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EDITORIALS THE MINING CONGRESS TTTOnotable addresses presented a t t h e recent meeting of t h e American Mining Congress a t Philadelphia are published i n t h i s issue of THISJ O U R X A L . An address on “Our R a d i u m Resources,” b y Charles L. Parsons, of t h e B u r e a u of Mines, brings o u t m a n y valuable f a c t s i n connection with t h i s most interesting development. H e again calls a t t e n t i o n t o t h e American c a r n o t i t e deposits a s a new source of r a d i u m a n d t h e possibility of t h e production of t h i s material i n America. His address includes a discussion of t h e m e t h o d s for t h e extraction of r a d i u m , its present m a r k e t value, a n d a warning t o t h e medical profession a n d t h e public against t h e a c t i v i t y of impostors. H e calls a t t e n t i o n t o t h e f a c t t h a t ‘the United S t a t e s B u r e a u of S t a n d a r d s is preparing r a d i u m s t a n d a r d s b y m e a n s of which i t will be possible for physicians t o p r o t e c t themselves against f r a u d s . D r . Parsons announces a new policy i n t h e administ r a t i o n of t h e B u r e a u of hlines which is of far-reaching i m p o r t a n c e i n i n d u s t r i a l developments of great public i n t e r e s t i n t h e following s t a t e m e n t : “ I a m authorized b y t h e Director of t h e Bureau of Mines t o announce t h a t a cooperative agreement has been entered i n t o with t h e newly organized National R a d i u m I n s t i t u t e whereby t h e B u r e a u o b t a i n s t h e o p p o r t u n i t y of scientific a n d technological s t u d y of t h e mining a n d conc e n t r a t i n g of c a r n o t i t e ores a n d of t h e most efficient m e t h o d s of obtaining r a d i u m , u r a n i u m a n d v a n a d i u m therefrom with a view t o increased efficiency of production a n d t h e prevention of waste.” T h e cooperation of t h e g o v e r n m e n t i n t h e solution of t h e r a d i u m problem will meet t h e h e a r t y approval of t h e medical profession a n d t h e general public who are so i n t i m a t e l y concerned i n t h e eradication of cancer. I t is also proposed t o c a r r y o n investigations regarding t h e physical characteristics of t h e r a d i u m r a y s i n t h e hope t h a t some or all of t h e results m a y be duplicated b y physical means. Reference is m a d e t o t h e forthcoming announcem e n t of r e m a r k a b l e cures effected b y t h e use of r a d i u m a n d meso-thorium, a n d i n view of t h e sensational a n n o u n c e m e n t s i n t h e public press. a u t h o r i t a t i v e s t a t e m e n t s i n t h i s field will be a w a i t e d w i t h breathless interest. T h e address b y President T’an Hise, a full a b s t r a c t of which is published i n t h i s issue. will be r e a d w i t h keen interest by those concerned i n t h e problem of scientific conservation. A careful analysis of these problems h a s led President T a n Hise t o point o u t i n t h e most forcible language t h e obligations of t h e g o v e r n m e n t a n d t h e public i n furthering t h e interests of legitimate conservation, a n d t h e address \Till be exceedingly suggestive reading n o t only t o t h e people immediately connected with industrial development, b u t also t o those responsible for our legislative a n d a d m i n i s t r a t i v e policies. I t is our belief t h a t t h i s address will serve t o e m p h a -
size t h e need of a cooperative policy a n d legislation calculated t o develop conservation instead of t h e obstructive policy now i n general favor. OZONE
A striking example of t h e danger of commercializing a popular notion w i t h o u t first subjecting i t t o proper t e s t s is b r o u g h t o u t i n t w o articles i n t h e Journal o j the American M e d i c a l A s s o c i a t i o n for S e p t . 2 7 , on t h e Purification of Air with Ozone. We were t a u g h t i n o u r “ P r e p ” school chemistry t h a t it was t h e “ozone of t h e c o u n t r y air” which was responsible for t h e h e a l t h a n d longevity of t h e r u r a l ‘population: a n d of course t h e healthful effect of ozone we inferred was d u e t o i t s value a s a disinfectant. F u r t h e r m o r e , ozone is a n energetic oxidizing a g e n t ; so is hydrogen peroxide; hydrogen peroxide is a valuable germicide; so, we t h o u g h t , was ozone. Ohlmuller’s experiments, t w e n t y years ago, t o g e t h e r with those of several investigators since, discrediting i t s germicidal action, did n o t s h a k e t h e popular f a i t h i n ozone. Public officials h a v e readily accepted claims such a s t h e following: ( I ) Ozone is a necessity for t h e destruction of infectious germs, for t h e sterilization of air i n operating rooms, for t h e purification of air i n homes of persons suffering f r o m contagious diseases, a n d for giving t o offices a n d homes t h e invigorating air of c o u n t r y , seashore a n d m o u n t a i n . ( 2 ) Ozone c a n n o