The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1942-10-03

apllllles, IN TACT, one OF the nrSt
modern treatises on hygiene is "A
Treatise Of the Diseases Of Min
ers," written by Paracelsus and
published in 1867.
Lead poisoning is the long
familiar type Of Industrial metal
poisoning. although preventive
measures have made il almost non
existent. The last case | saw oc-
Cured in the person Of a manu-
facturcr Of caskets who lined some
of them with lead sheeting.
New Group of Hazards
But with the newer alloys and
processes, and especially the great
variety Of metals used in war in
dustries, a whole new group OF
hazards has come up which in
dustrial physicians and hygienists
are dealing with.
Chromium, for instance, was
placed in 1888 as one of the four
minerals indispensable TO national
defeEse and in the first class of
priority restrictions. II is the es-
sential additive TO iron to make
stainless steel. The continuous
German threats against Turkey
are partly due TO the large de.
posits of chromium there.
Chromium has found use in
electro-plating, pigment manu-
facture, tanning, TYPOGRAPHY, blue
print production, wallpapers, limo
leum and matches. Chromium as a
metal carries no hazard for poison
ing under any circumstances, but
chronic acid and its derivatives
do. They affect the skin, where
chronic ulcers called "chrome
holes occur; also on the eyes, the
nose and the bronchial tubes.
Prevention Of this sort Of poi
soning in industry is effected by
personal protection OF the worker.
by exhaust systems, and more and
more by the substitution Of non
toxic salts Of chromium.
Cadmium is another metal Of
quite recent Importance in in
dustry. 1t is used in the produc-
ton Of bearing metals, chiefly for
gasoline engines, for plating, in
the manufacture Of paints, and in
alloys other than bearing alloys.
Its dust may be inhaled by in
dustrial workers, causing various
degrees Of bronchial irritation.
Swallowing small amounts leads to
chronic dyspepsia and malnutri-
ton. Several epidemics of cad
MUM poisoning have been re-
ported, from the use Of ice cubes
made in electric refrigerator trays.
This experience has led to the
abandonment Of any use of cad
MUM in cooking utensils or ice
trays, or what was once contem-
plated, cadmium foil for wrapping
foods.
Picnickers who use metal wash
tubs, 'or any contalner found
around camping grounds or the
roads going to them, do so at their
own risk.
The symptoms Of cadmium poi
sonlng are so like what is gen
orally ascribed to food poisoning
that. 1t is probable that many cpl
denies of so-called food poisoning
in the past have really been Of
this metallic nature.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
T. D., Chicago, H.: II one SUI
fered with chronic bronchitis and
almost continuous coughs and
colds for some years and then de-
veloped sinus trouble, would, in
your opinion, this sinus infection
be brought about as result Of the
long-standing chronic bronchitis?
Answer: The chances are, in nv
opinion, that the bronchitis and
the frequent coughs and colds we're
symptoms of the sinus infection.
The sinus infection might easily
not have been recognized as such;
people who have sinus trouble do
not complain in the early stage Of
the disease Of the nose so much
as they do Of frequent recurrent
@TfLr