.4pr.,
1920
T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY STATISTICS
The Committee recommends t h a t comprehensive annual statistics for the nitrogen industries of the United Kingdom and for the home consumption of coal by various classes of users and industries should be officially collected and a detailed summary of the figures published. Strong representations on this subject should be made to the government departments concerned. The Committee suggests t h a t this question is also worthy of the attention of the overseas governments. SPECIAL OBSERVATIONS
As far as the United Kingdom is concerned, nitrogen fixation and allied processes will constitute a new “key” industry. The Committee is of the opinion that the initiation and development of the industry will require the active support of the government.
HYGIENIC CONTROL OF THE ANILINE DYE INDUSTRY IN EUROPE‘ The above is the title of a valuable report for the United States Department of Labor after inspection and study in an official capacity by one of America’s ablest and most distinguished specialists in occupational diseases and hazards, Dr. Alice Hamilton. The development of the coal-tar industries in the United States has carried with it the incident dangers, which were better recognized and more thoroughly controlled in Germany than in any ot her country For obvious reasons ihis might have been suspected, but the fact was verified by inspection of works in England, France, Germany, and Switzerland. I n drawing special attention to this subject it may be permitted to make reference to the need of an Institute for Industrial Hygiene in the United States. In the words of Dr. Hamilton, “One of our difficulties in controlling occupational poisoning in American dye works has been our ignorance of the effects on the human body of the many substances which are encountered and we have had to depend on published reports from Germany and England to tell us where to look for danger and how to provide against it.” “The precautions taken in German plants are very elaborate -based on accidents which have actually occurred among workmen, or on careful animal experiments to determine the effects of a new substance.” The Germans are in a position to give most valuable information for “even though they may no longer have any cases of poisoning, they can tell of their experience in earlier years when little was known about the effects of the new compounds till some workman or chemist had developed poisoning from them.” The German was thus well versed in toxic substances long before he dishonored himself in breaking a solemn contract by using “poison gases” in warfare. In this connection it may be stated that there is an urgent need for publication of an immense amount of valuable research carried on by the Chemical Warfare Service of the United States Army and Navy, which now appears to have little chance to reach the light of day. The data on the physiological factors and changes involved in fatigue also are of immense value. While disclaiming an exhaustive treatment of the subject, Dr. Hamilton nevertheless considers in this brochure benzene, aniline, the nitrobenzenes and nitrotoluenes, chlorobenzenes, and various cyclic derivatives, among them the nitrated phenols, nitranilines, and phenylenediamines. Dimethylsulfate, phosgene, arsine, and the chromates are also considered. Inhaled benzene vapors attack the centers in the central nervous system which control respiration, heart beat and heat Monthly Labor Review (December 1919) of the Bureau of Statistics, United States Department of Labor.
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production. Aniline workers develop bladder tumors. Many poisoned, by DNB, for example, appear outwardly as if very drunk. Dinitrochlorobenzene often delays its effect, with a slow onset of symptoms. Dermatitis comes from all nitroand amino-derivatives of benzene. The above simply indicates a few of the numerous items of importance in the monograph. Cleanliness of plant, ventilation, conditions for refreshment, and medical supervision are dealt with. Of these we have much yet t o learn and more to put into practice. During the war the pressure drove existent plants to intense systems for super-production. The exigency of the situation brought about the hasty construction of many plants for the production of chemicals of great variety needed in the prosecution of the war. The speed factor did not admit providing all the preventives for the protection of the workers in some instances, and in others the transientness of contracts caused little concern for the welfare of labor. These and other factors associated with the enormous and permanent development of the chemical industry have caused thinking chemists to give the subject most serious consideration. I n numerous instances every precaution known has been applied in American plants, yet there is a strong hope that something worth while might be done in a large constructive way to better conditions of labor in the industry. There are plenty of good people in the chemical industries and there are farsighted corporations seeking means to improve the situation, but the evils of the conditions first serve to call attention to their existence. Efforts to palliate are evident in the provision of medical attention. It is good business t o have healthy labor, but the motive is primarily humanitarian. Multiplication and adaptation of education for the workers call for teachers with qualifications peculiar to the needs. The mephitic odor of the laboratory covers a maze of mystery in the lay mind and is held responsible for numerous maladies. The word “chemical” is sinister. Where chemical processes are in operation, especially when fumes or vapors, even though the latter be only steam, are seen to escape from the works, there grows a feeling of suspicion, often with reason, and all kinds of sickness are attributed to these “poisonous substances.” If the writer may judge from numerous letters as well as his own experience in “fume matters,” even the members of the medical profession are not free from these sensations. And well they may not be in many instances, for even though the action of many chemicals in varying degrees of concentration is known, the insidious effects of many more are absolutely closed books. They require most diligent study and painstaking research. The program would call for the cooperation of the chemist, but not his direction. It calls for special training in the field of preventive medicine, which involves social welfare. An excellent, but limited, program of training given a t a few institutions is available for those who seek, but the industries inform us that suitably trained men and women cannot be had in adequate numbers to meet the demands. I speak without authority, but I assert with assurance that the chemical industry will welcome and cooperate with the separate efforts for the improvement of conditions. But it will go much further if those efforts be coordinated. So I venture to say that it would appear desirable to extend the present localized opportunities for instruction and tie them together in one main institute for research, advanced and special instruction, and for coordination. CHARLES ~BASKERVILLE, Chairman Committee on Occupational Diseases in the Chemical Trades, American Chemical Society COLLEGE OF THE CITYO F NEWYORK NEWYORKh- Y March 5 . 1920
