Sulphuretted hydrogen—around blast fur naces; in ultramine works; in soda factories (Leblanc process) ; in extracting cellulose; in tanneries; in making illuminating gas.
. Sulphuric acid fumes—in hat factories; in petroleum refining; in fertilizer factories; in making and caring for storage batteries.
Turpentine oil fumes—in the making of lacquers, varnishes and cements; in tapestry printing; in house painting.
Outside of industrial gas poisonings there has been a number of cases of poisoning by carbon monoxide (CO) both through the medium of illuminating gas, of which it is an important constituent, and also where old fashioned gas stoves without flues are used, and where there is insufficient air to convert the CO to CO2. See CARBON MONOXIDE.
Poisoning by illuminating has is extremely common, occurring both by intent and acci dentally. The character of the poisoning and its mode of treatment will vary with the com position of the particular variety of illuminating gas that may be inhaled. The so-called "water gas') is particularly rich in CO. The leading symptoms of this form of poisoning are, in the beginning, headache, with sense of pressure in the temples, ringing in the ears, flashes before the eyes, beating of the temporal arteries, diz ziness and perhaps unconsciousness. If the breathing of the gas continues, dangerous symp toms develop. There is marked redness of the skin, with unconsciousness; the blood is bright red— a marked contrast to the dark blood with blueness of the skin seen in carbon-dioxide poisoning. Occasionally there are cramp-like convulsions. The is at first full and strong; later it is thin and small. The breathing is slowed, and becomes a kind of snoring. Vomiting is common, and occasionally the vomit is drawn into the lungs and causes the additional symptoms of suffocation. The pa tient may die in deep slumber. The diagnosis is not simple, but the chief signs are the red dish face, the snoring breathing, the absence of alcoholic breath and perhaps the slight odor of gas in the room. The treatment should be energetic. The patient should be brought into fresh air at once, the clothing loosened and hot bottles applied to the extremities. Active rub bing of the skin with coarse towels, mustard water applications to the extremities and arti ficial respiration should be instituted. The breathing of camphor vapor or well-diluted am monia gas may stimulate the breathing. So long at the heart beats there are hopes of re viving the patient. The injection into the rec tum of large quantities (2 quarts) of hot salt solution (110°-118° F.), a teaspoonful of salt to a pint of water, is of great service. Small quantities of whisky (lA ounce) may be added to this. The transfusion of salt solu tion into the veins is sometimes necessary, but should he performed only by the medical prac titioner.
Where the pulmotor (q.v.) is available it is used almost exclusively in the resuscitation of persons overcome by the inhalation of poison ous gases, and has been successful in cases where the beating of the heart has been sus pended for five minutes. Persistence in the operation is required; two or even three hours having been necessary in some cases. The difficulty of carrying it about on account of its weight led to the invention of the respirator (q.v.), similar to the pulmotor, but using or dinary air instead of oxygen, which is not al ways obtainable in an emergency. The record of the respirator is quite as satisfactory as that of the pulmotor.
In the European War poison gases have been used freely, first by the German army and later by their foes. The German gases were at first a mixture of chlorine and sulphur dioxide, which rolled along the ground to a height of about seven feet and filled the trenches. In one recorded instance the cloud of gas rose to a height of 40 feet, and this was maintained along a stretch of five miles for the space of four hours. The effect upon those not im mediately killed by the inhalation of this mix ture was to produce irritation and swelling in the bronchial tubes, with many of the symptoms of acute bronchitis. The inhalation of ammonia gas gave relief, but most cases became speedily worse on the third day, and succumbed. Nitrous acid gas has also been used alone and in mix ture, both in the clouds of gas sent rolling over the ground, and in the gas shells dropped into trenches and gas bombs dropped from aero planes. Bromine has also been used. To pro tect the soldiers from these attacks gas masks were devised. They consist of a face piece in which is placed an absorbent filling containing a mixture of sodium thiosulphate, 72 per cent ; and sodium bicarbonate, 28 per cent and 2 to 3 per cent of glycerine to keep them moist. These masks are effective for two and a half minutes in air containing 10 per cent of chlorine, and twice as long if the chlorine content is only 5 per cent. One part of chlorine in 1,000 parts of air is instantly fatal when inhaled. One part in 100,000 of air, if inhaled for any length of time, is highly injurious. The German treatment of their own gassed men is by hypo dermic injection of atropine.
Consult Dion, S. A., 'Tanks, Gas, Bombing, Liquid Fire' (New York 1917) ; Glaister, J., and Logan, D. D., 'Gas Poisoning in Mines and Other Industries' (Edinburgh 1914) ; Roberts, A. A., The Poison War (London 1915) ; United States Bureau of Labor Bulletin 100, 'List of Industrial Poisons and Other Sub stances Injurious to Health Found in Indus trial Processes' (Washington 1912), and Bulle tin 179, 'Industrial Poisons Used in the Rub ber Industry' (1915).