Haskell Laboratory of Industrial Toxicology Office of Industrial Hygiene and Sanitation of t h e Public Health Institute, Washington, spoke on "Relations between Government and Industrial Hygiene." He was followed by G. H. Gehrmann, medical director of the du. Pont Company, on " D e velopment of Industrial Medicine," and by ~W. F- von Oettingen, director of the new laboratory, who spoke on "The Problems of Industrial Toxicology." I n the afternoon t h e laboratory and its facilities were inspected and there was a dinner in the evening a t which a d d r e s s e s were made by Lammot d n Pont, president of t h e company, vice p r e s i d e n t Harry G. Haskell for whom the laboratory is named, and by Drs. Gehrmann and von Oettingen. A group of distinguished scientists, physicians, 1. Determination of a n d industrialists was the effects which any i n attendance. finished product of the Dr. S a y e r s in h i s company may have upon the health of the ultiaddress defined indusmate consumer. This trial hygiene as t h a t is a public health measbranch of preventive ure which will enable medicine that has to the company to place its d o with, the protection products in the hands of of the health of the inthe consumer with defid u s t r i a l population. nite instructions as to BCe called attention to how t h e y shall be t h e gradual increase in handled in order fully to t h e need for p r o t e c safeguard health. tion, and stressed the importance of the work 2. Determination of at> this time, because the toxicity, both acute and c h r o n i c , of any of the changing conTHE HASKELL LABORATORY OF INDUSTRIAL TOXICOLOGY, THE NEW MEDICAL, RESEARCH new compounds which d i t i o n s under which LABORATORY OF THE DU PONT GO., WHICH HAS BEEN ERECTED ON THE GROUNDS OF THE COMPANY'S EXPERIMENTAL STATION NEAR WILMINGTON, DEL. it is proposed to manuarticles are made. He facture. This will ensketched the gradual able the engineering department to construct new buildings with the change that has taken place in the production from home indusexact knowledge necessary to establish the requirements for both tries to the factory system. Under t h e factory system industrial building and equipment from the point of view of safeguarding the hygiene includes t h e consideration of the control of poisonous health of those who work therein. Further, this will place in the and toxic substances, communicable diseases in t h e factory, genhands of the medical division knowledge of the clinical picture to be eral plant sanitation, illumination, medical service to the workers, expected in the event of any absorption. personal hygiene, and the prevention of accidents in so far as 3. Determination of the acute and chronic toxicity of compounds they. are affected b y the human factor, hours of labor, and the which are now being manufactured by the company and its sub- employment of women and children in industry. He outlined sidiaries, dealing particularly with compounds for which it has al- the steps by which the Government h a s increased its work in the ready been determined that they have some effects upon health. field from the appointment of a committee to investigate child labor in 1837, down to 1914 when the Office of Industrial Hygiene and Sanitation of the Public Health Service was created. I n the interval many constructive steps ha-ve been taken. The existing health powers of the Federal Government are administered generally through the IT. S. Public Health Service, though the IT. S. Bureau of Mines, Bureau of C h e m i s t r y and S o i l s , t h e C h i l d r e n ' s Bureau, the Women's Bureau, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor have activities relating to the health of industrial workers. The only limitations to the power and authority which have been given the IT. S. IPublic Health Service are those made by t h e Constitution and the extent of the appropriations of Congress. I n addition to special studies t h e Public Health Service has assisted i n the formulation of minimum r e q u i r e m e n t s for general sanitation of manufacturing plants, it h a s developed regulations for t h e protection of workers and users of DTJ PONT CO. EXECUTIVES IN THE TOXICOLOGICAL ROOM OF THE HASKELL LABORATORY OF INDUSTRIAL. TOXICOLOGY. FROM LEFT TO HIGHT: WILLIAM DEICHMANNmanufactured products, and in several instances GRUEBER, ERNEST B . BENGER, A. P. TANBEBQ, C. C. -AHLUM, E. F. BÙTCH, W. F. VON has made agreements with manufacturers volunOETTINGEN, LAMMOT DU PONT, AND G. H. GEHRMANN · tarily to administer and enforce these regulations. Dr. Sayers stressed t h e need for a constructive The laboratory adds to the established facilities of clinical national policy for the better protection and conservation of indusmedicine already possessed by the du Pont Company and makes