378 Historical 



If one is to use these high pressures, M. Foley advises that 

 the men be decompressed in "three minutes." Furthermore, he is 

 so far from the idea that a rapid decompression can be dangerous, 

 and so persuaded that it is merely a matter of chilling, that he 

 summarizes his thought by this precept: 



If the thick and icy mist which is sure to appear seems too pene- 

 trating to you, make haste! (P. 53.) 



Constructing foundations by the use of compressed air was 

 used in 1862 on the viaduct over the Scorff, at Lorient, and in 1864, 

 on the bridge over which the railroad of Napoleon-Vendee crosses 

 the Loire at Nantes. The chief engineer Croizette-Desnoyers, 23 

 who gives the most minute details about the construction and the 

 operation of the apparatuses set up by the Gouin Company, does 

 not mention the condition of the workmen; he is satisfied with 

 admitting that "at great depths, the system of laying foundations 

 by the use of compressed air may injure the health of the work- 

 men." (P. 392) 



And yet serious accidents had occurred at the bridge over the 

 Scorff. 



The list of sick workmen, drawn up by Dr. Nail, contains 16 

 names; the accidents, all due to the compressed air, include: 1 case 

 of deafness, 6 cases of pains in the joints, 1 of muscular pains, 6 

 cerebral congestions, 2 deaths. 



The two deaths were not simultaneous. The first occurred 

 March 17, 1862; the workman died "of asphyxia on leaving the 

 caisson;" the second, June 3, in another pier; the medical note 

 says: "died after four hours of cerebral congestion and asphyxia." 



I could get no details about either the symptoms which pre- 

 ceded death or the results of the autopsies, if there were any, or 

 even the pressure reached. I know only that the decompression 

 was made regularly in 10 seconds and that the maximum exca- 

 vation for the first pier was 18 meters, for the second only 12 

 meters. 



There were, therefore, 8042 shifts of workmen, among whom 

 there were only 16 accidents serious enough to be noted. Other 

 workmen who were in the lock-chamber with the two victims 

 experienced no symptoms. 



This double disaster was the cause of a court summons against 

 the company officials, accused of homicide by carelessness; they 

 were acquitted by the court of Lorient (September 30, 1862) and 

 by the court of Rennes (December 11, 1862). The preambles of 

 of the judgment and the decree are very interesting, because they 



