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3e Do you agree with the statement that carelessness is the most
important element in accidents? Why?

4, What has been the effect of the safety campaigns in industry?
In communities (with reference to automobile accidents)?

5. What do you understand by the term “human engineering” in indus-
try?

6. Outline a program of "accident hygiene” for the purpose of con=-
trolling the personal element in an industrial plant having
dangerous machine processes.

XII. CHEMICAL AGENTS AS CAUSES OF ILL HEALTH

Chemical agents have been recognized as important causes of ill
health as a result of the frequency of poisoning in industry. The attempt
to understand ani solve this problem has been me of the influences which
has brought about the development of Industrial Hygiene. Proper cmsider-
ation of this branch of preventive medicine is given in the course on Group
Hygiene. Consideration will be given here to the more important chemical
causes of ill health.

Statistics

Chemical agents as causes of death are relatively infrequent (1577
Registration Area 1924). As a cause of acute or chronic ill health,
they are of considerable importance on account of the rapid development
of new chemical processes in industry.

Classification

These chemical agents may be conveniently classified as to the na-
ture of the substance:

(a) Inorganic
(b) Organic

Inorganic Chemicals

 

The list of inorganic substances ccpable of causing injury to human
beings is a long one. Only a few of the more important ones will be given
consideration.

Lead is one of the most frequent, serious, and insidious of occu-
pational poisons.

Lead is a typical cumulative poison. Frequently a comparatively
large single dose may be taken without noticeable effect; but small
quantities inhaled or ingested, are stored in the body, resulting in chron-
ic poisoning ani sometimes death. Practically all forms of lead are poi-
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sources

There is a long list of possible smyrces both in and out of industry.
Some of the principal ones are: