Lead Poisoning in the Smelting and Refining of Lead
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U. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS ROYAL MEEKER, Commissioner BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES ) (WHOLE 1 A 1 BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS) ' * * (NUMBER lTL 1 INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS AND HYGIENE SERIES: No. 4 LEAD POISONING IN THE SMELTING AND REFINING OF LEAD f FEBRUARY 17, 1914 WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1914 Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis CONTENTS. Lead poisoning in the smelting and refining of lead: Page. Introduction............................................................................................................... 5-17 Dangerous processes in the smelting and refining of lead....... ............... 6-8 Dust and fumes.................................................................................................. 9-11 Sanitary equipment.......................................................................................... 11 Medical care....................................................................................................... 11 Disadvantages of a shifting force................................................................. 11,12 Prevalence of lead poisoning in the industry............................................. 12-14 Prevention of lead poisoning in the smelting industry............................ 14-17 Construction............................................................................................... 15 Sanitary equipment.................................................................................. 15 Dust prevention......................................................................................... 16 Prevention of fumes.................................................................................. 16 Control of the workmen....................................................................... 16 Medical supervision.................................................................................. 16,17 Processes used in lead smelting and refining in the United States.. ........ 17-49 Handling the ore.............................................. ................................................ 17,18 Crushing and sampling mills.......................................................................... 19, 20 Transporting ground ore.................................................................................. 20, 21 Smelting.............................................................................................................. 21, 22 Furnaces used in lead smelting and refining in the United States___ 22-46 Ore hearths................................................................................................. 23-27 Smelting in reverberatory furnaces....................................................... 27 Reverberatory furnaces for roasting................... ................................... 27, 28 Mechanical preroasters...... ................................................................... 28, 29 Huntington-Heberlein pots..................................................................... 29-31 Continuous sintering machines............................................................ 31-33 Blast furnaces............................................................................................. 33-37 Tapping floors........................................................................................... 37-39 Prevalence of lead fumes and dust on charge and tapping floors.. 39-41 Settling furnaces........................................................................................ 41 Softening and refining furnaces.............................................................. 41-43 Drossing, remelting, and desilverizing kettles.................................... 43 By-product or residue furnaces................... .......................................... 43,44 Retorting and cupelling furnaces.......................................................... 44-46 Liquating furnaces.................................................................................... 46 Flue-dust system............................................................................................... 46-49 Heat and exertion........................ ............................................................................. 49, 50 Relative dangers of breathing lead dust and of getting lead on food..............50-53 Analysis of dust -and fumes............................................................................. 52, 53 Poisons other than lead encountered in lead smelting..................................... 53, 54 Lead poisoning in the smelting industry in Great Britain, Germany, and Austria..................................................................................................................... 54-57 3 Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 4 CONTENTS. Lead poisoning in the smelting and refining of lead—Concluded. rage. Lead poisoning in the smelting industry in the United States...................... 58-81 Historical.......................... ............................................................................... 58-61 Number and kind oi cases iVund................................................. _............. .. 01-64 Period of exposure and attack rate............................................................... 04-66 Relative danger of different kinds nf work........................ ........................ 06, 67 Influence of the seasons........................ ............................- ........................... 68 Method of collecting cases............ ............................................................. ... 08-71 Medical supervision.................................................................................... 71—73 Sickness and accident insurance............................................................... ... 73, 74 Oharactei of employees................................................................ ............. .. 75-78 Housing..................................... ................................................................... 78,79 Compulsory registration of occupational plumbism................................... 79-81 A p p e n d ix I.— The solubility of lead sulphide ores and of lead sulphide in human gastric juice........................................................................ 82-84 A p p e n d i x II.— Regulations for the lead and copper industries, drafted by Lil lian Erskine, special investigator for the New Jersey Depart ment of Labor, approved by Ernst F. Eurich, consulting metallurgical expert for the State, and issued in the form of a circular letter to these trades by Lewis T. Bryant, commis sioner of labor.................................................................................. .85-87 A p p e n d i x III.—German regulations for lead-smelting works (June 16, 1905).. 88-90 A p p e n d i x IV.— French regulations relating to precautions against industrial lead poisoning...................................................................................91-94 A p p e n d i x V.— Provisions for medical inspection and care in English, German, and French smelters.................................................................... 95-97 LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS. Facing pa^c— P l a t e 1 .— Sampling mill................................................................................................................ 19 P l a t e 2.—Ore hearth or Scotch hearth............................................................... 23 P l a t e 3.—Ore hearth building in partial operation.............................................. 24 P l a t e 4.— Huntington-Heberlein pot................................................................ ....... 29 P l a t e 5.— Belt of empty grates of a Dwight-Lloyd machine................................ 82 P l a t e 6.—Feed floor...................................................................................................... 34 P l a t e 7.— Blast furnace during slag tapping........................................................... 37 P l a t e 8.—Tapping floor of a blast furnace in the American Smelting Refin ing Co.’s plant at Murray, Utah........................................... *___ _ 38 P l a t e 9.—Matte tapping in the American Smelting & Refining Co.’s plant at Murray, U tah............................................ ......................................... 38 P l a t e 10.—Tapping antimonial slag from a furnace................................................ 38 P l a t e 1 1 .— Softening furnace in a refinery, with mechanical charging.............. 42 P l a t e 12.— Residue furnace or copper matting furnace.......................................... 44 P l a t e 13.—Fab re du Faur zinc distillation furnace................................................ 44 P l a t e 14.—Pouring the rich lead from a retort into a cupelling furnace............ 45 P l a t e 15.—Flue and bag house system..................................................................... 46 Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis BULLETIN OF THE U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS. w h o l e n o . i4i. WASHINGTON. F e b r u a r y 17, 1914 LEAD POISONINQ IN THE SMELTING AND REFINING OF LEAD. BY ALICE HAMILTON, M. A., M. D. INTRODUCTION. The last 15 or 20 years have seen great changes in the lead smelt ing industry of the United