Decree of December 28, 1909, Organising Medical Service in Industries Exposing the Workers to Risk of Lead Poisoning
1. In premises in which the processes enumerated in Regulation 1 of the Decree of April 23, 1908, are carried on medical attendance as prescribed below shall be provided.
2. A surgeon appointed by the occupier shall examine the workers and enter the results of examination required in Regulations 3 and 4. The examinations shall be paid for by the occupier.
3. No person shall be employed in work mentioned in Regulation 1 of the Decree of April 23, 1908, without a certificate from the surgeon stating that he is free from symptoms of lead poisoning and of illness which might render him specially susceptible.
4. No worker shall remain at the same employment unless the certificate is renewed one month after commencement of employment and subsequently at quarterly intervals.
In addition to the periodical examination the occupier shall give an order on the surgeon to every workman declaring himself to be ill from his employment or who desires to undergo medical examination.
5. A special Register open to the Factory Inspector shall be kept containing the following particulars of each worker:
(1) Dates and duration of absence on account of illness of any kind;
(2) Dates of medical certificates for such illness, the notes made by the surgeon and the name of the surgeon furnishing them;
(3) Instructions given by the appointed surgeon in pursuance of Regulations 3 and 4 above.
(See also pp. 122-31)
As the fumes in lead smelting works contain a high proportion of lead, all apparatus, especially furnaces and working doors, should be provided with efficient exhaust ventilation and all flues, furnaces, and other apparatus be as airtight as possible. Where lead dust is created exhaust ventilation locally applied is necessary. Two of the most important preventive measures are personal cleanliness and alternation of employment. Dust arising in the furnaces and borne along by the furnace gases together with arsenical fumes and dust must be deposited in flues or chambers.
In view of the importance of proper instruction of smelters as regards the danger we quote the warning note prepared by the Institute for Industrial Hygiene, Frankfurt a.-M., which deserves wide circulation.
Lead Leaflet for Smelters
How does Lead Poisoning arise?
The danger of lead poisoning in lead, spelter and other smelting premises can be avoided if due care is observed.
Lead poisoning occurs when lead enters the system. This takes place by breathing dust and fume containing lead, or by eating and drinking, smoking, snuff taking and tobacco chewing if food or tobacco is taken into the mouth with dirty hands and dirty face and beard.
No one is immune from lead. Lead accumulates in the body of careless persons and he who is not sick to-day can be so to-morrow or after weeks or months.
How can Plumbism be avoided?
All smelters must observe cleanliness. In this respect they should see to the following points:
1. It is to their interest to see that the exhaust ventilation is kept in order and that the Special Rules or Regulations are exactly followed. Further, special clothing should be worn, the mouth and nose should be covered, and the floors sprinkled.
2. It is especially important that in intervals and at the close of work the mouth, face, beard, and hands should be carefully cleaned. Food should not be eaten or the premises left without putting on fresh clothes and thoroughly washing or, still better, bathing. When drinking, the edge of the drinking glass should not be fingered with dirty hands. Especially important is it that the teeth should be cleaned and the mouth washed out.
3. During work smoking, snuff taking, and tobacco chewing, which invariably convey lead into the mouth, should be given up, as it is impossible to prevent the hands getting contaminated with lead. Lighting the pipe with glowing lead ashes is in the highest degree dangerous from the risk of inhaling lead fume. The body must be strengthened to withstand the action of lead. Moderation in drinking, especially avoidance of spirits, should be observed. Alcoholic subjects succumb to lead poisoning much more readily than the temperate.
Food should be abundant and rich in fat, for example milk and bacon. Thick soups are excellent before work. Work should never be begun on an empty stomach. And lastly as much fresh air as possible. Walking, athletics, work in the garden and field will help to keep off many an attack. If anyone thinks that he is suffering from lead poisoning he should at once in his own and his family’s interest see the doctor of his sick club.
The following are the
German Imperial Regulations for Lead Smelting Works, dated June 16, 1905
General Regulations
1. Workrooms in which lead ores are roasted, sintered, or smelted, pig lead produced and submitted to further treatment, distillation of rich lead (bullion cupellation) litharge, red lead, or other oxides of lead prepared, ground or sieved, stored or packed, or zinc skimmings distilled, shall be roomy, high, and so arranged that a sufficient constant exchange of air takes place. They shall be provided with a level and solid floor to allow of easy removal of dust by a moist method.
The walls shall be smooth so as to prevent collection of dust; they shall be either washed down or lime washed at least once a year.
Provided that this shall not apply in the case of calcining sheds with wooden walls.
2. An abundant supply of good drinking water, protected against contamination from dust, shall be provided for the workers on the furnaces and smelting pots, and in such close proximity to them, that they can obtain it at any time without having to go into the open air.
Arrangements for sprinkling the floors shall be provided near the furnaces. The floors of the rooms mentioned in paragraph 1 shall be wet cleansed at least once daily.
3. Prepared (i.e. concentrated) lead ores and leady smelting products, unless moist, shall not be crushed except in an apparatus so arranged as to prevent as far as possible penetration of dust into the workrooms.
