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the lungs, through penetration of the skin or through ingestion,

_ Occupational exposure.

After months of consultation the Regional
Safety Director, the Local Union Officers and top
officials of the Quatsino Sound Division of Ray-
onier agreed to implement a Job Safety Break-
down program in the four large logging operations
in the area.

In a surprise approach, the Company threw
the ball to the Union men on the job. In effect
they said, “This idea is yours, you make it work.
We'll supply the finances and the co-operation.”

Morris Anderson the new Local Business Agent
arranged a meeting of the four Safety Committee
Chairmen with Bob Ross, the Regional Safety
Director. They met in Port McNeill on January
23rd for an all day session to work out details.

The chairmen, Frank Miller of Port McNeill,
Al Bingham from Jeune Landing, Don McNaugh-
ton from Mahatta River, Don Giesinghaus and
Joe Lajouie from Holberg knew that they were to

THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER 5

Local 1-71, Safety Committee Chairmen
Assume Responsibility for New Program

be paid lost-time wages by the Company for at
least a month. They could then be free to throw
all of their enthusiasm and know-how into spear-
heading the program in each operation.

It is interesting to note that all of the prin-
ciples and approaches of the Safety Breakdown
were developed by the Chairmen within the

framework suggested by the Regional Council in

the Lumber Worker, “Have We the Guts to Work
Safely?”

Before this program is finished every employee
in these camps will have personally worked at the

task of finding out for himself how to do his job
safely.

We expect our people to welcome the oppor-
tunity of contributing something concrete to
accident prevention.

We take this opportunity to wish them well
in the coming months.

DIOMYE IN OUR PLANTS ._

The continuing battle our Safety Committees are
waging in the manufacturing plants to eliminate haz-
ardous dust, illustrates the indifference or ignorance of
some management to the injurious effects of wood dust.

We print here excerpts from an article by Dr. Her-
bert K. Abrams of the Union Health Services Inc. of
Chicago.

In essence he says:

“ALL DUST IS DANGEROUS”
“THERE ARE NO SAFE LEVELS”

Occupational diseases may be localized to one part of the
body or they may be generalized (systemic). They may be
acute or chronic. They may cause predominantly one type of
pathology, such as cancer, blood vessel abnormalities, blood dis-
orders, nervous system damage, skin disease, etc. The occupa- iy
tional disease agent may enter the body through inhalation into

or there may be combinations of these portals of entry.

The disease-causing agent may be a chemical in the form of
dusts, gases, fumes and vapors. It may be a physical agent such
as ionizing radiation, noise, extremes of heat and cold, extremes
of pressure, vibration or physical strain. Or, it may be an infec-

tious disease agent which may be transmitted by virtue of the

The respiratory system (nose, throat, lungs) is the most im-
nt portal of entry of industrial poisons and the site of the
common serious occupational diseases.

chronic bronchitis, asthma, emphysema and lung
/ more important than tuberculosis in the highly in-
count: (This is not to minimize the continuing
of tuberculosis, for this is an insidious
up) weakened by poor

THE WEARING OF FLOTATION EQUIPMENT by boom crews has long been. a con-
troversial one within the IWA. Improvements on this equipment are continually being
sought. Meanwhile, the value of wearing this protection is demonstrated by the record of
the boom crew at the Pacific Veneer Division of Canadian Forest Products Limited in the
New Westminster Local Union. The fact that this crew consistently used this protection, and
the fact that they worked intelligently together to protect each other and to avoid accidents
has allowed them to work for 129,470 hours accident-free. We take this opportunity to con-
gratulate this crew and the New Westminster Local Union. The following is part of the crew:
standing left to right, Mr. Peden, B.C. Safety Council; G. Fontaine; J. Jones; B. Mitchell;
A. Long; J. Jarvis; P. Hayes; S. Cahill; R. Wood; R. Rustymeyer; M. Pruner; B. Jackson.
Seated left, C. McKay, J. Spry, J. Knox, M.Clark.

environment, or by pneumoconiosis). Chronic
bronchitis accounts for 10% of the adult mor-
tality in England. In the United States, it is
being recognized increasingly as a cause of
disability. | am sure that the same thing is
happening in Canada..

While we appreciate that many of these
cases result from more than one factor, for
example, excessive cigarette smoking, com-

aon

munity air pollution and allergies, we know
also that specific industrial chemical exposures
such as inhalation of acid and alkali vapors
sulfur dioxide, chlorine, oil fumes, isocyanates,

or of various dusts can precipitate chronic
bronchitis.

Pneumoconiosis or dust diseases of the
lungs, despite their ancient origins, remain a
big industrial health problem.