THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

THE GREAT UNKNOWN —
ARE WE GUINEA PIGS?

By VERNA LEDGER
Regional Safety Director

Why are statistics for oc-
cupational injury and disease
so unfamiliar to the general
public, and why do occupa-
tional diseases often go un-
recognized.

One reason may be the
nature of the dangers of the
workplace. Only serious acci-
dents or extreme exposure to
toxic substances captures the
interest of the press and public
and since most workers are ex-
posed to low levels of these in-
sults, which may be just as
deadly in the long run, this fact
is seldom reported.

Low level insults cause
chronic illnesses. The onset of

these illnesses is often not no-
ticed. The illnesses themselves
such as lung cancer and heart
disease, are attributed to non
occupational causes by indus-
try and the medical profession.
They therefore go unrec-
ognized, uncounted and un-
compensated. Oddly enough, in
our advanced technological
society practically no one is
trained to study, recognize or
treat occupational disease.

Seldom does a physician
question a worker about their
occupation when he is exam-
ining them for a specific com-
plaint. The relationship be-
tween work and disease is sel-
dom brought out.

New technology has resulted

NEW TECHNOLOGY

in more and more harmful sub-
stances entering the workplace
with limited research being
conducted, specifically in the
area of long term effects.

One such contaminant that
has been in use fairly exten-
sively in the forest industry for
a number of years, is wood
preservatives. | Pentachloro-
phenol and products derived
from it are the most commonly
used in the preservation of
wood products.

Wood preservatives have
been used in various forms or
another since Biblical days
when pitch was used to protect
ships.

In the 19th Century, the use
of chemicals or mixtures of
chemicals underwent a rapid
expansion, creosote tar oil
emerged as a successful treat-
ment for wood to prevent its

subsequent decay in service.

Pressure treatment methods
were developed _ thereby
achieving deeper penetration
of chemicals into wood and
providing a more effective
barrier against attack by
organisms. This method was
commonly used until the early
1950’s when two types of
chemical preservatives
emerged. One of these included
the chlorinated phenols —
pentachlorophenol and tetra-
chlorophenol. These chemicals
are soluble in oil based sol-
vents and are fairly effective
against decay by fungi, or their
sodium salts are dissolved in
water and-used as a surfacte
treatment of lumber against
fungi causing sap-stain. The
treatment is very toxic to
fungi, bacteria and other
organisms and is often used as
a herbicide.

MAIN CHEMICAL

The other main chemical
used for preservation of wood
products is the copper
chromium arsenate formul-
ation. The problems with both
these of chemical for-
mulas is that very limited test-
ing has been conducted on the
health effects of prolonged ex-

to humans. However a
air amount of evidence exists
on the obvious immediate toxic
effect on some workers who
have been exposed to varying
amounts of chemicals.

From 1953-1956 five deaths of
workers exposed to penta-
chlorophenol occurred in

where the mixture
was used as a weed killer.
About the same time nine more
deaths occurred as well as
cases of extreme illness oe to
overexposure to pentachloro-

The onset of the illness is
characterized by signs of

_ raised basal metabolic rate
 eausing fever, profuse sweat-

ing, increased heart and res-
piratory rate, collapse and
death due to heat exhaustion,
dehydration and heart failure.

On examining the body of
one of two victims who had
died of pentachloropheno ex-
posure in the U.S.A. in 1964, the
coroner found that the rectal
temperature of the corpse was
still 106.5 degrees F. two hours
after death.

In spite of these frightening
statistics the product is still in
wide use and the manufacturer
and industry claim the deaths
and illnesses have occurred
only because the proper pre-
cautionary measures were not
followed when handling the
substance and material.

Less is known about the long
term effects of exposure to
pentachlorophenols, however
medical problems such as
perepheral neurites and aplas-
tic anaemia have been attrib-
uted to prolonged exposure.

Chiorodioxins in small

quantities are one of the im-
purities or contaminants of
P.C.P. Dioxins are also present
in 2-4-D and 2-4-5-T which were
used as defoliants in Vietnam
and have received recognition
and are presently being re-
searched as being the cause of
birth defects in children born
to veterans of the war.

In the B.C.. woodworking
industry pentachlorophenols
are used under many brand
names; Wood Brite, Diachem,
Permatox, Penta Plus 40, Dia-
tox, Pentol, etc.

