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    "label": "Memorandum, June , 1925",
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    "title": "Memorandum, June , 1925",
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        "Safety Light Collection",
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    "seq": 3,
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    "ocrText": "COPY\n33\nMemorandum in the Case of\nCarloush vs. United States Radium Corporation\nOn Thursday, June 11th, I interviewed Doctor Martin Ssamaloteki,\nconsulting chemist of the New Jersey Department of Labor, at the plant\nof the Burton T. Bush Company of Delawanna, of which he is the\nThe Doctor told me that he had been advised a year or so ago that\nsome of the employees of the United States Radium Corporation were suffering\nfrom a condition of the Jaw, which greatly resembled that which has heretofore\nbeen associated with phosphorus. Some time later he learned that there were\nadditional cases, and at the request of the Department, he made an analysis\nof the luminous material used by the Radium Corporation to ascertain whether\nor not it contained phosphorus.\nA very careful analysis was made, as a result of which he found that\nthere was absolutely no phosphorus or any phosphate or other substances which,\nBO far as he know, could be turned into phosphorus when combined with other\nelements or chemicals. He did not analyze the substance for the purpose of\ndetermining what specific ingredients were contained in this material, his sole\npurpose being to discover, if possible, some form of phosphorus.\nHe told me that he knows of no other chemical or substance which\ncauses this condition of the Jaw than phosphorus. This does not, however, take\ninto account a necrosis of the jaw, as a result of abscesses, pyorrhea and other\ninfections.\nThe Doctor asked me what the material contained, and I told him that\nit was made up solely of chemically pure zine sulphide and an infinitesimel\nquantity of radium. He has made no study of radium and does not know what its\neffect is. He did instruct the Labor Department to warn the Company that it\nshould forbid its employees who used the material to put the brushes or anything\nelse which might have the substance on it into their mouths; also that they\nshould wash their hands and faces frequently; nor eat candy or anything else\nwhich they touched while their hands may have had any of the substance on them.\nBefore going to Europe last summer, the Doctor was requested by the\nNew Jersey Department of Labor to find out, if possible, whether the European\nconcerns, which used similar luminous materials, had any History of similar\nconditions among their employees. The Doctor says that in Germany very careful\nstatistics and records are kept at Berlin by the Department of Industrial\nAccident Insurance because almost every class of injury, sustained in the course\nof employment, is covered by such insurance whether sustained through accident,\noccupational disease or otherwise. He inquired at this Department and found\nthat there was no record of any similar cases among the German industries, and\nthat the danger was unknown there.\nIn Switserland there is no national bureau or department which has\nsatisfactory records of such industrial conditions because there is no law\nsimilar to that of Germany. The Doctor thought that he would be most likely\n-2-\nto get the information he wanted from the heads of various trade schools\nwhich prepare men for working in the watch factories. These schools are\nfamiliar with the conditions in the industry and would know of the dangers\nincidental thereto.\nThe Doctor interviewed the heads of several of these schools and says\nthat none of them had heard of any such condition in the industry although a\ngreat amount of similar work is done in Switzerland. Dr. Ssamalotski did\nnot make any direct investigation in the plents which used such material and\ndoes not know whether the material used in Germany and Switzerland contained\nthe same ingredients as those used by the United States Radium Corporation.\nHe had suggested and recommended that tests be made by applying the\nmaterial which the Radium Corporation uses to various kinds of animals to see\nif any similar effect is produced. This was also suggested by Dr. Gilmen\nThompson, who promised to have such tests made when I interviewed him with\nMr. McGlynn and Mr. Roeder. I did not tell Dr. Sammalotski that this was\nbeing done.\nThe Doctor was very cordial and appeared to be very willing to do\nanything which might help to arrive at a solution of the question at issue.\nHe is interested to know just what ingredients are used and the exact propor-\ntions of each in the luminous material, and what was the gom or binder with\nwhich the powder is mixed before applying it. He asked me if the material\nused is always the same and I told him that I understood that it was and I\ntold him that there was nothing in the powder except the small quantity of\nradium and sinc sulphide.\n( signed initials) J/E.M.T."
}