trial health, so as ultimately to secure for a l l workers practically for a completely organized industrial medical department in the same measure of health protection in all parts of the country. which it will be possible to correlate physical signs, symptoms, This can be attained only when federal, state, and local health and clinical laboratory findings with the research laboratory datai agencies coordinate their work to avoid undesirable duplication and By this combination it -will be possible to learn what symptoms cooperate fully with the·industry, both employers and employees. indicate the absorption of certain materials, -where they are likely In his address Dr. Gehrmann outlined the development of the to make their attack, and what changes may occur in the organs relationship between industry and medicine. Prior to 1911 it was affected. With this knowledge a protective he.alth regime can customary for industry to hire its employees with an almost total be set up in all of the plants, which will be a great advance in the disregard for health, efficiency, the general welfare of the indusimprovement of public health, not to mention t h e service to be trial population, or its own protection. Individual workers asrendered thereby t o the public at large. sumed the risks of employment, knew nothing of the health The dedication was marked by a scientific meeting in the mor- hazards, performed duties which they were almost totally unfit to ning, at which R. R. Sayers, medical officer in charge of the carry out, and often worked under conditions so unsatisfactory THE
HASKELL
LABORATORY
OF INDUSTRIAL TOXICOLOGY,
founded by E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc., and located on the grounds of the Experimental Station of the company, was formally opened and dedicated on January 22. This laboratory has.been planned to meet a need which has developed because of the great growth of the chemical industry in this country as represented by the du Pont organization. Its purpose will be to test thoroughly from a health standpoint all products produced by the company before t h e y a r e p l a c e d on the market. The facilities are not t o be employed in the dev e l o p m e n t of compounds useful in therapeutics but emphasis will be placed on:
44
February 10, 1935
NEWS
ED I T I O N
TOXICOLOGICAL· L^BORATOIU OF THL. H A S K E L L LABORATORV OF I N D U S T R I A L TOXICOLOGY
as t o constitute a menace to health. Workers with infectious diseases weie allowed to work until there was no hope for recovery, meanwhile spreading disease among their fellow workmen. Such conditions continued until 1911, when the first compensation laws were passed in this country. One of the first effects was a type of physical examination set u p H A R R Y G. purely for the purpose of protecting the employer against potential compensation claims and which led to the exclusion of applicants who presented any physical defect, no matter how slight. This wrought great hardships on the working population, even though many were able to carry on the type of work for which they had been trained. Fortunately, the fallacy of the system was soon realized by industrial medical advisers and there has come about a newer and better 'system which calls for an analysis and classification of every plant position. Under this arrangement it is possible to select applicants who can work safely and efficiently despite certain types of physical defects. Along -with the introduction of medical supervision has come the safety movement responsible for the development of improved machinery, protective devices, courses of training in safety, and similar work. But it has come t o be recognized that to be effective the physical examination must make use of clinical, laboratory, and x-ray methods, and these are the next step towards improved medical service. It is also realized that those who endeavor to practice industrial medicine without proper laboratory and x-ray facilities are wasting time and money and are so far behind the progress of the time as to be obsolete. The tremendous development of the chemical industry during the past few years has been accompanied by new compounds which have come into use, new processes, and new health hazards. Some of these hazards have been recognized, but in too many instances considerable damage has been done before proper precautions have been taken, and methods of handling prescribed. Thus, as we look back over the years, we realize that our knowledge of occupational diseases has all been developed after the fact rather than before. Much suffering, disease, and death can be avoided if sufficient knowledge of the toxicity of chemical compounds is developed before the process of manufacture is started and before workmen have a chance to become poisoned- To learn these