Mercurialism and Its Control in the Felt-Hat Industry

This report is an excellent piece of work. Aside from the technical worth of the results obtained, the most interesting aspect of the investigation was revealed in the helpful attitude of all agencies approached. In order to conduct the survey it was necessary to secure the active cooperation of the owners and managers of the hat manufacturing plants and also of the labor union organizations to which the hatters belong. The study itself was conducted with the assistance of the Bureau of Occupational Diseases of the Connecticut State Department of Health. Local physicians practicing in the communities where these plants were located contributed their personal observations, and three state hospitals made their records available. Participation in the study must necessarily have had excellent educational effects on all these interested groups. No cases of mercurialism were found among workmen exposed to less than 1 mg. of mercury per 10 cubic meters