From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Industrial bulletin page from 1941 covering health and safety, focusing on benzene poisoning and summaries of related literature.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 143\2\ scan0217 | |
| Date | 1st May 1941 | |
| [PAGE 38] INDUSTRIAL BULLETIN—MAY, 1941 MARGIN FOR NOTES Benzene Poisoning—continued INDUSTRIAL USES Commercial benzene (benzol) has been used in this country and abroad in very many branches of industry. There has been of recent years a marked tendency to diminished use, its place being taken largely by toluene, xylene, and other less toxic solvents. It is, however, cheap and easily produced and a highly efficient solvent, and the possibility of the occurrence of benzene poisoning among any of the following classes of workers should not be disregarded :— Aeroplane dope workers Artificial leather workers Benzol still workers Blind-cloth workers Brake-lining makers Cellulose paint workers Coal tar workers Coke oven workers Degreasers Dry cleaners and spotters Dyestuffs and intermediates workers Explosives workers Fat and glue workers Fur cleaners Furniture stainers Gas (illuminating) workers Hat sizers Lacquer workers Linoleum workers Motor fuel blenders Nitrobenzene workers Oil cloth workers Paint removers Patent leather workers Peat workers Phenol workers Pharmaceutical and perfumery workers Photogravure workers Pyroxylin-plastic workers Rotogravure workers Rubber cement makers Rubber workers (dippers) Sanitary can workers Shellac workers Shoe finishers Shoe repairers Spray painters Tar distillers Varnish workers poisoning occurs as a result of continued breathing of air containing low concentrations of benzene vapour. This vapour, when absorbed into the body, causes injury to the blood-forming structures, and in time the affected worker is unable to produce normal blood, his resistance to infection thereby being impaired. It cannot be too strongly stressed that chronic benzene poisoning is very insidious in its onset and may develop to a critical stage unless treatment is secured early. When a worker is exposed to benzene and notices such signs as weakness, headaches, nausea, loss of appetite, pallor, tendency to bleeding from the gums and from the nose, he should report to a doctor, and should inform him of the exposure to benzene. Suspected benzene poisoning should be reported to the employer, so that adequate steps may be taken to protect other workers. Chronic benzene poisoning occurring in a factory is a notifiable disease, reportable under Section 66 of the Factories Act and S.R. & O.{Mr Oldham}, 1924 No. 1505. So is toxic jaundice due to nitro and amido derivatives of benzene under S.R. & O.{Mr Oldham} 1915 No. 1170. (Both these orders were made under the old Act, but continue in force under the new.) TREATMENT Acute Poisoning In treatment of workers who have collapsed as a result of acute benzene poisoning, the following measures must be taken without delay, and before a physician has arrived :— (1) remove worker from exposure at shoulder height and to the open air if possible ; (2) keep him warm ; (3) if breathing is weak or suspended, apply artificial respiration at once, with administration of oxygen and CO2. Meanwhile send for a doctor. Chronic Poisoning Treatment of chronic poisoning can be carried out only by a doctor. PREVENTION Suggestions for Employers (This is not a list of Statutory requirements— though references are given—so much as a general guide to good practice.) 1. Introduce less toxic substitutes for benzene. 2. If necessary to use benzene, isolate benzene processes and confine the material in closed vessels wherever practicable. 3. Remove benzene vapour by exhaust ventilation at the point of origin when the material has to be used in open vessels, discharging into the open air in such a way as not to endanger other workers. POISONING Acute Poisoning Poisoning occurs as a result of breathing the vapour which is absorbed into the body by way of the respiratory tract. Because the liquid evaporates so rapidly when exposed to air, dangerous quantities of the vapour will be present in the air unless evaporation is controlled. In high concentrations benzene acts as a narcotic (acute poisoning). In lower concentrations over a period, it affects the blood and the blood-forming organs of the body (chronic poisoning). Acute Poisoning Acute poisoning by benzene results from the breathing of air containing large amounts of the vapour. Accidents, such as failure of ventilating equipment and spilling, may result in acute poisoning of workers. Acute poisoning may also occur when workers enter enclosed spaces containing fumes, such as tanks. The effects of breathing the benzene-laden air occur rapidly. The worker exposed becomes dizzy, breathless or excited, and, if not removed at once, loses consciousness. The effects of such exposure may be fatal. Chronic Poisoning Chronic poisoning is the more usual type of benzene poisoning in industry. Chronic 38 [PAGE 35] VOLUME NINE—NUMBER NINETY-SEVEN INDUSTRIAL BULLETIN—MAY, 1941 MARGIN FOR NOTES CURRENT LITERATURE Articles Effect of Short Rest Pauses in Standing and Sitting Position on the Efficiency of Muscular Work. Simon & Enzer. Jl. Ind. Hyg. & Toxicol. 