Provided that this shall not apply to calcined material from converters.
Sacks in which lead ores and materials containing lead have been packed shall not be freed from dust and cleaned except in a dust-proof apparatus or by washing.
4. Materials containing lead for charging the blast-furnaces, if they are oxides and form dust, shall be damped before they are mixed with other materials, stocked on the feeding floor, or charged into the blast-furnaces.
Provided that this shall not apply in the case of calcined material from converters.
5. Dust, gases, and lead fumes, escaping from furnaces, and converters, tapping spouts, tapping pots, drain sump, slag pots, slag cars, or slag channels, and from glowing residues taken from the furnaces, shall be caught as near as possible to the point of origin and removed harmlessly.
Dust collecting chambers, flues, as well as furnaces which have been ‘blown down,’ shall not be entered by workmen unless sufficiently cooled and ventilated.
Special Regulations for such parts of a factory where lead colours are prepared
6. In grinding, sieving and packing dry leady materials, in charging, and emptying litharge and red lead furnaces, in collecting the red lead and similar operations in which leady dust is developed, exhaust arrangements shall be provided for preventing the entrance of dust into the workrooms.
7. Apparatus producing leady dust, if their construction and manner of use does not effectually prevent evolution of dust, shall have all cracks protected by thick layers of felt or woollen material, or by similar means, so as to prevent the entrance of dust into the workrooms.
Apparatus of this character shall be provided with arrangements for preventing compression of air in them. They shall only be opened when the dust in them shall have completely settled, and they are absolutely cool.
Special arrangements in force for the distillation of zinc skimmings
8. Proposed new furnaces for the distillation of zinc skimmings (for which according to pars. 16 and 25 of the Industrial Code a special permission is required) shall be so arranged that (1) there shall be at least a clear space of 10 feet in front of the charging opening; (2) any passages under the distillation rooms shall be roomy, at least 11½ feet high in the centre, light and airy.
9. Dust, gases, and fumes arising from the zinc skimmings distillation furnaces shall be collected as near as possible to the point of origin, and carried outside the smelting room.
The entrance of gases from the fires into the smelting room shall be prevented as far as possible by suitable arrangements for drawing them off.
10. Sieving and packing of by-products obtained in the distillation of zinc skimmings (poussière, flue dust) shall not be done except in a special room separated from the other workrooms, and complying with the requirements of Reg. 1.
Sieving shall only be done in an apparatus so constructed that dust shall not escape.
Employment of workers.
11. Women and young persons shall not be employed or permitted in rooms mentioned in Reg. 1, in flue dust chambers, or dust flues, or in the removal of flue dust.
12. No person shall be newly employed in rooms mentioned in Reg. 1, in flue dust chambers, or dust flues, or in the transport of flue dust, without a certificate of fitness from the surgeon appointed by the higher authorities.
These certificates shall be collected and shown to the Factory Inspector and Appointed Surgeon on request.
13. No person shall be employed in charging blast furnaces, apart from mere labouring work on the floors, for more than eight hours daily. The same shall apply in the case of workmen employed in the inside of furnaces when cool, or in emptying flue dust chambers, or dust flues which contain wet flue dust.
No person shall be employed in cleaning out, from inside, flue dust chambers, or dust flues containing dry flue dust for more than four hours daily; and including emptying and work of transport of this kind altogether no longer than eight hours daily.
Other workers in rooms specified in Reg. 1 shall not work more than 10 hours in 24, exclusive of mealtimes.
Exception to this is allowed in the case of those workers who are employed for the purpose of a weekly change of shift, and for whom exception as to Sunday employment is permitted by Imperial Decree.
Clothing, overalls, lavatory accommodation, &c.
14. The occupier shall provide for all persons employed in cleaning out flue dust chambers, dust flues, repairing of cooled furnaces, grinding, sieving and packing of litharge, red lead, or other lead colours, complete suits of working clothes, including caps and respirators.
15. Work with lead salts in solution shall not be done except by workers who either grease their hands or are provided with impermeable gloves.
16. The suit of clothes, or overalls, provided in Regs. 14 and 15, respirators and gloves, shall be provided in sufficient amount and in proper condition. The occupier shall see that they are always suitable for their purpose, and are not worn except by those workers for whom they are intended; and that they, at stated intervals (the overalls at least once a week, the respirators and gloves prior to use), are cleaned, and during the time that they are not in use are kept in a place specially reserved for each article.
17. A lavatory and cloak room shall be provided for the use of the workmen in a part of the building free from dust. Separate from it there shall be a dining-room. These rooms must be kept free from dust and be warmed during the winter.
In a suitable place provision shall be made for warming the workers’ food.
Water, soap, and towels, and arrangements for keeping separate the overalls from other clothing taken off before the commencement of work shall be provided in sufficient amount in the lavatory and cloak room.
The occupier shall afford opportunity for persons engaged in cleaning out flue dust chambers, dust flues, and the cooled furnaces, to take a bath daily after the end of the work, and for those handling oxides of lead, at least once a week, during working hours inside the works. The bathroom shall be warmed during the winter.
