Author Description

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1915 edition. Excerpt:...beneath the floor. In 10 places soapstOne and sulphur dusts were a fair hazard, due both to carelessness in their use and the absence of a removal system. In the remaining 5, dust was negligible. Quarters were clean in 7 places, fairly so in 7 others and not so in 1. Dampness was no factor. Light was good in 12 places and fair in 3. The room air was good in 1 place, fair in 8 and bad in 6, due to the escape of fumes and the absence of means for promoting ventilation. Heat was no factor, but cold, due to inefficient heating and to the wideopening of windows in order to dilute the vapors and fumes was a bad factor in several places. Fatigue was a fair factor, due to the hurry of piecework, constant standing, faulty postures, and the youthfulness of many of the workers. The contraction of communicable diseases was a bad risk in 3 places, fairly so in 10 more and negligible in the remaining 2. The hazards were common drinking cups, improper wash-places and closets, promiscuous spitting, absence of cuspidors, and lack of medical supervision. Poisons are the chief hazards in this industry. They vary in type and number, but include benzine, benzol, wood alcohol, carbon tetrachloride, sulphur chloride, and carbon bisulphide. The risk of poisoning was bad in 8 places, fair in 6, while in but 1 were we satisfied the workers were amply protected. In some places the work was done on table tops with brushes, the solutions being kept in open-top jars. In many places the drippings accumulated on the work stand and floors whence evaporation took place. Eating in the same quarters was the rule. A very few workers had been at the process more than a few weeks or months. Industrial alcol1olism was favored in 3 places, partly so in 9 others, and was...