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Silicosis in Pottery Workers

This excerpt was created in the absence of an abstract.

This subject has been discussed in this journal by Bromley in 1934, and here I intend to devote most of my remarks to industrial and clinical factors, and to illustrate types which have been observed and followed until death supervened.

In this type of worker, silicosis is a frequent risk in the industry, and in a survey carried out in 1932 it was found in the following proportions of workers who had been employed for 20 years.

Thus, at the end of twenty years, at least one-third of the workers in these branches of the industry have acquired this dread and distressing disability, and the proportion increases as the length of time in the industry increases.

The important factors in the occurrence of silicosis are:—

This varies a great deal in workers, as certain classes of workmen may have several jobs to carry out, and the atmosphere may vary considerably; also the china bedder's risk is almost continuous as he is working in flint, in which the china is placed ready for the first firing, whereas the china turner and thrower only has the risk of silica from the clay, and this is much less than in the case of the bedder.

Females are said to be less frequently affected by silicosis but this is merely because employment is in many cases intermittent, and the job also varies so that there may be a risk with one whereas the next job may be risk free, while the total length of employment is usually much less.

Received for publication December 29, 1937.