the investigation the commission
has recently issued the following rules
for factories handling or manufacture
ing wood alcohol, supplementary to
tine labor laws on the subject:
: /. In any factory where the amount
: OF wood alcohol exists in the atmosA
r phere to the extent OF one part per
( ten thousand volumes OF air means
: of ventilation shall be provided.
3 2. All jugs, bottles. barrels, cans or
other receptacles in which wood alco-
!. hol is stored shall be properly labelled
] al poison.
r 3. In processes where wood alcohol
3 is used by employees, which requires
3 that the hands OF the operators como
= in direct contact with the material.
t impervious gloves shall be furnished
by the proprtetors of such factoriess