TRANSACTIONS OP SECTION B. 565 



by tempering at different temperatures, on selected examples of the above special 

 steels were explained, and finally comparative tables with carbon contents and 

 heat treatments as nearly alike as could be selected, and varying only in the 

 special element added, to show the very considerable and abiding influence of 

 the fundamental chemical composition. Photo-mi crographs of the more interest- 

 ing types were also exhibited and described. 



6. Ferro-Silicon ; with special reference to Possible Danger arising from its 

 Transport and /Storage. By Dr. S. M. Copeman, F.R.S. 



The possibility of danger to life from the transport of ferro-silicon (an alloy 

 or eutectic mixture of iron and silicon employed in the manufacture of steel) 

 had already received official attention in this country through a ' Notice to 

 Shipowners, Shipmasters, and Shippers ' issued by the Board of Trade in Sep- 

 tember 1907, but the magnitude of the risks involved in the treatment of this 

 material, and the need for more stringent regulations, was strikingly demonstrated 

 by the death of five Russian immigrants on board the s.s. ' Ashton ' in December 

 1908, during this ship's voyage from Antwerp to Grimsby. Inquiries made on 

 behalf of the Local Government Board into this occurrence brought to light a 

 number of previous accidents in connection with the transport of ferro-silicon, 

 and after conference with the Home Office and the Board of Trade the full 

 investigation of the subject was entrusted to Dr. Copeman, with whom sub- 

 sequently Mr. S. R. Bennett, one of H.M. Inspectors of Factories, and Dr. 

 Wilson Hake, Lecturer on Chemistry at Westminster Hospital, collaborated. 



Among the accidents known to have occurred from the handling or transport 

 of ferro-silicon may be mentioned the explosion of consignments enclosed in iron 

 drums, the ferro-silicon in which contained about 54 or 55 per cent, of silicon. 

 But more important and much more frequent than these are the well-authenti- 

 cated cases of sudden illness and death caused by the gases evolved from certain 

 cargoes of ferro-silicon, full details of which are set out in an official report 

 recently presented to both Houses of Parliament. 



Low-grade ferro-silicon— i.e., an alloy containing not more than 15 per cent, 

 of silicon— is made in blast furnaces to a considerable extent in this country; 

 but the high-grade variety, containing from 25 to 95 per cent, of silicon, can 

 only be produced at the high temperatures attainable in the electric furnace. 

 The latter variety is imported from certain districts in France, and, to a less 

 extent, from Austria, Scandinavia, &c, where ample electrical energy is deriv- 

 able ata low cost from water power. About 4,000 tons of this material are said 

 to be imported annually into England, and, as serious inconvenience to steel 

 manufacturers is being caused by the refusal of shipping firms to carry it, there 

 is great need for regulations permitting its transport under defined conditions 

 which will obviate accident. 



.. The electrically produced or high-grade ferro-silicon has in recent years 

 cusplaced in large measure the blast-furnace variety in the manufacture of the 

 better qualities of steel, and as an outcome of this change the dangers of noxious 

 fumes from the high-grade variety have gradually been realised. Manufacturers 

 and chemists, in the light of their special experience, have come to the con- 

 clusion that it is solely or chiefly the 50 per cent, variety of the high-"rade 

 material which is thus dangerous. But that the matter is in reality considerably 

 more complicated is indicated by the results of Dr. Hake's chemical researches. 

 It should, however, be added that some of the firms concerned have recognised 

 the importance of porosity and liability to disintegrate as factors in the ready 

 evolution of poisonous fumes, and the French Commission draw attention in 

 their report, to the safety of compact alloys. It is evident, however, that at 

 present, unless and until sharp lines can be drawn between the different amounts 

 of gas evolved from different samples of ferro-silicon under similar circum- 

 stances, it is impracticable with certainty to distinguish, among any of the 

 higher percentage varieties of ferro-silicon, between safety and danger Never- 

 theless the recommendations suggested by the writer, and now officially adopted 

 by the Board of Trade, wil probably prevent the occurrence of future accidents 

 in the transport of ferro-silicon. They comprise the need for ascertaining that 