things adequate facilities must be at hand. To provide these facilities the du Pont Company has built this new extremely modern laboratory, thoroughly equipped, and manned with well-trained personnel, who are experienced and capable research scientists. The address of Dr. von Oettingen is to appear in the medical literature. He brought out t h a t since the beginning of experimental pharmacology problems of industrial toxicology have been studied experimentally. Outstanding work has been done which still holds its place in our knowledge of this subject, but much of this work only incompletely reflects the actual conditions under which the toxic symptoms become manifest. Furthermore, pharmacology and toxicology are mainly concerned with thé acute toxicity of substances, whereas industrial toxicology is interested, at least to a considerable extent, in the results of continued exposure to small concentrations. The investigation must consider the following forms of exposure to toxic agents: absorption through the respiratory organs in the form of dust, which may have only a mechanical effect or some
45
PATHOLOGICAL LABORATORY OF T H E H A S K E L L L\BORAAORY OF INDUSTRIAL TOXICOLOGY
chemical action, or may affect the organism through chemical reactions causing systematic poisoning There is of course possible at times infection with pathogenic organisms, chaiactenstic of certain trades. The toxic matenal may be inhaled in the form of di oplets and fogs or in the form of gases. Next there is the possibility of absorption from the EIASKELL gastro-intestinal tract or through the skin. The local irritant action on the skin also requires study. Finally, there is the local effect on the mucous membranes of the respiratorytract and the conjunctivae. It will be seen at once how numerous must be the various approaches t o establishing the facts in all these instances. In addition there must be studied the reaction which takes place when various vapors come in contact with the open flame, contacts with metals, particularly hot metals, and the possibility of the formation of toxic products within the organism, as, for example, the organic amines, the characteristic property of which is to produce eczema and proliferation of cells, which depends apparently on the possibility of forming quinone-like substances within the organism. Then we have the effect of continued exposure to small concentrations of toxic substances. The study of the toxicity and potential dangers of chemical products requires not only the determination of their toxicity but what is equally important, the elucidation of the mechanism of their action. In this way it will be possible to devise methods for the early detection of toxic effects and to suggest therapeutic measures. In studying the toxicity of chemical substances, related homologs and isomeric materials will also be included where possible, i n order to establish information on the relations between chemical constitution and pharmacologic action. This, in collaboration with other workers, as for example, entomologists in the case of insecticides, will be of great value. In industrial toxicology one meets problems the adequate study of which requires not only special facilities but the closest collaboration with the manufacturing chemist and the plant physician. The director of the Haskell Laboratory of Industrial Toxicology is W. F. von Oettingen, who received his chemical training at the "Universities of Jena and Gôttingen, receiving his Ph.D. at the latter school. He then studied medicine and entered the University of Heidelberg, where he specialized in internal medicine and pharmacology. He came to the United States in 1924, joined the staff of the Medical School of Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, in 1925, where he taught pharmacology and did research, especially on the relation between chemical constitution and pharmacological action. His principal associates are W. C. Hueper and F. H. Wiley. The former is a graduate in medicine of the University of Kiel, after which he worked a t the Pathological Institute of the Augusta Victoria IKrankenhaus in Berlin until 1923. He came to the United States in 1924 and for six years was the pathologist and director of the laboratory of Mercy Hospital in Chicago and associate professor of pathology at Loyola University. From 1930 to 1933 he was associated with the Cancer Research Laboratories of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Wiley was graduated in chemical engineering at the University of Denver, received his Ph.D. in biochemistry at the University of Michigan, and has held the National Research Council Fellowship at the University Hospital a t Ann Arbor. A staff of highly trained workers will assist these specialists in carrying out the exhaustive research planned.
