Health when occasion arises so that state and local health departments may co-operate in the work of prevention of death and extension of life.

INTERSTATE QUARANTINE REGULATIONS.

The following amendments to the Interstate Quarantine Regulations, promulgated by the Treasury Department January 15, 1916, were made by the Secretary of the Treasury February 12, 1917, in accordance with the act of Congress approved February 15, 1893.

Water for Drinking or Culinary Purposes Provided on Cars and Vessels by Interstate Carriers.

Section 13 was amended to read as follows:

Sec. 13. Water for drinking or culinary purposes provided on any car, vessel, vehicle, or other conveyance, by any person, firm, or corporation while engaged in interstate traffic, shall conform to the bacteriological standard for drinking water, as promulgated by the Secretary of the Treasury on October 21, 1914, and shall not be from a supply that is exposed to contamination.

(a) The person, firm, or corporation before mentioned shall procure from the interstate sanitary officer, or the state or other health authority within whose jurisdiction the water is obtained, a certificate showing that the water supply conforms to the foregoing requirements. The aforesaid certificates shall be executed semiannually or as often as the Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service may direct, and shall be filed with the United States Public Health Service.

(b) Ice used for cooling such water shall be clear natural ice, ice made from distilled water, or ice made from water certified as aforesaid, and before the ice is placed in the water it shall be first carefully washed with water of known safety, and handled in such manner as to prevent its becoming contaminated by the organisms of infectious or contagious diseases; Provided, That the foregoing shall not apply to ice which does not come in contact with the water which is to be cooled.

(c) Water containers shall be cleansed at least once in each week that they are in operation.

(d) The provisions of this section shall also apply to water provided for drinking or culinary purposes on vessels plying between foreign ports on or near the frontiers of the United States, and adjacent ports in the United States, in accordance with article 4. Foreign Quarantine Regulations of the United States, promulgated October 20, 1910, and amendments thereto.

Water for Drinking Purposes Provided at Stations by Interstate Carriers.

Section 14 was amended to read as follows:

Sec. 14.

No person, firm, or corporation engaging in interstate. traffic shall maintain or permit to be maintained at or near any station

or other ordinary stopping place over which the aforesaid person, firm, or corporation has control, any tank, cistern, receptacle, hydrant, pump, well, stream, brook, pool, ditch, or other place or article containing water which may be contaminated by organisms likely to cause a contagious or infectious disease and which water may conveniently be obtained by employes of the aforesaid person, firm, or corporation, or by the general public engaging in interstate traffic, unless approved signs, prohibiting the use of such water for drinking purposes, be properly placed and properly maintained.

Interstate Transportation of Persons Having Contagious or Infectious Diseases.

Section 18 was amended to read as follows:

Sec. 18. No person knowing that he is in the communicable stage of any of the diseases, enumerated in section I shall travel on any car, vessel, vehicle, or other conveyance engaging in interstate traffic, except as hereinafter provided, nor shall any parent, guardian, physician, nurse, or other person, allow or procure such transportation for any minor, ward, patient, or other person under his charge.

Sanitation of Camps Occupied by Migratory Workers.
The following section was added:

Sec. 37. Persons, firms, or corporations maintaining camps of migratory workers shall at all times maintain such camps in a proper sanitary condition and shall take proper measures to maintain the camps so occupied in a vermin-free condition and shall exercise such other precautions as shall prevent the interstate spread of disease from such camps, and the Surgeon General may from time to time detail officers or employes of the United States Public Health Service to make such inspections as shall be necessary for the enforcement of this regulation.

Prohibiting the Interstate Transportation of Oysters and Clams Grown or Handled Under Insanitary Conditions.

The following section was added:

Sec. 38. After notification in writing by the proper health authorities, common carriers shall not transport nor accept for transportation in interstate traffic, nor shall any person, firm, or corporation offer for transportation in interstate traffic, any oysters, clams, or other shellfish which have been grown, fattened, or handled in such a way as to render them liable to become agents in the interstate spread of disease, and the Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service shall from time to time cause sanitary inspections to be made by officers of the Public Health Service of beds used for growing or fattening oysters, clams, or other shellfish and of shucking houses and other similar places in which oysters, clams, or other shellfish are shucked or otherwise prepared for interstate shipment, and he may forbid the interstate shipment of any such oysters, clams, or other shellfish which are produced or handled in a manner which will render them liable to become agents for the interstate spread of disease.

INVESTIGATION OF LEAD POISONING AND LACQUER FUMES.

On January 4th an investigation was made of the plant of the J. A. Fay-Eagan Company in Cincinnati, in regard to a fatal case of lead poisoning reported in a person said to have been employed at this plant. An investigation of the plant had previously been made by deputy inspectors of the State Industrial Commission, who were of the opinion that it would be almost impossible to contract an occupational disease in the department in which Mr. Sutton worked. Inasmuch as they have in this plant a lead tempering bath in which lead is heated to a temperature of about 850°F. and also a pot in which babbitt metal is recovered from sweepings, it would seem to the investigator from this department to have been possible for an employee to have contracted lead poisoning. The tempering department is located in an old building poorly ventilated, poorly lighted, with an ill-kept dirt floor. It was stated that this company was erecting a new plant in another part of the city and that provisions would be made in this plant for taking care of all dust and fumes.