18. The occupier shall place the supervision of the health of the workers in the hands of a surgeon, appointed by the higher authorities for this purpose, whose name shall be sent to the Inspector of Factories. The surgeon shall examine the workers at least once a month in the factory, with a view to the detection of symptoms of lead poisoning.
The occupier shall not employ persons suspected by the surgeon of having contracted lead poisoning in the processes mentioned in Reg. 1 or in cleaning out flue dust chambers, dust flues, or furnaces when cold, or transport of the flue dust, until they are quite well. Those who appear peculiarly susceptible shall be permanently suspended from working in these processes.
19. The Health Register shall be shown to the Factory Inspector and Appointed Surgeon on demand. (Similar to Reg. 15 of Spelter Regulations.)
20. The occupier shall require the workers to subscribe to the following conditions:—
(1) Food must not be taken into the workrooms. Meals may only be taken outside the workrooms.
(2) Workmen must only enter the meal room to take their meals or leave the factory, after they have taken off their overalls and carefully washed their face and hands.
(3) Workmen must use the overalls, respirators and gloves in those workrooms and for the particular processes for which they are given them.
(4) Cigar and cigarette smoking during work is forbidden.
(5) A bath in the factory must be taken every day at the close of their work by those engaged in the emptying and cleaning of flue dust chambers, flues, and furnaces when cold, and by those employed on oxides of lead once a week.
Provided that this shall not apply in the case of workmen exempted by the appointed surgeon.
Workers contravening these orders will be liable to dismissal without further notice.
21. In every workroom, as well as in the cloak room and meal room, there shall be posted up by the occupier, in a conspicuous place and in clear characters, a notice of these regulations.
The occupier is responsible for seeing that the requirement of Reg. 20 (1) is obeyed. He shall make a manager or foreman responsible for the precise carrying out of Reg. 20 (1) (2) and (5). The person thus made responsible shall see to the carrying out of the regulations and for the exercise of necessary care as prescribed in par. 151 of the Factory Act.
22. No work in a lead smelting works shall be commenced until notice of its erection has been sent to the Factory Inspector. After receipt of the notice he shall personally visit to see whether the arrangements are in accordance with these regulations.
23. These regulations come into force on 1st January, 1906. Where structural alterations are necessary for the carrying out of Regs. 1, 5 (1), 6, 9, 10 and 17, the higher authorities may allow an extension of time to a date not later than January 1st, 1908.
If it seems necessary on strong grounds of public interest, the Council (Bundesrath) may extend the time in particular works until 1st January, 1913, and until then allow exceptions from the regulations as regards Reg. 13 (1) and (2).
[Dr. Rambousek gives a very brief synopsis of the German Imperial Regulations in force for this industry and mentions that in Great Britain the Regulations of the Secretary of State dated 1903 are similar. We have printed these, as the code is fairly representative of the English Regulations for (1) smelting of metals; (2) paints and colours; (3) tinning of hollow ware; (4) yarn dyed with chromate of lead; (5) vitreous enamelling; and the special rules for (6) white lead and (7) earthenware:
Regulations dated November 21, 1903, made by the Secretary of State for the Manufacture of Electric Accumulators
Whereas the manufacture of electric accumulators has been certified in pursuance of Section 79 of the Factory and Workshop Act, 1901, to be dangerous;
I hereby, in pursuance of the powers conferred on me by that Act, make the following regulations, and direct that they shall apply to all factories and workshops or parts thereof in which electric accumulators are manufactured.
Definitions.—In these Regulations ‘lead process’ means pasting, casting, lead burning, or any work involving contact with dry compounds of lead.
Any approval given by the Chief Inspector of Factories in pursuance of these Regulations shall be given in writing, and may at any time be revoked by notice in writing signed by him.
Duties of Occupier
1. Ventilation.—Every room in which casting, pasting or lead burning is carried on shall contain at least 500 cubic feet of air space for each person employed therein, and in computing this air space, no height above 14 feet shall be taken into account.
These rooms and that in which the plates are formed shall be capable of through ventilation. They shall be provided with windows made to open.
2. Separation of processes.—Each of the following processes shall be carried on in such manner and under such conditions as to secure effectual separation from one another and from any other process:
(a) Manipulation of dry compounds of lead;
(b) Pasting;
(c) Formation, and lead burning necessarily carried on therewith;
(d.) Melting down of old plates.
Provided that manipulation of dry compounds of lead carried on as in Regulation 5 (b) need not be separated from pasting.
3. Floors.—The floors of the rooms in which manipulation of dry compounds of lead or pasting is carried on shall be of cement or similar impervious material, and shall be kept constantly moist while work is being done.
The floors of these rooms shall be washed with a hose pipe daily.
4. Melting pots.—Every melting pot shall be covered with a hood and shaft so arranged as to remove the fumes and hot air from the workrooms.
Lead ashes and old plates shall be kept in receptacles especially provided for the purpose.
