EDITORIAL 



COPRA SPOILAGE ON A LARGE SCALE 

 One plate 



The Swedish freight steamship Nippon, with a large cargo 

 composed chiefly of dried coconut meat, or copra, was driven 

 upon Scarborough Reef during a severe typhoon in May, 1913. 

 The reef lies off the west coast of Luzon, and is practically 

 submerged even during periods of low tide. The unfortunate 

 vessel was firmly held by the coral, and the copra in the various 

 holds was thus alternately submerged and exposed to a greater 

 or less extent by the fluctuations of the tides. 



The conditions thus presented unique opportunities to study 

 the spoilage of copra on a very large scale. The salvage crew 

 boarded the Nippon several days after the disaster, and found the 

 hatches tightly closed. It was necessary to lighten the vessel 

 before attempting to drag it into deep water. During an attempt 

 to investigate the holds preparatory to discharging the copra, 

 one member of the crew was fatally overcome by noxious gases 

 and several others were rescued with difficulty. This dangerous 

 condition persisted even after the holds had been open several 

 days, and greatly interfered with the work of salvage. Every 

 one who stayed below for a short time was affected with gid- 

 diness and marked palpitation of the heart, followed by uncon- 

 sciousness unless immediate relief was sought in the open air. 

 The eyes became seriously inflamed, and contact with water in 

 the holds resulted in burns and sores. 



The condition appeared so remarkable that an investigation 

 by the Bureau of Science to explain the causes of the trouble was 

 decided upon, and I was detailed to undertake the work. It was 

 desirable to ascertain the nature of the poisonous gas and the 

 caustic products present in the bilge water, not only in their 

 bearing on the health of the workmen employed on the Nippon, 

 but also as throwing light on the very important problem of copra 

 deterioration. 



Pumps had been installed on the Nippon before this investiga- 

 tion was started, and were regularly operated during the day. 

 The sea water that penetrated during the night through the 



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