The W.C.B. has taken the
position that the chemicals are
safe to use if proper precau-
tions are taken when handling
them. e.g.:

1. Preventing skin contact
by wearing protective clothing
— rubber aprons, gloves,
boots.

2. Preventing inhalation —
by proper ventilation, wearing
masks and respirators.

3. Preventing ingestion —
which is mainly a matter of
education, requires labelling,
no eating or smoking in work
areas, and thorough washing
before eating.

However, the Board’s cam-
paign to educate the workers
and employers as well as in-
specting the areas where the
preservatives are applied, has
been very limited, if not non-
existent. Most I.W.A. members
are not aware of the dangers of
the chemical, nor of the proper
precautions to be taken, and
many supervisory staff people
have also been kept in the
dark.

Many workers have com-
plained of feeling nauseated,
dizzy, suffering eye, nose and
throat irritations, nose bleeds,
headaches, etc. when exposed
to these work areas, yet their
complaints have for the most
part fallen on deaf ears. (These
symptoms have been specified
as warning of overexposure to
pentachlorophenol in medical
journals.) ;

’ It seems until some extreme
case such as death of a worker

-or serious illness from over-

exposure occurs, and there is a
public outery the government
agencies will ignore the pro-
tests.

One small light in the tunnel,
which has emerged, is a pro-
posal by the University of
Washington to conduct a study
of woodworkers and the possi-
ble long term health effects of
prolonged exposure to wood
preservatives. The study, if
approved in all aspects, will be
conducted in a lower mainland
sawmill and will receive the
cooperation of the I.W.A. While
this may appear to be a band-
aid approach, studying the re-
sults of exposure to health haz-
ards on a piecemeal basis,
instead of methods of pre-
venting them, the burden of

VERNA
proof is for the present time, on

the backs of workers, they are
the guinea pigs.

Hopefully, if the I.W.A.’s de-_

mand in 1979 negotiations for-a
Research Fund for Health and
Safety is realized, we may at

last begin to direct research ~

into all areas of I.W.A. worker
exposure to health hazards and

oa a A A

a

LEDGER

then progress into the develop-
ment of positive preventative
measures. .

Still that will be only one in a
series of many steps to the
ultimate goal of a worker’s
right to know and participate
in the decision making on all
matters related to Health and
Safety.

SAFETY CONFERENCE

The Spring Regional Safety and Health Conference will be

held April 6-7, at the Stockmen’s Hotel, Kamloops.

Registration will commence at 7:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m.
April 5, the Conference proceedings commence at 9:00 a.m.
April 6-7, concluding at 5:00 p.m. on April 7.

INJURIES HIGH

FOR FRENCH WORKERS

In the course of a single
working day in France one
accident at work takes place
every six seconds, a serious
accident every minute and one
mortal accident every hour.
Manual workers are more af-
fected than other categories
and they represent 57.6% of
wage-earners and account for
84.4% of accidents.

These striking figures ap-
pear in the report ‘‘On the Res-

ponsibility of the Firm’s Head’
presented to the ‘‘Nanterre
Discussions” by M. Sebag,
honorary Dean of the Faculty
of Law.

In 1974, says the report, there
were 302,483 infringements of
health and safety regulations.
But there were only 2,250 con-
victions, nine-tenths of which
did not exceed the minimum
fine provided.

NOTLEY DEMANDS
BETTER SAFETY LAWS

Alberta NDP leader Grant
Notley said safe working con-
ditions should be considered a
right for all employees.

Notley told a union meeting
in a west-central Alberta
community that good condi-
tions of work should not have to
be bargained for in contract
negotiations.

Notley proposed that the
Occupational Health and Safe-
ty Act be amended to imple-
ment a number of recom-
mendations of the Gale Com-
mission on Industrial Health

and Safety which have been ig-
nored by the provincial
government.

NOTICE

Asa result of a fire which severely damaged the Workers’
Compensation Board office in Prince George last month,

new offices have now been opened at 299 Victoria Street in
Prince George. Beginning March 5, 1979, all corres-
pondence to the Workers’ Compensation Board should be
- mailed to this address. The telephone number is 563-9264
which is unchanged.
WCB office hours are 8:30 to 4:30, Monday to Friday.