Causes of Damage to Clothing

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Occupational Group 4: Men in Iron & Steel Manufacture

DAMAGE		CLOTHING AFFECTED
		Protective		Outer		Underwear		Footwear
		1		2		3		4
		No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
1.	Abnormal Dirt	128	23.9	145	27.1	96	17.9	75	14.0
2.	Abnormal Perspiration	109	20.3	213	39.7	292	54.5	194	36.2
3.	Abnormal Wear & Tear	209	39.0	268	50.0	143	26.7	158	29.5
4.	Burning	248	46.3	337	62.9	191	35.6	386	72.0
5.	Corrosion	38	7.1	39	7.3	25	4.7	35	6.5
6.	Cuts & Abrasions from Metal Swart	11	2.1	9	1.7	3	.6	10	1.9
7.	Cuts & Abrasions from other causes	88	16.4	111	20.7	47	8.8	104	19.4
8.	Dust & Metal Fillings	19	3.5	21	3.9	12	2.2	16	3.0
9.	Humidity	4	.7	6	1.1	5	.9	6	1.1
10.	Odour	7	1.3	6	1.1	3	.6	4	.8
11.	Oil, Grease & Soluble Oils	142	26.5	151	28.2	84	15.7	129	24.1
12.	Weather	15	2.8	12	2.2	1	.2	12	2.2
13.	Wetness	11	2.1	10	1.9	6	1.1	14	2.6
14.	Other damage	1	.2	2	.4	2	.4	2	.4
	(536=100%)

Occupational Group 5: Women in Iron & Steel Manufacture

DAMAGE		CLOTHING AFFECTED
		Protective		Outer		Underwear		Footwear
		1		2		3		4
		No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
1.	Abnormal Dirt	92	32.1	89	31.0	78	27.2	76	26.5
2.	Abnormal Perspiration	48	16.7	74	25.8	125	43.5	73	25.4
3.	Abnormal Wear & Tear	179	62.4	169	58.9	110	38.3	171	59.6
4.	Burning	79	27.5	68	23.7	19	6.6	98	34.1
5.	Corrosion	29	10.1	29	10.1	20	6.9	24	8.4
6.	Cuts & Abrasions from Metal Swart	11	3.8	10	3.5	5	1.7	11	3.8
7.	Cuts & Abrasions from other causes	82	28.6	73	25.4	18	6.3	79	27.5
8.	Dust & Metal Fillings	24	8.4	24	8.4	15	5.2	23	8.0
9.	Humidity	1	.3	2	.7	2	.7	-	-
10.	Odour	10	3.5	9	3.1	7	2.4	9	3.1
11.	Oil, Grease & Soluble Oils	57	19.9	57	19.9	33	11.5	49	17.0
12.	Weather	5	1.7	5	1.7	-	-	5	1.7
13.	Wetness	8	2.8	7	2.4	4	1.4	8	2.8
14.	Other damage	5	1.7	5	1.7	1	.3	4	1.4
	(287=100%)

Abnormal Dirt. From handling bricks, morter and concrete in constructing moulds. From sand, loam, slag, antimony, coal, coke and iron ore: from dirty floors: gun barrels: from furnace steam and gas fumes.

Abnormal Perspiration. Caused by working with hot bars and steel plates, near blazing furnaces, forges and brazier fires: from the heat of driers, and when lifting heavy loads. Sweating is accentuated in hot summer weather.

Abnormal Wear & Tear. Clothing is torn on machinery: worn by friction of stooping and rubbing on benches: by climbing and carrying metal plates and heavy sacks. Continual washing which is necessary for filthy clothing makes it wear out very quickly. Shoes are badly worn on hard flooring and stockings laddered by catching on machinery and through frequent bending and stooping.

Burning . Caused by sparks from saws, furnaces and grinding machines: hot cinders from moulds: splashes from molten metal in the cauldrons: shoes are burnt by standing on hot metal plates and on hot sand on the floor.

Corrosion . Rot is caused by clothing coming in contact with sulphuric acid, white spirits of ammonia, antimony oxide and other corrosive acids used in pickling etc. by flux used in smelting: by soda ash, flue dust, limestone and gas fumes: from paint, basic slag, and from iron mould rubbing against clothes.

Cuts & Abrasions from Metal Swarf . Made by grit, metal swarf, loose turnings, scrap and slag.

Cuts and Abrasions from other sources. Clothes are torn on numerous projections, nails, wire, bits of jagged metal, on rough edges of moulds and castings, on the sharp edges of boxes: by catching on machinery, fly-wheels, handles, pneumatic hammers, and on bits of timber. When lifting bars and handling tin plates: by tin on splitting machines: when knocking off sticks of bullets: through working on the ground or floor. Dust & Metal Filings. From lime, white dust from antimony: black sand and powder in the foundries.

Humidity. In casting pits and when working with pickling vats.

Odour. From oil seeping into clothing and making it unusable except for work.

Oil, Grease and Soluble Oils. When greasing and oiling machinery: from bars soaked in oil: oil dripping from gantry’s overhead: while sweeping round machines: rubbing against fresh paintwork: linseed oil from tanks rots socks, stockings and shoes

Weather is a hazard to clothing when continually working out of doors.

Wetness from splashes when washing tin-plates after pickling: water dripping from saw-blade coolers: from standing on or working with damp sand cement

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