t exist except momentarily i n air containing organic m a t t e r , a n d therefore t h e presence of ozone is a n indication t h a t t h e air is sterile a n d devoid of organic m a t t e r . (3) Ozone is unique as a germicide b y reason of t h e f a c t t h a t i t h a s no deleterious effect on t h e higher forms of a n i m a l life, owing t o t h e low percentage of carbon i n t h e i r s t r u c t u r e . I n t h e first of t h e t w o articles mentioned, “Ozone: I t s Bactericidal, Physiologic a n d Deodorizing Action,” b y E. 0. J o r d a n , N . D . , a n d 4. J. Carlson, N . D . , of Chicago, t h e a u t h o r s describe a n extensive series of experiments u n d e r t a k e n b y t h e m a t t h e suggestion of, a n d u n d e r a g r a n t f r o m T h e Journal of the -4 i~tericaia M e d i c a l d s s o c i a t i o i i . Their investigation was complete a n d exhaustive a n d their d a t a fully justify their conclusions a n d s u m m a r y which we q u o t e : “So far as the destruction of bacteria is concerned, ozone has little or no value. Some bacteria are undoubtedly killed by ozone, especially if they are in a moist condition and are in contact for several hours with a current of ozone coming direct from the generator. I n practice, however, the fact is of slight importance. Human beings are injuriously affected by amounts of ozone far less than are necessary to produce even this slight bactericidal effect, and there is no elyidence for supposing that a quantity of ozone that can be tolerated by man has the least germicidal action. If disinfection of a closed room without inmates is desired, this can be much more effectively carried out by the use of formaldehyde or some other familiar gaseous disinfectant than by ozone. Ozone has no place in practical room disinfection. “Ozone is not an actual ‘deodorizer’ in concentrations that can obtain .in practical ventilation. In very great concentra-
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tions ozone seems capable of oxidizing some odorous substances so that the odors are diminished or changed, but the change may be in the direction of increasing the disagreeableness of the odor. I n very great concentrations ozone ‘masks’ most odors by its own intensive odor, and possibly by fatigue or anaesthesia of the olfactory epithelium. Certain odors are masked by ozone even in weak concentrations. Is such masking of odors desirable and generally advantageous? We think not. It is probable that the injury to the respiratory tract by ozone in sufficient concentration to act as an effective mask is of greater moment than the deleterious action of most odors. Except in special industrial processes, the unpleasant odor of the inspired air in shops, offices or living rooms is usually a sign that the air needs to b e renewed or changed. Why should we put out of commission the sense organ which aids us in determining whether or not the air is fit to breathe? It seems to us that this is wrong in principle, and that ozone is being used and will be used as a crutch to bolster up poor ventilating systems. Ozone does not make ‘pure air’ any more than strong spices make pure food. “ I n concentrations that appreciably affect man and animals, ozone appears to have uniformly an injurious action. This injurious action is primarily on the respiratory passages-irritation of the sensory nerve endings, and irritation, corrosion and depression of the epithelial cells. The depression of the alveolar epithelium leads to changes in the gaseous exchange in the lungs, and secondarily to changes in the blood, and ozone headache, depression and drowsiness are produced. “Hill and Flack [Proc. Roy. SOL.,82, 404 (1911);Jour. Roy. SOC.Arts., 60, 344 (1912)]point out that ozone gives a certain ‘tang’ to the air, and thus relieves the impurity (temperature and moisture) which is apt to obtain in offices and assembly rooms, This tang is a combined effect of ozone odor and the ozone irritation of the sensory nerves in the respiratory tract. \Ye have seen that this acts (reflexly) on the vascular mechanism and i t may temporarily ‘whip up‘ a fagged brain. But is this ozone tang any more beneficial or any more physiologic than a whiff of smelling-salts or a puff of the cigarette? We recognize that a certain amount of variation in the rate of movement and in the temperature of the air about us aids in maintaining the tonus of the brain, but our ventilation engineers must reproduce the variability of outdoors by actual variations in the air and in the rate of movement of the air in the ventilating systems, and not by adding a poisonous gas to the air. Nor can we accept the suggestion of Hill and Flack that small amounts of ozone may be of therapeutic value in certain diseases of the respiratory tract by reason of the hyperemia following the ozone irritation. The cells injured by ozone are probably more readily invaded by bacteria, and have less than normal power of growth and healing despite the hyperemia. And all bacteria so far studied are much more resistant to ozone than are the cells of the