CHAPTER XXXI 

 CONTAMINATED AIR 



190. Gases and fumes. In many industries poisonous gases 

 and fumes are produced ; these either corrode the delicate 

 linings of the lungs or are absorbed and injure the whole 

 system. Most acid fumes act in the former way. Alcohols 

 used in varnishes, phosphorus fumes, lead fumes, and others 

 poison the body. It is for these reasons that the manufacture 

 of white phosphorus matches has been entirely prohibited in 

 this country, and that the use of wood alcohol in varnishes and 

 shellacs has been prohibited in some states and cities. 



Where the work produces fumes or gases, these must be re- 

 moved by flues connected with exhaust fans. No person should 

 work regularly in any establishment that permits annoying or 

 dangerous fumes to enter the air breathed in the shop. 



Carbon monoxid, present in the suffocating coal gas produced when 

 the drafts in a coal stove are closed down, is an actual poison when 

 it gets into the lungs, being absorbed by the blood. 



191. Dust. There are dozens of occupations in which the 

 worker is constantly exposed to dust of various kinds. Dust is 

 injurious in several ways. 



1. It may form a crust over part of the lung lining, thus 

 reducing the actual breathing surface and at the same time 

 weakening the resistance of the cells to disease microbes. 



Examples are coal dust and the fluff from fibers used in spinning 

 and weaving. 



2. Dust consisting of hard, sharp particles may scratch the 

 delicate cells lining the air sacs, exposing them to the invasion 

 of disease microbes. 



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