General sense of propriety—and it is on this ground, and not from danger attaching to non-observance, that we press it—suggests that overalls should be kept apart from working clothes, and preferably outside any room in which a lead process is carried on. So long as actual contact between the two sets of garments is prohibited, we do not see objection to the same cloakroom sufficing for both. The best arrangement that we have seen is a room in which each worker has two lockers—one for the storage of overalls, and the other for clothing put off during working hours. This presupposes supervision and effective discipline. We think that all reasonable need in the provision to be made is met by numbered pegs on one side of the room or wide passage for clothing, and on the other pegs correspondingly numbered for the overalls. Means for heating and drying the clothes should not be overlooked (see [Fig. 8]).
Fig. 8 shows a good arrangement in a white-lead factory, by which, as is best, cloakroom, meal-room, and washing and bath accommodation, are all under one roof. The men on entering hang up their clothes in the private clothes lobby, and pass through the swinging doors to the lobby where the overalls are hung. On leaving the factory and at midday they enter by the door leading into the lobby for storing overalls, and from that pass to the lavatory and bathroom. Having washed and put on their ordinary clothes, they enter the meal-room. The building throughout is lined with white glazed bricks.
Fig. 8a.—Well Lighted Mess-Room in a Smelting Works.
Meal-Room Accommodation.
—Wherever lead processes are carried on the provision of a mess-room is called for in a part of the factory remote from possible contamination from lead dust. This we hold on general grounds of cleanliness and self-respect, and not because we think the eating of meals in rooms where lead is used would noticeably increase the number of cases. The more conveniently situated in relation to the workrooms the mess-room is, the more will it be used. Set out briefly, the requirements of a mess-room are that it should be—
1. Well ventilated, warmed, and lighted.
2. Not less than 10 feet high, and with floor-space ample for each person likely to occupy it at any one time.
3. Have walls the surface of which is smooth and impervious to a height of at least 4 feet from the ground.