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Show SHARP DUST PARTICLES 'HOOK' THEIR WAY INTO MEMBRANES AND DISEASE RESULTS Science TelU Why Some Trades, Dry Sweeping and Motoring Mo-toring on Certain Highway Are Dangerous to Health :3EL Bringing on tgg " ' ' " Cross-Section of Human Head Showing Mucous Membrane of Note snd Throat. SCIENTIFIC research Is gradually gradual-ly finding out why dust kills one out of every seven persons. The Harvard Medical School, the United States Public Health Service, various Insurance companies aud the great labor organizations of the country coun-try are all Interested In the problem. For example, according to Dr. L. R. Thompson, of the United States Public Pub-lic Health Service, the sieknesi record of granite workers shows that the greater part of Illness proceeds from respiratory conditions and that respiratory respir-atory diseases are three t'nies as prevalent prev-alent among granite workers as among j workers In general Industry, "It Is clear," said Dr. Thompson, "that wherever there is a great amount of granite dust there Is a dangerous dan-gerous hazard, a mortality , which seems inevitable and which Is rising at) the time." Incidentally, according to Federal strMstlcs, from 4,500,000 to 5,000,000 persons are employed In the dusty trade, but everyone, from the man who fears "dry sweeping" by housewives house-wives on their front steps to the motorist mo-torist who must find his way through clouds of dust on the hl'bway, Is affected af-fected by the menace of fine particles In the air. Various theories have been proposed to explain why dust should be such a danger to health. The usual explanation explana-tion seeks the cause In the tenderness of the mucous membrane lining of the throat and nose. Healthy throats and noses secrete a fluid, the mucus, which Is Just -uffl- cient to take care of ordinary dust lo the air. If that amount should be exceeded, ex-ceeded, the dust becomes too great to be handled by ' e mucus and the dust penetrates int 'he deeper parts of the body lining. Dust Is of various kinds, but whether wheth-er it Is organic or Inorganic in origin makes no difference. What makes the dust particles dangerous is their shape. Particles that have sharp corners, cor-ners, such as dust from marble, metal, wood or stone, cut into the membrane very much as an old fashioned knitting needle cuts into worsted and there the dust particles become fastened. The mucus fluid referred to passes over those particles, moving them to and fro, and causing the membrane to become tender and ther Inflamed. Should tlieTro ss become continuous, continu-ous, as so often happens, serious sinus conditions result and tn aggravated cases, tuberculosis may be their termination. termi-nation. That, in brief, is what happens. Scientists have tried with all the resources at their command to combat com-bat dust In the air, but so tar, with a few exceptions, tiia results have not been fruitful. Aa a means of prevention, preven-tion, suggestions bave been made ta various quarters that the dust ir' 'it be laid with some sort of physical or chemical means and In many sections of the United States municipalities have been laying the dust with calcium cal-cium chloride. That Is a chemical capable of absorbing a high degree of moisture from the air, hygroscopic, it Is called, which acts as a binder of dust on the highways. It also has great germicidal rata. |