respiratory tract of man and experimental animals. The physiology of ozone points to the conclusion that the use of this poisonous gas as a therapeutic agent is either valueless or injurious.” T h e second article, “ T h e illleged Purification of Air b y t h e Ozone M a c h i n e , ” b y IT’. A. Sawyer, hI.D., Director of t h e Hygienic L a b o r a t o r y of t h e California S t a t e B o a r d of H e a l t h , a n d his co-workers, B e c k w i t h a n d Skolfield, t h o u g h n o t as extensive, is n o less convincing t h a n t h e first. T h e conclusions of t h e s e a u t h o r s a r e q u o t e d also: “The gaseous products of the two well-known ozone machines examined are irritating to the respiratory tract and, in considerable concentration, they will produce edema of the lungs and death in guinea pigs. “A concentration of the gaseous products sufficiently high to kill typhoid bacilli, staphylococci and streptococci, dried on
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glass rods, in the course of several hours, will kill guinea pigs in a shorter time. Therefore these products have no value as bactericides in breathable air. “Because the products of the ozone machines are irritating to the mucous membranes and are probably injurious in other ways, the machines should not be allowed in schools, offices or other places in which people remain for considerable periods of time. “The ozone machines produce gases which mask disagreeable odors of moderate strength. I n this way the machines can conceal faults in ventilation while not correcting them. Because the ozone machine covers unhygienic conditions in the air and a t the same time produces new injurious substances, it cannot properly be classed as a hygienic device.” I t is t o b e h o p e d t h a t t h e results of t h e s e investig a t o r s will receive sufficient publicity t o correct p o p u l a r i d e a s on t h e germicidal a c t i o n of ozone a n d t h a t t h e w o r k will n o t h a v e t o b e r e p e a t e d a s i t h a s been so m a n y t i m e s within t h e l a s t t w e n t y years.
A. hZ. B U S W E L L BUREAU OF MINES COAL ANALYSES G o v e r n m e n t purchasing a g e n t s , designing a n d opera t i n g engineers, a n d t h e fuel d e p a r t m e n t s of i n d u s t r i a l concerns, dealers i n large q u a n t i t i e s of coal, a n d pers o n s i n t e r e s t e d i n t h e distribution and c h a r a c t e r of t h e different coals i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s will find valu a b l e i n f o r m a t i o n i n a r e p o r t j u s t issued b y t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s B u r e a u of X i n e s as Bulletiiz 2 2 , e n t i t l e d “ A n a l y ses of Coals i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , with Descriptions of M i n e and Field S a m p l e s Collected b e t w e e n J u l y I , 1 9 0 4 ~a n d J u n e 30, 1910.” T h i s r e p o r t c o n t a i n s t h e analyses of j,OOO samples of coal t a k e n f r o m 1,jOo coal m i n e s a n d prospects s i t u a t e d i n t h e various coal fields of t h e V n i t e d S t a t e s . N o t o n l y all of t h e i m p o r t a n t fields a r e represented, b u t practically all of t h e m o r e i m p o r t a n t mining districts. T h e p u r p o s e of t h e B u r e a u i n compiling a n d p u b lishing t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n is t o present reliable informat i o n regarding t h e chemical composition a n d h e a t i n g v a l u e of t h e coals. T h e samples of coals were collected b y experienced m e n according t o a definite a n d unif o r m s y s t e m , a n d were analyzed u n d e r carefully controlled conditions, so t h a t t h e r e might b e no q u e s t i o n as t o t h e relative m e r i t s of t h e different coals so f a r as t h i s c a n b e d e t e r m i n e d b y chemical analyses a n d d e t e r m i n a t i o n s of h e a t i n g values. A n increasing p r o p o r t i o n of t h e coal c o n s u m e d in t h e power s t a t i o n s a n d t h e larger m a n u f a c t u r i n g p l a n t s of t h e c o u n t r y is now being purchased u n d e r specifications based on chemical analyses a n d calorimetric d e t e r m i n a t i o n s of h e a t units. I n t h e purchase of fuels m a n y m a t t e r s f o r m e r l y left t o chance a r e now carefully investigated. It is t h e a i m of mechanical engineers t o c o n s t r u c t furnaces a n d t o a r r a n g e t h e h e a t absorbing surface i n a f u r n a c e with reference t o t h e peculiar c h a r a c t e r of t h e fuel which is t o b e b u r n e d . N o t i n g t h e composition of t h e fuel a n d constructing t h e f u r n a c e with reference t o i t , h e c a n assure efficient a n d smokeless c o m b u s t i o n . Moreover, i n a n y p a r ticular m a r k e t , t h e choice of coal is limited generally b y i t s q u a l i t y a n d b y freight r a t e s t o one o r t w o fields i n which t h e c h a r a c t e r of t h e coal beds is c o m p a r a t i v e l y uniform. H a v i n g o n h a n d a representative analysis