5. Manipulation of dry compounds of lead.—Manipulation of dry compounds of lead in the mixing of the paste or other processes, shall not be done except (a) in an apparatus so closed, or so arranged with an exhaust draught, as to prevent the escape of dust into the work room: or (b) at a bench provided with (1) efficient exhaust draught and air guide so arranged as to draw the dust away from the worker, and (2) a grating on which each receptacle of the compound of lead in use at the time shall stand.
6. Covering of benches.—The benches at which pasting is done shall be covered with sheet lead or other impervious material, and shall have raised edges.
7. Prohibition of employment.—No woman, young person, or child shall be employed in the manipulation of dry compounds of lead or in pasting.
8. (a) Appointed Surgeon.—A duly qualified medical practitioner (in these Regulations referred to as the ‘Appointed Surgeon’) who may be the Certifying Surgeon, shall be appointed by the occupier, such appointment unless held by the Certifying Surgeon to be subject to the approval of the Chief Inspector of Factories.
(b) Medical examination.—Every person employed in a lead process shall be examined once a month by the Appointed Surgeon, who shall have power to suspend from employment in any lead process.
(c) No person after such suspension shall be employed in a lead process without written sanction entered in the Health Register by the Appointed Surgeon. It shall be sufficient compliance with this regulation for a written certificate to be given by the Appointed Surgeon and attached to the Health Register, such certificate to be replaced by a proper entry in the Health Register at the Appointed Surgeon’s next visit.
(d) Health Register.—A Health Register in a form approved by the Chief Inspector of Factories shall be kept, and shall contain a list of all persons employed in lead processes. The Appointed Surgeon will enter in the Health Register the dates and results of his examinations of the persons employed and particulars of any directions given by him. He shall on a prescribed form furnish to the Chief Inspector of Factories on the 1st day of January in each year a list of the persons suspended by him during the previous year, the cause and duration of such suspension, and the number of examinations made.
The Health Register shall be produced at any time when required by H.M. Inspectors of Factories or by the Certifying Surgeon or by the Appointed Surgeon.
9. Overalls.—Overalls shall be provided for all persons employed in manipulating dry compounds of lead or in pasting.
The overalls shall be washed or renewed once every week.
10. Cloak and dining rooms.—The occupier shall provide and maintain:
(a) a cloak room in which workers can deposit clothing put off during working hours. Separate and suitable arrangements shall be made for the storage of the overalls required in Regulation 9.
(b) a dining room unless the factory is closed during meal hours.
11. Food, &c.—No person shall be allowed to introduce, keep, prepare or partake of any food, drink, or tobacco, in any room in which a lead process is carried on. Suitable provision shall be made for the deposit of food brought by the workers.
This regulation shall not apply to any sanitary drink provided by the occupier and approved by the Appointed Surgeon.
12. Washing.—The occupier shall provide and maintain for the use of the persons employed in lead processes a lavatory, with soap, nail brushes, towels, and at least one lavatory basin for every five such persons. Each such basin shall be provided with a waste pipe, or the basins shall be placed on a trough fitted with a waste pipe. There shall be a constant supply of hot and cold water laid on to each basin.
Or, in the place of basins the occupier shall provide and maintain troughs of enamel or similar smooth impervious material, in good repair, of a total length of two feet for every five persons employed, fitted with waste pipes, and without plugs, with a sufficient supply of warm water constantly available.
The lavatory shall be kept thoroughly cleansed and shall be supplied with a sufficient quantity of clean towels once every day.
13. Before each meal and before the end of the day’s work, at least ten minutes, in addition to the regular meal times, shall be allowed for washing to each person who has been employed in the manipulation of dry compounds of lead or in pasting.
Provided that if the lavatory accommodation specially reserved for such persons exceeds that required by Regulation 12, the time allowance may be proportionately reduced, and that if there be one basin or two feet of trough for each such person this Regulation shall not apply.
14. Baths.—Sufficient bath accommodation shall be provided for all persons engaged in the manipulation of dry compounds of lead or in pasting, with hot and cold water laid on, and a sufficient supply of soap and towels.
This rule shall not apply if in consideration of the special circumstances of any particular case, the Chief Inspector of Factories approves the use of local public baths when conveniently near, under the conditions (if any) named in such approval.
15. Cleaning.—The floors and benches of each workroom shall be thoroughly cleansed daily, at a time when no other work is being carried on in the room.
Duties of Persons Employed
16. Medical examination.—All persons employed in lead processes shall present themselves at the appointed times for examination by the Appointed Surgeon as provided in Regulation 8.
No person after suspension shall work in a lead process, in any factory or workshop in which electric accumulators are manufactured, without written sanction entered in the Health Register by the Appointed Surgeon.
17. Overalls.—Every person employed in the manipulation of dry compounds of lead or in pasting shall wear the overalls provided under Regulation 9. The overalls, when not being worn, and clothing put off during working hours, shall be deposited in the places provided under Regulation 10.
18. Food, &c.—No person shall introduce, keep, prepare, or partake of any food, drink (other than any sanitary drink provided by the occupier and approved by the Appointed Surgeon), or tobacco in any room in which a lead process is carried on.
