Makch 10, 1899.] 



SCIENCE. 



353 



fined to British vessels, for on October 13 

 1891, while the U. S. S. ' Atlanta ' was going 

 to the rescue of the wrecked ' Tallapoosa ' 

 an explosion occurred on the ' Atlanta,' 

 which caused her immediate return to New 

 York. I was at once ordered by the Secre- 

 tary of Navy to proceed to New York and 

 investigate the accident. 



I learned that while the 'Atlanta ' was 

 laboring in a heavy sea she sprung a leak 

 through the hawse pipes and the forward 

 collision compartment began to fill with 

 water ; that a handy-billy was rigged to 

 pump the compartment ; that about mid- 

 night the suction pipe became plugged, and 

 that on lowering a common lantern into the 

 compartment an explosion ensued, severely 

 injuring two men, slightly injuring four 

 others and bulging the steel collision bulk- 

 head. I found that the collision compart- 

 ment had been used as a store room for 

 paints ; that among them were spar and 

 damar varnishes and Japan dryer, each of 

 which gave oif inflammable vapors at ordi- 

 nary temperatures ; that the packages were 

 sealed in a very insecure manner, and that, 

 as this compartment filled and the vessel 

 tossed, the cans were opened and their con- 

 tents churned up so as to readily form ex- 

 plosive mixtures with the air, 



I learned further that on June 15th pre- 

 vious a fire and explosion had taken place 

 on board the U. S. S. ' Philadelphia ' in close 

 proximity to her powder magazine, and 

 that another had occurred on the U. S. S. 

 ' Bennington,' all being evidently due to the 

 same material. 



But notwithstanding these vigorous les- 

 sons the tale continues, and on April 14, 

 1896,* a ' petroleum accident ' occurred on 

 board the Cunarder S. S. ' Servia ' when a 

 party of men were engaged in painting the 

 inside of a water-ballast tank. The tank, 

 which was 3 feet 6 inches deep, was divided 

 into 16 compartments, with 18 inches aper- 



* Kept. H. M. Insp. Exp. 21, S3; 1897. 



ture between each. The farthest com- 

 partment was being painted at the time, and 

 it was necessary to crawl through 15 of the 

 small apertures to reach it. The paint used 

 was styled Patent Bitumastic Solution, and 

 one of the survivors testified that it took 

 him four or five minutes to reach the com- 

 partments, ten minutes to do the painting, 

 and four or five minutes to return, and that 

 he could not stoop down any longer, as it 

 made him dazed and queer in his head. 

 All the witnesses testified that the use of 

 the solution in confined spaces made them 

 drunk and delirious if they remained any 

 length of time at work. This is a well- 

 known effect of the lighter petroleums, and 

 it is not surprising that the solution was 

 found to consist of coal tar dissolved in 

 crude oil, having a flashing point of 45° F. 

 Abel, and containing so much volatile 

 matter that one gallon spread over a large 

 surface would render 48 cubic feet of air in- 

 flammable. 



Notwithstanding this the workman went 

 into this inner compartment, which was 

 already partly covered with the freshly-laid 

 solution and containing a partly-filled 

 bucket of it, with a lighted candle. Some 

 time having passed without hearing from 

 him, another workman went to his assist- 

 ance and found the place on fire and the 

 man burned and delirious. He was so de- 

 lirious as to fight against coming out, and 

 it took an hovir and a-half with assistance 

 to get him through the apertures and up 

 the manhole, and he afterwards died in the 

 hospital from the effects of the disaster. 



Even while writing this we learn from the 

 local press that a fire, preceded by an ex- 

 plosion, due to the use of Bitumastic Solu- 

 tion, occurred at the Central Market House, 

 Washington, D. C, on November 16, 1898. 



The notorious ' Hair Dresser's Accident ' 

 of June 26, 1897, through which Mrs. 

 Samuelson was fatally injured in London, 

 by the ignition of a petroleum hair wash 



