[Rockhounds] hazards in general

[Alan Goldstein]

They need to post a sign in the new born nurseries of hospitals: "Life is 
hazardous to your health." Eventually something will kill you! But on the 
postive side, it often takes a while!

Alan


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "J. R. Hodel" <jr50wv at yahoo.com>
To: <rockhounds at lists.drizzle.com>
Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2008 9:41 AM
Subject: [Rockhounds] airborne hazards


> HI:
>
> An interesting discussion; we've seen this topic many times before
> .
> Many substances we handle and use every day can become hazards in special 
> circumstances.  In the textile mills once so common in the south of the US 
> people used to suffer from inhaled fiber fragments; my first jobs were in 
> a printing plant run by my family in the 1960s and 70s, where they were 
> just starting to attempt to protect pressmen from paper dust.
>
> Locally (I live in sothern WV where the major (think only) industry is 
> coal mining) one of the most severe common diseases of the mature male is 
> pneumoconiosis  caused from exposure to coal dust.  I believe it has been 
> shown that it doesn't take 35 years to have a pretty bad case of OPD from 
> exposure to coal dust!  It is apparently pretty common in Kentucky today 
> among young coal miners, less so in WV due to state-level regulatory 
> authority.  The cost of our electricity (steel) is the blood of our 
> miners.
>
> Exposure to Talc can cause diseases more commonly thought to be caused by 
> exposure to asbestos; the two minerals often occur together!  But there is 
> a disease called talcosis.  Berylliosis is also a disease, but I suspect 
> the uptake of beryllium into the system acting as a carcinogin is more 
> dangerous than clogging your lungs with the powder.
>
> Another horrific industrial "accident" happened near here in central WV 
> when a tunnel was drilled through a mountain for hydroelectric generation 
> at Hawk's Nest.  The tunnel was drilled through sandstone that proved to 
> be pure silica; it is not known exactly how many workers died as it 
> behoved the company not to track such things.
>
> They widened the bore diameter of the tunnel in order to produce extra 
> silica for sale, so they were totally aware of what they were drilling 
> through.  They prohibited drillers from using water spray to keep down 
> dust because it slowed drilling, and time is money.  Now-a-days when the 
> local aggegate company delivers crushed stone, there is a warning about 
> exposure to rock dust on the back of the weigh-bill.
>
> I would rather use an exhaust hood than a mask, since I have a full beard 
> (also pretty common in WV for some reason ;-) that would probably be more 
> effective too.
>
> Wood dust is also dangerous, more so for some trees than others.  Walnut 
> is particularly poisonous, and using walnut sawdust for bedding with 
> horses is a fatal error for the livestock. Many plants cannot grow under a 
> walnut tree!  And poison ivy smoke can be fatal to those prone to that 
> allergy...
>
> Anyway, be careful with all dusts, smokes and fumes.  Welding can also be 
> a dangerous occupation, I left the details out, look it up for yourself. 
> One of the first things they teach in a welding class!
>
> But do keep on working!  Just be safe!
>
> JR in WV
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Never miss a thing.   Make Yahoo your homepage.
>
> --- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---
> multipart/alternative
>  text/plain (text body -- kept)
>  text/html
> ---
> -- 
> _______________________________________________
> Rockhounds at drizzle Mailing List
> Subscription Services:
> http://lists.drizzle.com/mailman/listinfo/rockhounds
> List Home Page, with a link to the List Usage Policy:
> http://www.eclecticlapidary.com/Rockhounds/index.html