19. Washing.—No person employed in a lead process shall leave the premises or partake of meals without previously and carefully cleaning and washing the hands.
20. Baths.—Every person employed in the manipulation of dry compounds of lead or in pasting shall take a bath at least once a week.
21. Interference with safety appliances.—No person shall in any way interfere, without the concurrence of the occupier or manager, with the means and appliances provided for the removal of the dust or fumes, and for the carrying out of these Regulations.
These Regulations shall come into force on the 1st day of January, 1904.
In the manufacture of white lead processes which create dust are specially dangerous, namely, emptying the corrosion chambers, drying and grinding, transport of the material in the form of powder, and packing. The following measures are called for: emptying the chambers should only be done by men wearing respirators or equipped with breathing helmets after preliminary damping of the corrosions by means of a spray. Use of a vacuum cleaning apparatus suggests itself. Drying should be done as far as possible in stoves charged mechanically, the temperature in which can be watched from the outside; grinding must be done in closed and ventilated mills; transport of the dried material should be effected by mechanical means or vacuum apparatus, and packing should be done in mechanical packing machines. Further, cleanliness and strict discipline are essential. Alternation of employment is advisable. The question of substitutes for white lead is referred to on p. 293.
Manufacture of red lead calls for precisely similar preventive measures. Charging and emptying the oxidising furnaces should be done under efficient exhaust ventilation. Conveyance, sifting, and grinding of the cooled material requires to be done in the same way as has been described for white lead.
In the production of chrome colours (lead chromates) besides the danger from lead the injurious action of chrome has to be borne in mind.
Regulations for white lead factories have been made in Germany, Belgium, and Great Britain. We give below the German Imperial Regulations dated May 26, 1903.
Regulations for Manufacture of Lead Colours and Lead Products
(1) The following regulations apply to all premises in which lead colours or other chemical lead products (white lead, chromate of lead, masicot, litharge, minium, peroxide of lead, Cassel yellow, English yellow, Naples yellow, lead iodide, lead acetate, &c., are manufactured), or in which mixtures of lead are prepared as the principal or as a subsidiary business. They shall not apply to lead smelting works, even though processes named in paragraph (1) are carried on.
Neither shall they apply to workplaces in which manufactured colours are intimately mixed or ground in oil or varnish in connection with another industry.
(2) The workrooms in which the materials mentioned in paragraph 1 are prepared or packed shall be roomy, lofty, and so arranged that sufficient and constant exchange of air can take place.
They shall be provided with a solid and smooth floor permitting of easy removal of dust by a moist method. The floor, unless for purposes of manufacture, shall be kept constantly wet, and shall be wet cleansed at least once daily.
The walls, when not of a smooth washable surface or painted with oil, shall be whitewashed at least once a year.
(3) The entrance of lead dust, or fumes, into the workrooms shall be prevented by suitable means as far as possible. Rooms which cannot be thus protected must be so separated from other rooms that neither dust nor fumes can enter them.
(4) Lead melting pots shall be covered with a hood and shaft communicating directly or by a chimney with the open air.
(8)[L] Grinding, sieving, and packing dry lead compounds, emptying litharge and minium furnaces, and other operations in which lead dust is generated, shall not be done except under an exhaust draught, or other efficient means for preventing the entrance of dust into the workrooms.
In the packing of colours containing only a little lead, in small amounts, or in small packages for retail purposes, exception to these regulations can be allowed by the higher authorities.
(9) Machines generating lead dust and not efficiently protected by their construction or method of use against the escape of dust, shall have all cracks occluded by means of thick layers of felt or similar material, so as to prevent the entrance of dust into the workrooms.
Machines of this kind shall be provided with arrangements preventing pressure of the air inside. They shall not be opened until they are cool, and until the dust generated has settled.
(10) Women shall not be employed in factories in which the colours specified in paragraph (1) are prepared except in work which does not expose them to the action of lead dust or fumes. Young persons shall not be employed nor be allowed on the premises in factories concerned exclusively or in great part with the preparation of lead colours or other lead compounds.
(11) No person shall be employed in rooms where the processes specified in paragraph (1) are carried on who is not provided with a certificate from a qualified surgeon stating that he is physically fit and free from disease of the lungs, kidneys, and stomach, and that he is not addicted to alcohol. This certificate shall be kept and produced on demand to the Factory Inspector or Appointed Surgeon.
(12) No person shall be employed in packing lead colours or mixtures containing lead or other lead compounds in a dry state, or with the coopering of the filled casks for more than eight hours daily. This regulation shall not apply where the packing machines are provided with effectual exhaust arrangements, or so constructed and used as effectually to prevent the escape of dust.
No person under 18 years of age shall be employed in the process mentioned in the above paragraph, but exception can be allowed in the packing of colours containing lead in small amount, or in small packages for retail purposes, on application to the higher authorities.
For the rest, no person coming into contact with lead or lead compounds shall be employed for more than 10 hours within the space of 24 hours.
