next unreal america from 1938,

stop silicone's is 1938 labor department film about inhaling solicitous. but first we talk to mark kaplan, who has a youtube channel the deals with -- >> the film was produced by the department of labor and this was well before osha was well an existence,. so in 1938, during the height of the depression, there had been a national problem with workers exposure to silica dust, from six cement, and granted and other industry uses. there was a sort of a national public attention to this issue

of silicone size and silica dust. so there been a big national conference with public health folks and unions and lawyers, and this film came out of. it the film is highlighting both hazards of silicone dust and what could be done to control it. the part to me as an occupational health professional, when i saw this film in the late 1990s, was the hazards of silica dust which we were worried about in the 1990s, we're still worried about it today. the hazards were pretty well-known in the 1930s, and pretty well identified in a document. but what's really interesting, is the control measure and how to stop exposing workers to dust, what employers can do to control dust through ventilation and other methods, those were incredibly well-known in the late 1930s, as shown in this film. yet many employers were still

not using those methods in the 1990s and even today, there are still employers not using these methods. we had knowledge on both the hazards and the controls 75 years ago, yet we are still having this trouble, so it is clearly a lot of health and safety is clearly not a knowledge of the science, it's not a matter of publich[#>z■ poy and how we can takecñv >> (heavy machinery sounds) ♪ ♪ ♪ >> live team 35 a wave of fear was sweeping the country.

silicone says was taking its toll. because of the disease, dust the, results of the disease, disable meant, poverty, death. cure for the disease, none. throughout america, workers exposed to dust grew fearful for their health, of their very lives. 1936. amid these alarming events, the secretary of labor called together a national conference to study this disease. a committee a 60 experts was reported to the secretary of labor. let's hear from his previous herself. >> after a year of work, the national silicone sis committee has just made its report of findings and recommendations. it's my duty to make this duty report available to the people of the united states and their employers by every available method. this report shows how silicone size occurs, where it occurs and what the disease is. it makes recommendations for its practical control.

above all the report emphasizes that these control measures if conscientiously adopted and apply the silicone size can be prevented. >> this is the story of silicone says, the disease of the lungs caused by breathing particles of dust containing silica. granted dust, small particles the small or the particles, the greater the danger to human lungs. there's a fine mist screen with over 100,000 particles the square inch. notice how readily this silica dust passes through. ♪ ♪ ♪ yet the >> screen is so fine it holds water. >> every drop poured in this event is poured into the back glass. here dust particles taken from

the air are being analyzed to determine workers exposure. granted dust, which can enter a workman's lungs and cause trouble. this cross section shows the nose and throat passages through which dust enters the lungs. physical and chemical changes appear. discard tissue appears. smaller at first, they grow larger as time goes on. the tissue is in elastic analogs cannot adequately perform their task of carrying blood to the lungs. so the worker become so short of breath he cannot do his job. this shows the rv alike, were smaller spaces of the long. they supply life giving oxygen to the blood. silica dust blog sees -- this is the way silicon atlantic kurds to the x-ray. the black areas are dead

tissue. among many industrial operations were silica exists, is the quarrying of granite and other stones it'll. these pneumatic drills are dust producers. those men are drilling. the dust clouds arising contains large quantities of silicon dust. the jackhammer, with the workman often called him widow makers. these men are exposed to a serious salika hazard. imagine breathing quantities of dust like this, eight hours a day, day after day, year after year. after the storm is quarried, it's taken in the platform servicing in finishing. the granite surfacing machine emits quantities of dust. the worker must stand close to the machine in order to operate. he's breathing dangerous dust. one crushed stone is passed over a vibrating scheme, more

silica dust is pushed into the air. workers cannot escape this dust. finally pulverize granted is put into bags to be used as asphalt or other uses. this machine is being operated in such a way that the workman must breathing clouds of dust, and this man is totally unprotected. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> the foundry shake out, where they are removed from the real molds is also a dusty operation. these two men are working without any operation whatsoever. they are potential silicone suspicions. here is a typical american workmen, one of the million who are dangerously exposed to silica dust. his name is john steele, once a

master moulder, when he is still working in this foundry after years of exposure to silica. once strong and healthy, john steele is now weak and emaciated. he is short of breath. he cannot do even this work properly. the foreman the tells him that he is foreman tells him that he sick, an is sick and he incompetent and can can no longer do no longer do a day days work and's work and that then he must let him go. he must let him go. he hands drawn his last time slip. as a result of his disability, john, like thousands of others is being fired.

he is paid off, broken in health and in spirit, an out of job, he must seek health help work elsewhere. john is more fortunate than other silicone's victims. he was able to find work in a tombstone shed. work at that is not too heavy, and where he can earn little money to help support his family. but he is still exposed to the enemy. across john steals mine -- how soon will it become a stark reality. we know the practical engineering methods that would -- . . this workie has been employed at a dusty trade for several years. he is robust and can put in a

full day of hard work notices deep chest and good general appearance despite years of his training in periodical he goes to a skilled doctor, and who he has complete off complete confidence. good his examination includes the making of an x-ray film. although the final diagnosis of silicosis cannot be made that way, an accurate diagnosis is impossible without one. >> he's healthy chest looks like this in the x-ray, there are no silicosis spots, they've been protected from dust knows the difference, between the normal x-ray on the left, and the silicosis lungs on the right. key sandblasting is one of the toughest operations.

these workers were helmets like deep sea divers in which clean filtered air is fed the they work in a separate room so other workers are not exposed. in many cases, the silicone is controlled as easy as this summit a sprinkles on the floor. or wet sweeping keeps the dust down in other words, good plant housekeeping. the vibrating screens, see how dusty it is. workers would be exposed, if not worth for the exhaust esteem, which when turned on draws the dust off. this is the dusty bagging operation we saw earlier however with the exhaust system in operation, there is no dust in the air. and the worker wears an approved filler respirator.

look in this close-up, the dust is being carried into the suction system and here is the way this dusty surfacing machine, can be controlled by using a suction device note how the dust and stone chips are drawn into the hood. away from the workman's nose and mouth. in a granite industry, drunk reeling drilling is one of the justice operations. but it can be made non destiny and safe. one method is to force water through pipes, to the point of operation water throws around the drill and prevents the dust from flying in the air. no here is another wet method using the quarry water is going through a hollowed drill notice the absence of dust and are

john steele has worked under these if they had worked under these conditions they would have not gotten silicosis. we have seen but a few of the practical inexpensive control measures, in actual use. however they must be used more consistently by workers, and taken in by agencies. silicosis can be entirely prevented the department of labor can give you more information. silicosis. .

next on history bookshelf, mallory factor talks about his book law shadowbosses. he discussed the power of government employee union, and policymaking. this was held in august of 2012 >> thank you john, in nevada sc