Evening star., 1942-02-28
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Laboratory, Field
And Study
By Thomas r. Henry.


Of them mean.
1t is the same gas whose fumes,
breathed In closed garage, rapidly
prove fatal. But the policeman no
longer need fear serious effects on his
health after experiments arranged by
Drs. Rudolph F. Sievers and Thomas
I. Edwards of the United States Public
Health Service and Drs. Arthur l..
Murray and H. H. Schrenk Of Pittsburgh.
The tests were conducted, they have
just reported to the American Medical
Association. on l56 policemen stationed
In the Holland Tunnel. The majority
of them have been on the Job 4 hours
day for 13 years. They were in good
health when they started work, have
since had periodic medical examinations
and steady jobs at good wages have
enabled them to live we'll
Unavoidably they breathe much more
carbon monoxide in the closed tunnel
however well it is ventilated, than do
traffic officers on the outside The con-
centration of the gas had been recorded
continuously ever since the tunnel was
$4,000 cars moving through a single tube
every day. the records show, the average
exposure Of officers on duty is about
10 parts Of monoxide to a million parts
Of air.
The only complaints of the men, the
| Government doctors found, were that
they sometimes quit work with throb-
bing headaches after hot. windless days.
One effect Of constant exposure to
carbon monoxide, 1t has been claimed,
is to raise the blood pressure and cause
various heart conditions. The Holland
Tunnel officers after 13 years had better
hearts than the majority OF men of their
age. Most notable effects of the gas
in heavy concentrations is on the nerv-
GUS system. The policemen showed
almost unimpaired nervous systems,
relative to the population at large. This
only meant, of course, that they had
not deteriorated. They had undergone
strict physical examinations before get
ting the jobs.
Besides the customary examina tions
an excellent test for judging the in
tegrity Of the nervous system was avail
able in the form of craftsmanship
records obtained annually on the pistol
range. There was no significant differ
ence in the scores of men who had
worked in the carbon monoxide stmos-
phere for l3 years and those who had
group the tunnel officers have ranked
high in shooting competitions.
. The study is significant, the Govern
ment physicians say, because the con-
centration of carbon monoxide fumes in
the Holland Tunnel represents about
the maximum to which workers may
be exposed in industry. In recent
months Public Health Service engineers
have been conducting survey of arse
mails and various establishments engaged
in war work.
No serious damage is to be anticipated,
1t is concluded, so long as there are no
higher concentrations. but they urge
that the utmost precautions be taken to
keep the air as pure as possible.
Has America deteriorated mentally in
IS years?
About per cent of reflections OF
drafted men for general military service
are for mental or nervous ailments.
This is about twice as bad as during
the First World War but, selective service
psychiatrists say, it is very difficult to
make comparisons, although there is
some reason to believe there has been
slight decrease in mental abnormalities
due to the faster pace of living and the
great depression.
But the psychiatric examination of
draftees in 19l7-18 was very superficial.
A man was accepted If he had approx
mately normal nerve reactions and was
not obviously crazy. As a result, men
who suffered mental breakdowns in some
way tracable to service have filled Gov
ernment hospitals ever since and cost
the Government more than a billion
dollars, with the end nowhere in sight.
By 1945, according to an estimate in
the current issue of Psychiatry, journal
Of the White Psychiatric Foundation
which is advising the Government on
this subject, 1t may be expected that
5000 men will have been rejected for
nervous and mental causes Many of
these would have been accepted "a years
ago.
The reflections, the journal editors cal
culate, may be expected to save tax
payers of the next generation approxi-
mately $1750o, 100000 assuming that dis
abled veterans get the same care and
benefits as have been given their First
World War predecessors.
There Is one cause of rejection this
time which would have been laughed at
in 1917-18 and still would be laughed
at If it had not proven so incredibly
expensive-the personality defect. Ger
tain types of personalities the First
World War experience showed, are
especially prone to 60 to pieces under
stress, throw away battles if they happen
to be in important positions, and live
off the taxpayers for the rest of their
lives.
These reflections have aroused much
opposition. man may be in apparently
perfect health, highly intelligent. act
normally, and present pleasant person.
ality. Here is a case, for example, that
led to controversy between Army
officers and DR.. Harry Stack Sullivan,
psychiatric adviser to the Selective Serv-
ice HeaduuarterS