(13) The occupier shall provide overalls and head-coverings for all persons coming into contact with lead or lead compounds, and suitable footwear for those emptying the oxidising chambers.
(14) The occupier shall not allow work involving exposure to dust to be performed except by workers provided with respirators or moist sponges covering the nose and mouth.
(15) The occupier shall not allow work involving contact with soluble salts of lead to be done except by workers provided with waterproof gloves or by those whose hands have previously been smeared with vaseline.
(16) The occupier shall provide the overalls, respirators, &c., mentioned in paragraphs (13) (14) and (15) for each one of the workers in sufficient number and in good condition. He shall take care that they are used only by the workers to whom they are severally assigned, and that in the intervals of work and during the time when they are not in use they shall be kept in their appointed place. Overalls shall be washed every week, and the respirators, sponges, and gloves before each time that they are used.
(17) Lavatories and cloak rooms, and, separate from these, a mess room, shall be provided for the workers coming into contact with lead or lead compounds in a part of the works free from dust. These rooms shall be kept in a cleanly condition, free from dust, and shall be heated during the cold seasons. In the meal room or in some other suitable place there shall be means for warming food. The lavatories and cloak rooms shall be provided with water, vessels for rinsing the mouth, nail brushes for cleaning the hands and nails, soap, and towels. Arrangements shall also be made for keeping separate clothes worn during work from these taken off before the commencement of work. The occupier shall give facilities for all persons employed in emptying the oxidizing chambers to have a warm bath daily after the end of the work, and for those persons coming into contact with lead or lead compounds, twice weekly. The time for this shall be during the hours of work, and in the cold season the bath room, which must be on the factory premises, shall be heated.
(18) The occupier shall appoint a duly qualified medical practitioner, whose name shall be sent to the Inspector of Factories and to the Health Authority. He shall examine the workers at least twice every month with a view to the detection of symptoms of lead poisoning. The occupier shall not employ workers suspected of symptoms of lead poisoning in occupations exposing them to lead or lead compounds until they have completely recovered. Those who appear peculiarly susceptible shall be suspended permanently from work.
(19) The occupier shall keep a book, or make some official responsible for its keeping, recording any change in the personnel employed in lead or lead compounds and as to their state of health. He shall be responsible for the completeness and correctness of the entries except those made by the surgeon.
The remaining regulations as to entries in the Health Register, &c., are similar to those already given in the Regulations for lead smelting works on p. 300.
(See also pp. 132-4)
As explained on pp. 132-134 use of lead in the painting and varnishing trades frequently causes lead poisoning. This has led to regulations in various countries having for their object partly hygienic measures and partly also limitation of colours containing lead, such as prohibition of the use of lead paints in the interior of buildings or in the painting of public buildings and of ships, &c.
The details of such regulations are seen in the German Imperial Regulations dated June 27, 1905:
Order of the Imperial Chancellor relating to the Processes of Painting, Distempering, Whitewashing, Plastering, or Varnishing. June 27, 1906
I.—Regulations for carrying on the Industries of Painting, Distempering, Whitewashing, Plastering, or Varnishing.
Regulation 1.—In the processes of crushing, blending, mixing, and otherwise preparing white lead, other lead colours, or mixtures thereof with other substances in a dry state, the workers shall not directly handle pigment containing lead, and shall be adequately protected against the dust arising therefrom.
Regulation 2.—The process of grinding white lead with oil or varnish shall not be done by hand, but entirely by mechanical means, and in vessels so constructed that even in the process of charging them with white lead no dust shall escape into places where work is carried on.
This provision shall apply to other lead colours. Provided that such lead colours may be ground by hand by male workers over 18 years of age, if not more than one kilogram of red lead and 100 grains of other lead colours are ground by any one worker on one day.
Regulation 3.—The processes of rubbing-down and pumice-stoning dry coats of oil-colour or stopping not clearly free from lead shall not be done except after damping.
All débris produced by rubbing down and pumice-stoning shall be removed before it becomes dry.
Regulation 4.—The employer shall see that every worker who handles lead colours or mixtures thereof is provided with, and wears, during working hours, a painter’s overall or other complete suit of working clothes.
Regulation 5.—There shall be provided for all workers engaged in processes of painting, distempering, whitewashing, plastering, or varnishing, in which lead colours are used, washing utensils, nail brushes, soap and towels. If such processes are carried on in a new building or in a workshop, provision shall be made for the workers to wash in a place protected from frost, and to store their clothing in a clean place.
Regulation 6.—The employer shall inform workers, who handle lead colours or mixtures thereof, of the danger to health to which they are exposed, and shall hand them, at the commencement of employment, a copy of the accompanying leaflet (not printed with this edition), if they are not already provided with it, and also a copy of these Regulations.
II.—Regulations for the Processes of Painting, Distempering, Whitewashing, Plastering, or Varnishing when carried on in connection with another Industry.
Regulation 7.—The provisions of paragraph 6 shall apply to the employment of workers connected with another industry who are constantly or principally employed in the processes of painting, distempering, whitewashing, plastering, or varnishing, and who use, otherwise than occasionally, lead colours or mixtures thereof. The provisions of paragraphs 8-11 shall also apply if such employment is carried on in a factory or shipbuilding yard.
