Show SMELTER FUME AND GASES As during the previous year the investigations conducted at san francisco experiment peri ment station and the field work controlled from there have centered around the problems of copper and lead smelting smelling sm elting with especial reference to the reduction of the deleterious gases and fumes emitted by smelting smelling sm elting furnaces and the recovery of the valuable constituents now wasted of these fumes considerable time has been spent in attempts to find new uses and to encourage the extension of bf present uses of sulphur arsen arsenic ic bismuth selenium and tellurium which are found in such amounts in these wastes that if any large proportion of the whole were collected in commercial form the supply would exceed the present de wand during the year the laboratory work has been largely devoted to the quantitative study of the fundamental chemical reactions taking place in rc roasting asting and blast furnaces in the and in other standard smelting smelling sm elting equipment A large part of current operating practice is based on empirical generalizations that have gradually been developed develop ed in the art itself although practice must of course always be the court of final resort as regards the merits of a given procedure still there are many fundamental chemi chemical cal problems on which more definite and accurate quantitative data are badly needed and which cannot be advantageously studied in industrial furnaces these are receiving especial attention in the laboratory at the same time the attempt is being made to render the field investigations and the work in operation cooperation co with industrial plants throughout the country serve as a medium for carrying the theoretical conclusions and suggestions from the laboratory to a L point v where here they may be readily interpreted into practical improvements and methods of closer control by those in charge of amel teries A significant and encouraging fact is the cordial operation cooperation co in this work which h has as been extended from the industries concerned even in those cases where the work in question dealt with bettering the condition of the workman or of the surrounding community without immediate prospect of commercial advantage to the operating company this operation cooperation co has in many instances been wholly informal consisting merely of the exchange of suggestions or of especial facilities for making certain tests in other instances it has taken a more definite from the third annual report of the national bureau of mines joseph A holmes director with the anaconda form as in connection and the selby smelter commissions both the anaconda plant and the selby plant in california has been in litigation either with wilh farmers associations or the local or the federal government over alleged fume damage for many years and much time and money has been expended in court proceedings by both sides without apparently reaching any permanent settlement of the general questions at issue the court proceedings in both cases have within the last two years been suspended and by agreement the questions of fact have been referred to commissions of disinterested te experts for anve investigation sti gation and report as to what improvements are possible and practicable and what relief may be reasonably expected while those commissions are entirely independent of the bureau of mines as an organization the director of the bureau was asked to serve on each of them as an individual and with the approval of the secretary of the interior is so doing each of these commissions has its own staff of scientific and technical investigators but the bureau is assisting the broader aspects of their investigations in the attempt to make such of the results as do not involve confidential data available for the broad general study of these problems the work of the san francisco station has been under the general direction of F G cottrell chief physical chemist with a staff consisting of L H duschak chemical engineer from jan 9 1913 V H welch assistant physical chemist furloughed jan 16 1913 and since then in the employ of the anaconda commission mission W eaton assistant physical physic ai chemist resigned sept 6 1912 D R kellogg assistant physical chemist from jan 2 1913 and E H bechani cian and laboratory assistant |