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    "label": "Letters Received, September 27, 1937",
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    "id": "75729502",
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    "title": "Letters Received, September 27, 1937",
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        "Safety Light Collection",
        "Records Related to Radium Dial Painters"
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    "ocrText": "15. Each girl should be provided with a quantity of\nHOW FATAL ACCIDENTS OCCUR\nthese each morning and should use a new one each time\nshe mixes. This will lessen the danœr of getting paint\n(Case Histories as Reported by Investigators for the\non the fingers. The person collecting the mixing tools\nDivision of Industrial Hygiene)\nshould wear rubber gloves, and wash the gloves imme-\nInexperience\ndiately afterwards.\n16. A pen rack to hold brushes or stylus when not in\nA boy 17 years old was standing near a bench with a\nuse should be on each table. Also a stable holder for\nlighted blow torch in his hand. Another worker knocked a\npaint plaques so that holding them with the fingers while\nbottle off the bench, spilling on the floor a quart of lacquer\nthinner which it contained. This worker warned the boy\nmixing may be avoided.\nto keep his torch away from it, but the boy who thought the\n17. No food of any kind including candy, gum, etc.,\nbottle had contained only water, pointed the flame of the\nshould be eaten in, or brought into the workroom. A\ntorch toward the spilled thinner which immediately burst\nnotice to this effect should be posted.\ninto flames igniting his clothing. He then started to run\n18. A suitable lunchroom apart from the work should\naround the shop. Before anyone could catch him and extin-\nbe provided if any employees eat lunch in the plant.\nguish his burning clothing, his body was so severely burned\n19. Running hot water should be installed in wash-\nthat he died of his injuries four days later.\nrooms and employers should provide soap and individual\ntowels.\nDon't play with fire.\n20. Painters should wash hands thoroughly with soap\nCircular Saw \"Kick Back\"\nand hot water before lunch and before leaving plant at\nnight. Time should be allowed for this and the washing\nAn experienced machine hand was operating a circular\nshould be supervised. If paint gets on the fingers at\nsaw ripping a board 10 feet long and 1,00 of an inch thick. The\nany time 'during the day they should be washed\nwaste piece was about of an inch wide. After the cut was\nimmediately.\nfinished, the workman pushed the sawed piece past the saw\nblade and in doing so struck the waste piece which was still\nClothing Protection\nin contact with the rear part of the blade. The waste piece\nwas thrown back striking him in the abdomen. He was taken\n21. Gowns or smocks, and caps of washable material\nto a hospital where it was found that his intestines had been\nshould be worn by all painters and these should be\nruptured. The doctors wanted to operate on the injured man\nlaundered by employer at least once a week. (Exami-\nbut he said he felt all right, and refused to have the opera-\nnation has shown the hair of some radium painters to\ntion. He died five days later. The circular saw was equipped\nbe radioactive, therefore caps are important.)\nwith a guard, and also a spreader set in a throat piece, but\n22. Gowns and caps should be provided by the\nneither of these was in place at the time of the accident.\nemployer.\nDon't neglect safe-guards nor ignore the doctor's\n23. A double locker system should be installed and\nadvice.\nstreet clothing kept entirely separate from smocks and\n'during work.\nFalling Object\n24. Dark rooms or other enclosed spaces used for\nA workman was crushed to death when struck by an iron\ninspection, or testing of finished work, should be pro-\nball weighing 1,145 pounds. In a factory yard, under a crane\nvided with exhaust ventilation.\nrunway, slag was dumped to be broken up before being\n25. Finished work should be removed from the vicinity\nreturned for resmelting. The larger pieces were broken up\nof workers as soon as possible, and should not be allowed\nby means of an iron ball which was hoisted about 20 feet by\nto accumulate in the workroom.