Regulation 8.—Special accommodation for washing and for dressing shall be provided for the workers, which accommodation shall be kept clean, heated in cold weather, and furnished with conveniences for the storage of clothing.
Regulation 9.—The employer shall issue regulations which shall be binding on the workers, and shall contain the following provisions for such workers as handle lead colour and mixtures thereof:
1. Workers shall not consume spirits in any place where work is carried on.
2. Workers shall not partake of food or drink, or leave the place of employment until they have put off their working clothes and carefully washed their hands.
3. Workers, when engaged in processes specified by the employer, shall wear working clothes.
4. Smoking cigars and cigarettes is prohibited during work.
Furthermore, it shall be set forth in the regulations that workers who, in spite of reiterated warning, contravene the foregoing provisions may be dismissed before the expiration of their contract without notice. If a code of regulations has been issued for the industry (par. 134a of the G.O.) the above indicated provisions shall be incorporated in the said code.
Regulation 10.—The employer shall entrust the supervision of the workers’ health to a duly qualified medical man approved of by the public authority, and notified to the factory inspector (par. 139b of the G.O.), and the said medical man shall examine the workers once at least in every six months for symptoms indicative of plumbism.
The employer shall not permit any worker who is suffering from plumbism or who, in the opinion of the doctor, is suspected of plumbism, to be employed in any work in which he has to handle lead colours or mixtures thereof, until he has completely recovered.
Regulation 11.—The employer shall keep or shall cause to be kept a register in which shall be recorded the state of health of the workers, and also the constitution of and changes in the staff; and he shall be responsible for the entries being complete and accurate, except in so far as they are affected by the medical man.
Then follow the regulations as to entries in the Register, as to which see the Regulations as to lead smelting works, p. 300.
Fumes which may carry up lead dust are generated in the casting of letters. Dust arises also in setting the type. General hygienic measures are especially called for such as healthy conditions in the workrooms. Much can be done by exhaust ventilation locally applied to the type cases and to letter (mono- and linotype) casting machines. Vacuum cleaning of printing workshops and type cases is strongly advised.
As some lead poisoning in printing works is attributable to lead colours or bronze powder containing lead their use should be limited as much as possible.
The German Imperial Regulations for printing works and type foundries are as follows:
Order of the Federal Council of July 31st, 1897, regulating Letterpress Printing Works and Type Foundries, in pursuance of Section 120e of the Industrial Code
I. In rooms in which persons are employed in setting up type or manufacture of type or stereotype plates the following provisions apply:
1. The floor of workrooms shall not be more than a half a meter (1·64 feet) below the ground. Exceptions may only be granted by the higher administrative authority where hygienic conditions are secured by a dry area, and ample means of lighting and ventilating the rooms.
Attics may only be used as workrooms if the roof is provided with a lathe and plaster ceiling.
2. In workrooms in which the manufacture of type or stereotype plates is carried on, the number of persons shall not exceed such as would allow at least fifteen cubic meters of air space (529·5 cubic feet) to each. In the rooms in which persons are employed only in other processes, there shall be at least twelve cubic meters of air space (423·5 cubic feet) to each person.
In cases of exceptional temporary pressure the higher administrative authority may, on the application of the employer, permit a larger number in the workrooms, for at the most 30 days in the year, but not more than will allow ten cubic meters of air space (353 cubic feet) for each person.
3. The rooms shall be at least 2·60 meters (8· feet) in height where a minimum of fifteen cubic meters are allowed for each person, in other cases at least 3 meters (9·84 feet) in height.
The rooms shall be provided with windows which are sufficient in number and size to let in ample light for every part of the work. The windows shall be so constructed that they will open and admit of complete renewal of air in workrooms. Workrooms with sloping roof shall have an average height equal to the measurements given in the first paragraph of this section.
4. The rooms shall be laid with close fitting impervious floor, which can be cleared of dust by moist methods. Wooden floors shall be smoothly planed, and boards fitted to prevent penetration of moisture. All walls and ceilings shall, if they are not of a smooth washable surface or painted in oil, be limewashed once at least a year. If the walls and ceilings are of a smooth washable surface or painted in oil, they shall be washed at least once a year, and the oil paint must, if varnished, be renewed once in ten years, and if not varnished once in five years.
The compositors’ shelves and stands for type boxes shall be either closely ranged round the room on the floor, so that no dust can collect underneath, or be fitted with legs, so that the floor can be easily cleaned of dust underneath.
5. The workrooms shall be cleared and thoroughly aired once at least a day, and during the working hours means shall be taken to secure constant ventilation.
6. The melting vessel for type or stereotype metal shall be covered with a hood connected to an exhaust ventilator or chimney with sufficient draught to draw the fumes to the outer air.
Type founding and melting may only be carried on in rooms separate from other processes.
