CHAPTER XIV
PREVENTIVE MEASURES AGAINST LEAD POISONING—Continued
Overalls and Head Coverings.
—Stress has been laid on the wearing of overalls and head coverings in processes giving rise to dust or to splashes of glaze or paint in special rules and regulations in the past. With the improvement that has taken place in exhaust ventilation, they have become less important. Indeed, the aim of all manufacturers and ventilating engineers should be to render processes so free of dust as to make them altogether unnecessary. Increasing knowledge of the insidious manner in which lead dust can arise has shown that from this point of view overalls of the cotton or linen material ordinarily worn constitute a real source of danger. Splashes of glaze dry on them, and at every movement involving rubbing of the surface dust is generated. Some operations almost oblige the worker to press the article worked upon against the chest, so that chance of inhalation of dust from this source alone is considerable. Taking them off creates dust, and after this is done a reprehensible practice exists of either shaking or beating them against a post. In large factories they are usually washed on the premises, and the water in which this is done will become a solution containing some lead in suspension. Hence, even when washed and dried ready for wear, overalls may not be quite free of lead. Apart from the general obligation recognized that an employer should provide and maintain everything necessary to guard against danger contracted in his factory, we think that the risk run by a worker in taking the overall home and washing it there is negligible, and offers advantages in the ultimate cleanliness of the overall over washing on factory premises. Laundresses shaking overalls prior to washing them have been known to contract plumbism.
Where work with the arms is incessant, as in the heading of yarn, overalls are burdensome, and for this reason and the fact that with efficient exhaust ventilation there should be practically no dangerous dust, the regulations for the heading of yarn enjoin provision of them only on written certificate of the Chief Inspector of Factories.
Protection for the clothing, however, where splashing is incidental to the operations, cannot be dispensed with. Hence either the overalls themselves or the front of them should be made of some light ventilated waterproof material, or a waterproof apron worn over overalls of the kind at present in use. Daily sponging would then take the place of washing.
If lead dust be visible on the hair of workers, there must be a defect in the conditions of work to be rectified by other means than cumbering the head. In our opinion, head coverings ought never to be necessary. We cannot think that an attack of plumbism can ever be precipitated by the amount of lead dust inhaled on brushing the hair.
A common provision in regulations for overalls is:
“Overalls shall be provided for all persons employed in lead processes, and shall be washed or renewed every week.
“The occupier shall provide and maintain for the use of all persons employed in lead processes—(a) A cloakroom or other suitable place in which such persons can deposit clothing put off during working hours, and separate and suitable arrangements for the storage of overalls required by regulation; (b) a dining-room, unless all workers leave the factory during meal-hours.
“All persons employed in lead processes shall wear the overalls provided ... and shall deposit such overalls and any clothing put off during working hours in the places provided under the regulations. The overalls shall not be removed by persons employed from the factory or workshop.”