Pennsylvania Code › Title 34 - LABOR AND INDUSTRY › Part I - Department of Labor and Industry › Chapter 47 - MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS › Subchapter F - PRINTING AND RELATED INDUSTRIES › GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 47.201 - Suggested safe practices

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
It is recommended that the following safe practices be
						adhered to and a notice of them be posted by the employer in a conspicuous
						place of each establishment:
POISONS IN PRINTING
Lead, the main constituent of type metal is absorbed into
						the system chiefly from the stomach and in small part from the lungs and
						possibly from the skin. The dust of the workrooms always contains lead in very
						finely divided form. Unless very great precautions are taken this settles on
						the floor, the hands, or the lips, and is in this way carried to the stomach.
						Taken into the body, it produces:
Colic;
Constipation;
Paralysis;
Disease of the heart, blood vessels, and kidneys;
Insanity; and
Death.
Protect yourself from it in every way.
Do not splash metal from your melting pots; it dries,
						becomes dust, and you inhale the lead.
Never hold type in your mouth.
Do not permit dry sweeping of your workroom or dusting of
						the fonts while you are present. The only safe way of cleaning during working
						hours is vacuum cleaning.
Do not keep your lunch exposed to the dust of the
						workroom.
Never touch food or place your fingers in your mouth
						without first washing your hands thoroughly. A nail file or other instrument
						for cleaning the nails, a brush, hot water and soap are necessary if the lead
						is to be removed thoroughly. Benzine is often used to clean the ink from the
						rolls of the printing presses.
Poisoning from this substance produces:
Faintness;
Dizziness;
Headache; and
Vomiting.
This material should be used only in places that are well
						ventilated.
Anilin oil forms a part of some of the mixtures, used in
						cleaning rolls. It is more poisonous than benzine and, in addition to the
						symptoms given under benzine, may, in severe cases, cause:
Convulsions,.
Death.
Find out whether or not the cleaning mixture contains
						anilin oil. If it does, use it only in well-ventilated rooms. Do not splash any
						of it on your body, your clothes, or the floor. You may be poisoned by
						absorbing it through the skin or by breathing the fumes as the liquid
						evaporates.
Poisonous gases are given off by all fires. In addition,
						most gas fires do not burn up all the gas but allow some of it to escape into
						the room. See that all fires have flues in good working order leading to the
						outside air in order to carry away any gases that might injure your
						health.
TUBERCULOSIS
Of every 1,000 deaths among printers, 292 are caused by
						tuberculosis. To have this disease you must take the germ into your body. You
						may get it from the common drinking cup, the common towel, or from your
						coughing neighbor who spits on the floor. If your employer does not provide
						individual cups and towels, provide your own. Your health is worth it. Plenty
						of cuspidors conveniently placed and in a clean shop ought to prevent everybody
						from spitting on the floor.
INACTIVITY
Long sitting or standing in one position, especially in
						rooms without plenty of fresh air, cause poor circulation of the blood.
						Overcome this by plenty of exercise in the open air after working hours.
LIGHT
If you cannot have daylight for your work, endeavor to
						have all artificial lights properly placed and shaded so as to keep the glare
						from your eyes. You need the best light possible to do your work quickly and
						well. A printer with eyesight ruined is a printer out of a job.
Death from tuberculosis or lead poisoning is absolutely
						unnecessary. If you contract either of these diseases, see your physician at
						once. Both are curable if treatment is begun early and carefully carried
						out.
HOW TO PREVENT SICKNESS
1. Do not go to work on an empty stomach;
					 this weakens the system. Do not put fingers in the mouth. Do not take food into
					 the workrooms. Do not eat food in the workroom.
Before eating and before leaving work thoroughly wash
						your face, arms, and hands with soap and warm water; cleanse your nose and
						rinse your mouth with water.
2. Take a bath frequently, every day if
					 possible. Cleanliness is one of the best preventives of sickness.
3. Do not chew tobacco while at work, for in
					 handling tobacco with dirty hands the dust may be carried by your fingers into
					 your mouth.
4. Alcoholic liquors
					 weaken the system and make it more liable to disease. All employes are urged to
					 abstain from the use of all alcoholic liquors.
5. Drink plenty of good milk.
6. Keep your finger nails clean and cut short
					 so that dust can not collect under and around them.
7. It is better not to wear a mustache or
					 beard as they collect dust. If worn it is better to keep them cut short and
					 wash them thoroughly every day.
8.
					 To have good health you must keep your bowels open. Whenever constipated, take
					 a dose of Epsom or Glauber's salts or other laxative.
9. Dry sweeping is prohibited. The floors and
					 walls should be cleaned either with a vacuum cleaner, or flushed with water, or
					 swept only after being thoroughly sprinkled with a sufficient quantity of wet
					 sawdust to lay all dust thoroughly.
10. If a workman finds that he is affected by
					 lead, he should leave this trade.
11. If ill consult a physician at once. Do
					 not endanger your health by taking home remedies or the advice of friends or
					 drug clerks who are not licensed physicians.