7. The rooms and fittings, particularly the walls, cornices, and stands for type, shall be thoroughly cleansed twice a year at least. The floors shall be washed or rubbed over with a damp cloth, so as to remove dust once a day at least.
8. The type boxes shall be cleansed before they are put in use, and again as often as necessary, but not less than twice at least in the year.
The boxes may only be dusted out with a bellows in the open air, and this work may not be done by young persons.
9. In every workroom spittoons filled with water and one at least for every five persons shall be provided. Workers are forbidden to spit upon the floor.
10. Sufficient washing appliances, with soap and at least one towel a week for each worker, shall be provided as near as possible to the work for compositors, cutters, and polishers.
One wash-hand basin shall be provided for every five workers, fitted with an ample supply of water.
The employer shall make strict provision for the use of the washing appliances by workers before every meal and before leaving the works.
11. Clothes put off during working hours shall either be kept outside the workroom or hung up in cupboards with closely fitting doors or curtains, which are so shut or drawn as to prevent penetration of dust.
12. Artificial means of lighting which tend to raise the temperature of the rooms shall be so arranged or such counteracting measures taken that the heat of the workrooms shall not be unduly raised.
13. The employer shall draw up rules binding on the workers which will ensure the full observance of the provisions in sections 8, 9, 10, and 11.
II. A notice shall be affixed and a copy sent to the local police authority shewing:
(a) The length, height, and breadth of the rooms.
(b) The air space in cubic measure.
(c) The number of workers permitted in each room.
A copy of Rules 1 to 13 must be affixed where it can be easily read by all persons affected.
III. Provides for the method of permitting the exceptions named above in sections 2 and 3, and makes it a condition of reduction in cubic air space for each person employed as type founder or compositor that there shall be adequate mechanical ventilation for regulating temperature and carrying off products of combustion from workrooms.
(See also pp. 135-8.)
A complete substitute for lead in glazes seems as yet impossible on technical grounds, as glaze containing lead has qualities which cannot be obtained without its use. In small works the technique necessary for the production of leadless glazes (special kinds of stoves) cannot be expected, especially as those carrying on a small industry lack the necessary knowledge of how to be able to dispense with the use of lead glazes and substitute leadless materials without complete alteration in their methods of manufacture. And yet discontinuance or the utmost possible limitation of the use of lead glazes and colours is most urgently needed in all small ceramic workshops, as they are not in a position to put in localised exhaust ventilation, &c., which is possible in large factories. Observance of even the simplest hygienic measures can scarcely be obtained. Consequently very severe cases of lead poisoning are met with in small works. An effort in the direction of discontinuance of lead glazes was made in Bohemia, where (at the cost of the State) technical instruction was given by an expert on the preparation of leadless glazes especially in districts where the industry was carried on in the homes of the workers. This procedure, extension of which is expected, had good results.
Many have demanded, in view of the possibility of substituting leadless for lead glazes, the total prohibition of lead. Such is the view of the Dutch inspector De Vooys; Teleky and Chyzer share the view expressed so far as the small industry is concerned, since the practicability of the change has been demonstrated.
English authorities (Thorpe, Oliver) propose diminution of the lead in the glaze in such a way that on shaking with weak acid not more than a specified small quantity shall be dissolved (Thorpe test). In my opinion such a measure is hardly enough for the small industry. I do not expect much good from obligatory use of fritted glazes.
In addition to earthenware, manufacture of tiles and bricks leads not infrequently to cases of lead poisoning from use of lead glaze.
The following measures apply to the larger ceramic works. Since risk is considerable, not only in glost placing but also in grinding, ware-cleaning, &c., closed ball mills in grinding and locally applied exhaust ventilation in ware-cleaning operations, &c., must be arranged. Personal cleanliness and proper equipment of a factory in all the essentials insisted on on pp. 226-9 are important, but nothing can take the place of efficient locally applied ventilation.
Vitreous enamelling of household utensils, baths, gas stoves, signs, &c., is an analogous process as enamels containing lead may be used. Sieving on the dry powder and brushing off superfluous glaze often cause poisoning. Here generally the same preventive measures apply.
[In Great Britain the china and earthenware industry is placed under Regulations dated January 2, 1913, which supersede the previous Special Rules. These Regulations—thirty-six in number—provide, among other usual provisions, (1) for efficient exhaust ventilation in (a) processes giving rise to injurious mineral dust (fettling and pressing of tiles, bedding, and flinting, brushing and scouring of biscuit) and (b) dusty lead processes (ware cleaning, aerographing, colour dusting, litho-transfer making, &c.); and (2) monthly periodical medical examination of workers in scheduled lead processes.]
In the Netherlands, in consequence of lead poisoning in porcelain works, committees were appointed to inquire into the subject in 1901, 1902, and 1903.
(See also p. 140)
In file cutting the file is cut on a lead bed or a bed of an alloy of zinc and lead. The same source of poisoning occurs in other industries such as amber working. Lead poisoning among file cutters is pronounced. The best preventive measure is substitution of a bed of pure zinc for lead. The German Imperial Health Office have issued a ‘Warning notice’ for file-cutters.