Maladies caused by the air we breathe inside and outside the home.
- Thomas Oliver
- Date:
- 1906
Licence: In copyright
Credit: Maladies caused by the air we breathe inside and outside the home. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.
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![arms, and legs, due to multiple neuritis, and in women a tendency to abortion. Laboulb^ne mentions as one of the results of exposure to the vapour a peculiar condition of the skin, which he names melano- dermie sulphocarbonnee, in which there are black, irregularly shaped patches disseminated over the skin, due to alterations of the blood. The prevention of carbon bisulphide poisoning can be, to a large extent, secured by free ventilation of the workrooms. As the vapour is heavier than that of the atmosphere, artificial means should be adopted for its removal in a downward direction away from the work- people. Caustic solutions which are capable of absorbing and rendering harmless CS, vapour should be placed upon the floor. As it is very inflammable, no naked lights are allowed in the workrooms, and in order to secure the freest ventilation some of the workrooms have no outside wall, but communicate directly with the open air. This renders the work extremely cold in winter. The workpeople should not indulge in alcohol; no food should be eaten in the factory ; overalls ought to be worn when at work. Mine Gases. One of the most important gases which the miner has to face in the pit is methane (CH4), mine or marsh gas. When vegetable or animal matter undergoes decomposition in the absence of air, but in presence of water, metha.ne is formed. It is this gas which escapes in bubbles when the mud of marshes is stirred. Marsh-gas is frequently present in large quantities in coal-seams, and often hisses out with considerable loudness when a reservoir of the gas has been struck by the pick of a miner. It is a lighter gas than oxygen and nitrogen ; it is colourless and without odour; it does not support combustion, but is itself combustible, burning with a clear blue flame in excess of air, and forming carbonic acid and water. When mixed with ordinary atmospheric air or oxygen and ignited, it explodes, hence the name given to it of Jire-dam]) by miners. The maximum explosive force is obtained when the methane reaches 9*38 per cent. Below 6 per cent, the mixture is not explosive. It is unnecessary to do more than briefly allude to the detection of this gas by the bluish cone of light or cap inside the Davy safety lamp. Physiologically speaking, methane, like nitrogen, is an indifferent gas. So long as there is plenty of oxygen present to support respiration considerable quantities of methane can be borne with impunity. The gas is of interest on account of its explosive properties when mixed with air or oxygen.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b23983759_0049.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