INDUSTRIAL
46
A N D
E N G I N E E R I N G
T r a d e Negotiations with Italy B e g u n O T T O W I L S O N , 3025 Fifteenth St., N. W - , Washington, D. C . ITALY AND THE U N I T E D STATES are n o u r carrying on n e g o t i a -
tions looking toward t h e signing, of a t r a d e agreement, t h e U. S. State Department announced recently. AU persons or firms w h o wish to present their views on tariff r a t e s , etc., relating t o this trade m u s t file their briefs and statements with the State D e p a r t ment not later t h a n noon, March 4, and if they wish t o discuss their statements at oral hearings they m u s t file an application t o do so within t h e same time limit. Oral Shearings will b e held March 1 1 . Our chemical trade with Italy has consisted of exports t o t h a t country ranging between one a n d two million dollars annually since 1929, a n d imports approximately paralleling exports in total value except i n 1932 and 1933 (no totals for 1934 are y e t available). Following is t h e five-year record: U. S. T R A D E I N CHEMICALS W I T H ITALY Year Imports from Italy Exports to Italy 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933
$1,671,000 1,692,000 1,198,000 675,000 659,000
Sl,994,O00 1,680,000 1,100,000 1,125,000 1,449,000
Vol. 13, N o . 3
C H E M I S T R Y
Second to fertilizers is carbon black or g a s black which totaled $259,000 in value in 1933 a n d $152,000 in 1932. Sales in 1929 were $240,000. Among t h e industrial chemical specialties a good trade h a s been b u i l t up in rubber-compounding agents, exports of which were valued a t $126,000 in 1933, $43,000 in 1932, a n d $58,000 in 1931. A trade which has been growing very rapidly in late years is t h a t in coal-tar products, except benzene. I n 1929 exports of these goods t o Italy were negligible, b u t since then t h e y have grown as follows: 1930, $148,000; 1931, $39,000; 1932, $70,000; 1933, $168,000. Coal-tar colors, dyes, stains, etc., make u p t h e principal p a r t of this t r a d e , exports over t h e five-year period being: 1929, $3000; 19o0, $110,000; 1931, $26,000; 1932, $54,000; 1933, $83,000. I n 1929 there w a s a good t r a d e in benzene, exports t o Italy being valued a t $215,000. I t has been falling off rapidly since then, a n d the .'tern disappeared entirely from the 1933 statistics. Other chemical exports t o I t a l y of some little importance in 1933 w^ere: biologies, $50,000; industrial chemical specialties aside from rubber-compounding agents, $95,000; industrial chemicals, $73,000; pyroxylin lacquers, $48,000; ready-mixed paints, stains, a n d enamels, $50,000; soap a n d other toilet preparations, $37,000.
A P P R O P R I A T I O N S FOR G R A N T S - I N - A I D BY T H E N . R .
C.
T H E NATIONAL RESEARCH C O U N C I L has been given funds for
Nearly all chemicals imported from I t a l y are dutiable. I n 1933 the only commodities t o enter free w e r e : argols, t a r t a r , a n d wine lees, $250,000; industrial chemicals n o t specifically named, $16,000; bone ash, dust, and meal, and animal carbon, $8000; and other phosphate material, $227. C H I E F A R T I C L E S OF I M P O R T
T h e leading chemical import articles h a v e long been argols, tartar, a n d wine lees. I n both 1933 and 1932 imports under t h a t heading were less t h a n in t h e three years preceding 1932. T h e 1933 t r a d e amounted to 4,545,000 pounds with a value of $250,000, and t h a t of 1932 to 5,411,000 pounds with a value of $327,000, these comparing with a 1929 trade of 3,702,000 pounds valued a t $387,000. In both years Italy wa,s the chief source of supply for these goods, sending u s about one-third of o u r total imports, a n d displacing France, which forroierly led in this trade. T h e r e s t of t h e chemical importations from Italy in l a t e years have been made up largely of three classes of goods, a b o u t on a par with each other as regards total val\ze. These are soaps, medicinals, and pigments for use in the p a i n t industry. Castile soap is t h e only kind of a n y importance i n the trade. I n 1933 we imported 892,000 pounds of this s o a p from Italy, paying $99,000 for it, 50 p e r cent more than i n t b e year before. Five years before, in 1929, importations were a b o u t 1,230,000 pounds and were valued a t $171,000. Medicinal and pharmaceutical preparations came from I t a l y to t h e extent, of $106,000 i n 1933, as compared with S71,000 in 1932 and $620,000 in 1929. Mineral e a r t h pigments, chiefly ochers a n d siennas, make u p the bulk of the trade in these paint materials, the 1933 importations a m o u n t ing t o $114,000. 'This was three times t h e trade of the y e a r b e fore and a b o u t the same as t h a t of 1929. Some 57,000 pounds of chemical pigments, valued a t $22,000, also featured t n e 1933 t r a d e , t h i s amount representing only about one-third that of 1929. A few years ago I t a l y was an important source of tartaric acid for t h e United States, with annual imports valued a t more t h a n $170,000. Since 1930, however, the t r a d e has been falling off rapidly, a n d in 1933 purchases amounted t o only $7000. A miscellany of industrial chemicals valued a t about $50,000 i n 1933 made up t h e rest of the chemical imports listed separately in t h e statistics. T h e existing tariff r a t e in t h e United States o n ochers a n d siennas, n o t ground, is one-eighth cent per pound, equivalent in 1933 to a n ad valorem assessment of 5 t o 8 p e r cent, and o n these goods washed or ground, it is three-eighthis cent, equivalent in 1933 to 3 1 per cent on ochers and 13 per c e n t on siennas. Varied rates apply to other mineral-earth pigments, working o u t at a n actual a d valorem charge ranging from 20 t o 143 per cent i n 1933, and to chemical pigments, on which t h e dirty charges were 30 t o 60 p e r cent, on the average. Castile soap carries a rate of 15 p e r cent. T a r t a r i c acid is assessed a t 8 cents per pound, which in 1933 represented a 46 per cent charge. EXPORTS
I n sales of chemical products t o Italy, fertilizer materials a r e of greatest value a n d phosphate rock is t h e leading s e p a r a t e item, with shipments of 88,000 tons valued a t $385,000 i n 1933. This was a b o u t one-third more than i n the y e a r before but w a s still far short of t h e 1929 t r a d e , which totaled 122,000 tons valued at $590,000. Nitrogenous fertilizer material to t h e value of $106,000 in t h e 1933 t r a d e was comparatively a new item, exports being practically nothing in 1929 a n d 1930, $59,000 in 1931, a n d $222,000 in 1932.