On January 4, 1917, an investigation was made of the plant of the National Brass Company in Cincinnati in response to requests of numerous employees of that firm. It was alleged that a number of cases of illness prevailed among employees of the plant, due to lacquer fumes, which were discharged by an exhaust system into a narrow areaway between two three-story buildings. Lacquer fumes were very noticeable throughout the plant and it was recommended that the exhaust should not be discharged into the areaway but into a pipe leading at least to the roof level. This matter was referred to the State Industrial Commission with the suggestion that the necessary orders be given to make such installation as necessary to clear the work rooms of fumes as much as possible.

On January 24, 1917, an investigation was made of Plant No. 2 of the Consolidated Manufacturing Company, located in Toledo, in response to requests by a number of employees as well as several physicians who had treated cases of lead poisoning said to have been contracted in the tempering room of the above mentioned plant. The firm is engaged in the manufacture of shells, which are tempered by immersing them in a lead bath, the lead being heated to a temperature of from 1100 to 1400°F. The investigator was informed by the superintendent that up until several weeks ago no provision had been made for taking care of the lead fumes. They have recently installed a ventilating system which is entirely inadequate, and which the investigator recommended that they improve at once. This department has received in several weeks seven reports of lead poisoning in persons said to have been employed in this department of the plant. The superintendent informed the investigator that they have pending three suits for damages. They were apparently ignorant concerning the dangers of lead as it is used in their plant. They were advised to retain a physician to examine their men as

they are employed and also to make at least monthly examinations of men working in this department. They were provided with a number of leaflets for distribution giving instructions to employees how to prevent lead poisoning, with the suggestion that they be distributed among their men and that the department be placarded with them. The firm was also supplied with an "Employees' Medical Record" book in which the results of their physical examinations should be kept. This instance is an example of the seriousness of lead as an industrial poison under improper working conditions, and it is the intention of the division to insist that the proper steps be taken to safeguard the health of the employees of this plant.

Cases of tuberculosis arranged according to the United States Census Classification, reported in connection with gainful occupations, are as follows:

ANOTHER COUNTY EMPLOYS A SANITARY ENGINEER.

Franklin County commissioners have appointed E. G. Bradbury as sanitary engineer at a salary of $25 for every day he works. He will have charge of all sewerage construction within a radius of three miles around Columbus.

Mr. Bradbury is the second county sanitary engineer to be appointed in Ohio. Lucas County was the first to avail itself of the services of a sanitary engineer as authorized by law, and L. A. Boulay has done valuable work in that capacity in the Toledo district. It is hoped that other counties will follow the example of Lucas and Franklin.

ELEVENTH CONFERENCE OF OHIO TUBERCULOSIS HOSPITAL SUPERINTENDENTS.

The Eleventh Conference of Ohio Tuberculosis Hospital Superintendents was held in Columbus, January 26.

The chairman of the committee on standard medical blanks said that he has his staff at work on these blanks and will submit them in the near future. The program committee submitted a tentative report and the secretary was instructed to send a copy of the suggested program to all superintendents for their consideration. Papers assigned for the next meeting were "Tuberculosis in Children," Dr. Chas. G. Souder, Toledo, and "The Coordination of Tuberculosis Activities in Ohio," Dr. John R. McDowell of the State Department of Health.

Dr. Douglass, superintendent of the State Sanatorium at Mt. Vernon, reported that the legislature has been asked for a special appropriation of $20,000 for the construction of a road to the Sanatorium. The secretary of the conference was instructed to address a letter to the finance committee of the legislature urging favorable action.

Dr. Douglass also announced that arrangements have been made for giving school instruction to the fifteen children patients by a teacher who is also a patient at the Sanatorium.

Dr. Bachmeyer, superintendent of the Municipal Hospital of Cincinnati, said that the Tuberculosis Branch Hospital will receive $25,000 instead of $15,000 from the County Commissioners, and that council has passed an issue of bonds to the amount of $40,000.00 for the hospital. The staff has been increased and will consist now of a resident physician, a first and second assistant, a bacteriologist, and a sufficient number of minor employes to eliminate patient labor.

Dr. Paterson, secretary of the Ohio Society for the Prevention of Tuberculosis, discussed pending legislation as it affects tuberculosis hospitals.

The use of statistical material available in the reports of the bureau of admission and discharges was also discussed, and suggestions as to the tabulation of the material made by members of the Conference.

Tuberculosis Hospital Notes.

Trustees of the District Tuberculosis hospital under construction at Chillicothe report the institution will be ready for use on May 1. Negotiations are under way in Cincinnati between the AntiTuberculosis League, the United Jewish Charities and the Hamilton County commissioners, which seek to secure the cooperation of the county officials in paying for patients at the Ohio State Sanatorium. It is likely that the county commissioners will agree to the request.

A bond issue of $40,000 for funds to equip the new buildings at the Cincinnati Tuberculosis Sanatorium has been agreed upon by the city officials.