1941. 23 (3) 106. Rest pauses of from 5 to 10 minutes generally increase output in industrial work. Since oxidative recovery speed is higher when sitting than when standing, the former position is recommended where possible for rest from all types of work which are done standing. Short interruptions, both voluntary and involuntary, occur in almost any type of work. Their duration varies from several seconds to one or two minutes. The authors carried out experiments on two subjects lifting dumb-bells. It was found that the efficiency of muscular work was increased when the work was interrupted by regular and short pauses of one minute duration. The increase was still more pronounced if the subjects were allowed to sit during the interruptions. The article describes the experiments in some detail, and offers explanations for the result obtained. Window Cleaning Safety Orders. Reinhardt. Calif. Safety News, 1941, 25 (1) 7. Included in a report of a recent revision of a California State Order for window cleaning is the following data for standard tests of belt anchorages :— “All anchors and belt terminals shall be capable of withstanding the following tests :— 1. To withstand an impact test of an iron weight of 32 pounds falling free a distance of 4 feet and striking the head of the anchor without fracture. 2. A drop test of 350 pounds dead weight (not sand) falling a distance of 4 feet without fracture, the connexion between the weight and anchor being a standard safety belt or ropes or cables not over 6 feet long. 3. To withstand a tension pull of 6,000 pounds without fracture. This tension to be applied through a belt terminal and in the direction which the anchor must withstand in service when a man falls.” The new order also defines what is considered to be a safe manner for a window to be cleaned. It limits the meaning of this phrase to the following four methods :— (a) Standing or sitting on the sill while protected by a safety device ; (b) Working from a ladder ; (c) Working from a scaffolding ; and (d) Working from a boatswain's chair. The Neglected Danger of Baths Containing Cyanide Salts. Fatal Accident in the Hardening of Tools by Sodium Cyanide. Fichul. Arbeitsschutz, 1940, p. 257. (Abs. in Jl. Ind. Hyg. & Toxicol. 23 (4), abs. 75.) An experienced worker pushed a tool through the hard crust on the surface of a cyanide salt bath—molten material splashed through the opening and many droplets made small burns on the man's hands. The largest was about the size of a shilling. A few minutes later the man fainted; he died after 45 minutes. The autopsy showed definite, unmistakeable, HCN poisoning, which was explained as being due to absorption of the poison through the burned areas. Carbon Disulphide Poisoning. Gordy & Trumper. Indust. Med., 1940, Vol. 9 page 231. (Abs. in Ind. Hyg. & Toxicol. 1941 23 (3), abs. 49). The authors studied 21 cases with an average exposure of 10 years. Ninety per cent. showed symptoms of some kind varying from lethargy to anxiety states, irritability and vertigo. Other lesser percentages showed symptoms of a more positive kind. Unfortunately the CS2 concentrations under which the individuals who were studied had worked are not given. New Standards set Safe Limits for Toxic Dusts and Gases. Neal. Indus. Standardisation, 1941, Vol. 12, pp. 29-32. (Abs. in Jl. Ind. Hyg. & Toxicol. 23 (4), abs. 73.) The Committee of the American Standards Association has been working on the safe limits of exposure to industrial dusts and gases. It has completed its work on four gases, and American Standards are now available at 20c. each from the Association's New York Headquarters, 29, West 39th Street, New York City, U.S.A. Their reference numbers are as follows :— Carbon Monoxide .. Z37.1 1941 Hydrogen Sulphide .. Z37.2 1941 Carbon Disulphide .. Z37.3 1941 Benzene .. Z37.4 1941 The limits set for 8-hour daily exposures are 100 p.p.m. for CO and benzene, and 20 p.p.m. for H2S and CS2. The pamphlets, in addition to the above data, give information about indentifying the contaminant, about the permissible range of concentration, and about sampling and analytical methods. There is a similar Series of pamphlets in this country under the title “Methods for the Detection of Toxic Gases in Industry” published by H.M. Stationery Office. 35 | ||