South America, according to this report, is behind in its industrial hygiene organization and development. The war revealed serious curtailments in production because of poor health, debility and low productive capacity of workers. These studies of the current industrial hygiene status in Bolivia, Peru and Chile stem directly from the conclusion of the Institute of Inter-American Affairs that health and sanitation are basic to effective wartime mobilization.
The institute secured assistance from the Division of Industrial Hygiene in the Public Health Service to make the essential surveys. Few distinctions can be drawn between the reports as they refer to these three countries. All have considerable natural resources, the full development of which has been hampered by a disease-ridden population. Standards of living, education, income, community health and sanitation are reasonably comparable, although Chile appears to be more progressive in the direction of education and governmental supervision over health and working