The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-10-13

never be told in cold figures: the swoop of gigan-
tic overhead cranes, the terrific noise, the I'M
bearable intensity of the heat, the utter exhaus-
ton of the workers who are forced to war with
molten metal IL hours day Tor night DAYS a
week. But even when crushed and burned bodies
are reduced to statistics, careful ANALYSIS of the
ngures reveal conditions for the majority of the
workers in the industry to be far from safe.
In 1907 the accident frequency rate per ooo.-
900 hours exposure, in the steel Industry had
reached the high figure of 8c9 During the
years 1913 to 1929 plants doing intensive safety
work had cut the rate from 60 to 49, But only
about half the workers in the industry are en-
ployed in such plants and even within this
safety" group, many plants and certain processes
show rates far in excess of the average re-
ported with increase in both the severity and
frequency of accidents In steel foundries for
example, the rate for 1927 had risen to 516O as
against 4a10 for 1926. Certain steel plants in
1927 repc ted rates as high as 1885, 1I160,
10l71, WI e in one foundry the rate was Ali 81.
These arc the figures for plants doing safety
work.
For the other parts of the industry the u S.
Bureau OF Labor Statistics estimates the average
frequency rate to be not 1912, but closer to SO.
For foundries reporting for the years 192o-24,
and employing some 10000 workers, the rate fell
only 23 from the 19O7-24 average while in 1925
it rose to $50, almost the highest point In IS
years. In pudding mills the rate rose from All
in 1917 to SIT in 1925 while in forge shops the
rate in 1925 was 1877. The rise in accidents in
spite of the scientific advances in medicine and
safety measures due to speed-up and ration
alization.
Diseases in the Iron and Steel Industry
The iron and steel industry has bad record
of trade diseases. The excessive heat of the
furnaces, with temperatures as high as 200 de-
grees and the intense glare of the burning me-
tails are bound to injure the internal organs of
the body as well as the eyes of the steel worker.
Heat stroke, exhaustion, and heat cramps are
the more acute results of such exposure in an
industry noto ious for long hours and night work.
Casing" is also common. In one such accident
in Pennsylvania in 1919, SIS men were "gassed"
The men were refining blast furnace. The
company had been warned that the methods
used would lead to fatal results, but they went
ahead nevertheless. Twenty-Five of the SIS work
ers paid the price with their lives.
Asthma, bronchitis, tuberculosis and even in
ternal hemorrhages are recognized hazards in
the trade. They result from breathing gritty
dust and sand and from constantly filling the
lungs with poisonous gases and fumes. Heart
disease with many workers colapsing and dying
on the job is direct result Of the terrific heat,
hard work and long hours Rheumatism from
sudden changes from heat to cold as workers
with steaming bodies are exposed to drafts leads
to much permanent suffering.
In spite Of regulations which are supposed to
control the heat and dust, foundries continue
for the most part to be filthy dusty, suffocating
places where workers become sick and die In
the sand blasting departments air Is so filled
with sand that most Of the men have to quit the
time limit for employing worker
Brass foundries are particularly dangerous be-
cause Of the dense, whitish green poisonous
fumes rising from the molten brass as 1t is
poured into the molds Brass chills" is the
name given to this type Of poisoning. Furnace
men have the worst of it. Next come the brass
pourers. Braziers and galvanzers also suffer
Attacks Of brass chills" may vast as many as 20
hours. Over one-quarter of 212 New York brass
workers examined by the u. S. Public Health
Service averaged attacks Of "brass chills" once
week. Heart disease was found among II per
cent Of one group of molders examined and
among one-third of the workers in another
group Hardening Of the arteries was found
among over one-third of the workers in both
groups examined. ~ u
Almost a million workers are employed in the
steel mills and foundries of the United States.
With Over ten million workers unemployed in the
crisis rear of 1881, hours for steel workers still
averAse 54.6 for full-time week. One fourth of
the workers In the steel industry ara still a.