grants-in-aid for t h e year 1935. Additional information a n d blank forms for filing applications will be furnished upon request. Applications to b e considered this spring must be in t h e n a n d s of the Secretarj' of the Committee on Grants-in-Aid, C. J. West, National Research Council, 2101 Constitution Ave., N . W., Washington, D. C , on or before April 1, 1935. Action on these applications will b e taken a b o u t the middle of M a y . At meetings of t h e Committee on Grants-in-Aid in November and December, 1934, t h e following awards were made in t h e field of chemistry and chemical technology: J. R . Bates, L . S. Anderson, a n d J. C . Halford, assistant professors of chemistry, University of Michigan, " R a m a n Spectra of Compounds of D e u t e r i u m ; " R a l p h A. Beebe, associate professor of chemistry, Amherst College, "Measurement of t h e Heats of Adsorption of Gases on Solid Adsorbents a t Low Temperatures;" Malcolm Dole, instructor in chemistry, N o r t h western University, "Studies on t h e Glass Electrode;" W. George Parks, assistant professor of chemistry, Rhode Island State College, " T h e e. m . f. M e t h o d for Determining H e a t s of Dilution and Transfer."
UNEMPLOYMENT
INFORMATION
NEEDED
T H E SOCIETY'S Committee o n t h e Unemployment of Recent Graduates is anxious to get as full d a t a as possible on chemical graduates with bachelor's, master's, or doctor's degrees of t h e years 1933 a n d 1934. A n y members of these groups who a r e either unemployed or are engaged in unsuitable employment are invited t o write to t h e cornrnittee. T h e position of the committee and of t h e SOCIETY in a n y future effort to relieve the problem of chemical unemployment will be stronger if t h e committee has in its hands full d a t a from all parts of the country. T o date such d a t a have been available only in limited sections. T h e membership of the committee i s as follows: Forrest A . Anderson, WilkensAnderson Co., Chicago, 111.; F r a n k G. Breyer, Singmaster a n d Breyer, N e w York, N. Y . ; H a r r y A. Curtis, Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, T e n n . ; F r a n k C. Whitmore, Chairman, State College, Pa. Heads of chemistry a n d chemical engineering departments would help t h e committee a great deal by submitting t o its chairm a n t h e number of graduates i n the various ranks which t h e y h a d in 1934 a n d t h e number which t h e y expect in 1935.
ABSTRACTS
OF N E W Y O R K
MEETING
PAPERS
T H E A. C. S . N E W S SERVICE, 706 Mills Bldg., W a s h -
ington, D . C , will be in position t o supply a limited n u m b e r of s e t s of the abstracts of papers presented a t t h e N e w York meeting a t $1.00 a set. T h e a b s t r a c t s will be as furnished by t h e authors of papers, a n d will b e mailed in mimeographed form very soon after t h e meeting. T h e sets are n o t guaranteed t o b e complete, b u t t h e y will contain all abstracts obtainable from division secretaries u p to t h e time of t h e meeting. I n order to save unnecessary correspondence a n d t h e keeping of records, it is requested t h a t those desiring sets remit $1.00 w i t h order.