\na traveling crane. The ball was released by pulling on a rope\n26. Workrooms for this industry should be light and\nattached to a release hook on the ball. The workman after\nwell ventilated. They should also be large and spacious\nattaching the release hook to the crane hook signaled the\nin proportion to the number employed, so that close\ncrane operator to hoist the ball. As it ascended, the release\ncontact of the workers with the materials used by fellow\nrope became tangled around his leg. While attempting to\nworkers may be avoided.\nuntangle the rope and keep from falling, he accidentally\npulled on the rope releasing the ball from the crane hook\nThese suggestions apply to the use of radioactive material\njust as he reached a point directly under the ball. The ball\nin paint, that is mixed with oil, shellac or water and adhesive\nstruck him and he was crushed to death.\nand applied by brush or dipping. (Lamp indicators and\nother small articles are sometimes dipped instead of brushed.)\nPLAN EXAMINATION\nThe use of radioactive materials in dry form by sprinkling\nSummary of plans for ventilation and exhaust systems acted upon by the Plan\nor dusting on a surface wet with ordinary paint is more\nExamination office of the Division of Industrial Hygiene\nduring the month of June 1937\ndangerous as it creates a dust hazard, and must be dealt\nwith separately. The process of removing old luminous\npaint from dials by scraping is in the same class. We have\nSubstance for\nwhich control\nProcess\nIndustry\nPlans\nMach.\nPer-\nnot so far found any plant in New York State in which\nwas provided\nsons\nthese operations are done.\nThere would seem to be no reason why the danger of\npoisoning which results from actual physical contact with\nCarbon monoxide\nHat presser\nMillinery\n3\n4\n26\nradioactive paints cannot be overcome by using care in\nCarbon monoxide.\nGas boiler\nMiscellaneous\n2\n2\n28\nCarbon monoxide.\nAutomobile\nGarage\n1\n5\n12\nhandling. The rules set forth are minimum requiremar\nCarbon monoxide.\nLead pots\nPrinting\n7\n17\n28\nwhich can be added to, or changed, to meet special situations.\nChronic acid\nChrom.plating\nThere has been a great improvement in methods of dial\ntank\nMetal goods\n2\n2\n13\nPlating acids\nPlating tanks\nMetal goods\n2\n7\n43\npainting since the days when so many lives were lost. It is\nLacquer vapors\nSpray painting\nAutomobile repair.\n16\n18\n88\nsome years for instance since brush pointing between the\nLacquer vapors\nSpray painting\nFurniture\n6\n6\n10\nlips was an every day custom.\nLacquer vapors.\nSpray painting\nMiscellaneous\n11\n49\n135\nMisc. vapors\n9\n30\n187\nHowever, this is only half the story. We still do not know\nSteam\nLaundry machines\nLaundry\n5\n83\n94\nthe effects of exposure to emanations of low power when\nMetal fumes\nMelting pots\nMiscellaneous\n4\n23\n35\nSilica dust\nSand blast\nFoundry\n1\n1\n13\ncontinued over long periods. Until further studies and tests\nSilica dust\nSand blast\nGranite cutting\n1\n1\n10\nhave been made, and sufficient time has elapsed durin\nSilica dust\nSand reclaiming\nFoundry\n1\n1\n12\npersons employed in this industry under the best conditions\nMineral dust\nMiscellaneous\nMiscellaneous\n2\n7\n10\nArtificial abrasive dust\nMiscellaneous\nAbrasive manu\nhave been under constant observation, it must be considered\nfacture\n4\n79\n70\nas at least potentially hazardous.\nMetal dust\nGrinding\nMiscellaneous\n8\n39\n149\nMetal dust\nBuffing and polish-\ning\nMetal goods\n14\n100\n148\nMetal dust\nMiscellaneous\nMiscellaneous\n2\n2\nMisc. organic dust\nMiscellaneous\nMiscellaneous\n10\n61\n90\nWood dust\nWoodworking\nBibliography\nmachines\nFurniture\n10\n98\n149\nWood dust\nWoodworking\nU.-S. Department of Labor-Radium Poisoning. Industrial Poison-\nmachines\nMiscellaneous\n11\n161\n564\ning from Radioactive Substances. Survey of Industrial Poisoning\nfrom Radioactive Substances. Monthly Labor Review, 1929.\n132\n796\n1,914\nMartland, Harrison S.-Occupational Poisoning in Manufacture\nof Luminous Watch Dials."
}