DEADLY MOTOR EXHAUST

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 163, 12 July 1928, Page 17

DEADLY MOTOR EXHAUST

CHRONIC POISONING CAUSED. engineers attacked, DOCTOR'S INVESTIGATIONS. Recent researches by Dr. H. Hartridge, Professor of Physiology at London University, into the dangers of poisoning from the fumes of internal combustion engines, bear out the statements made in an article in the "Star" a short time ago regarding the ill-health of motorship engineers, said to be due to motor engine vapour. Several motor ship engineers have been treated at the Auckland Hospital. They seemed to be suffering from a new and unknown disease, or poisoning, which they attributed to their work. It was suggested that the trouble arose from continually breathing exhaust fumes, traces of which, even with- the best engines, are always present in the engine rooms. Dr. Hartridge's investigations confirm this view, and identify the disease as chronic carbon monoxide poisoning, liable to attack anyone breathing carbon monoxide gas. This gas is produced whenever a substance containing carbon I is burnt with insufficient air to produce complete combustion. Coal, coal gas, wood, petrol, paraffin, and most other commercial fuels come under this heading. Examining the exhaust products of internal combustion engines. Dr. Hartridge found that the percentage of carbon monoxide was large, but varied considerably according to the completeness of combustion and the ratio of fuel to air, or "richness" of the mixture. It is possible to increase the air proportion in fuel and air mixture from nine parts to fourteen without loss of engine power, and, by this, reduce the ratio of carbon monoxide from twelve to two, but all proportions vary according to external and internal temperature, and no fixed proportion can be stated. Poisonous fumes may contain unburned petrol vapour with carbon monoxide, and just how much of the poisoning is due to each is not determinable, but roughly the symptoms may indicate this, for petrol vapour produces dullness, dizziness, sickness and bowel weakness, and there is no flushing of the face and no ! rapid breathing and palpitation as there j is in early stages of carbon monoxide i inhalation. There is also to be con- I sidered the lead contained in the most J recently used motor fuel, and this (from J exhausts) causes sleeplessness, head- I aches, pallor, itching of skill, tremor and [ weakness. j Action of Poison. Cases are known of motor mechanics j being killed while working with motor J engines in confined spaces, but there is I little danger in the open air. In some ] motor ships, however, especially the older ones, the engine rooms are badly ventilated. and there is always a slight escape of exhaust gases, mainly as the result of imperfect pi*ton rinps. As tlv motors are often running for as long as a month on end. the engineers, working, and often sleeping, in the tainted atmosphere, i slowly develop chronic poisoning, apparently to a greater extent tlian those doing similar work ashore. \ Powers of .resistance to the poison ; vary widely. A reduced percentage in :>'r is more dangerous to men performing . active work than to men at rest, while ■ those who breathe deeply are more : quickly affected than shallow breathers. Young people are more susceptible than adults. . In some eases of chronic poisoning, a process of compensation results, whereby | the blqod responds to the presence of | the carbon monoxide by increasing the number of oxygen-carrying corpuscles, a change similar to that which follows living in a high altitude. fn uncompensated cases, however, the reduction in the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood seems to act as the last straw in breaking down the victim's health. Difficulties of Treatment. On account of tile many different forms, cases of chronic carbon monoxide poisoning are difficult to diagnose, states Dr. Hartridge, in his articla on the subject. The most reliable test is to determine the amount of carbon monoxide in the blood, hut this quantity often fluctuates considerably, and may at times be imperceptible. Blood tests have to be taken during the course of the sufferer's ordinary routine, and the air he lives and works in nyist also be analysed. Birds and other small animals are useless for testing the amount of carbon monoxide in air which will produce chronic poisoning, as their blood takes up less of the gas from a given percentage in air than docs the blood of man. Tests of much greater precision are still needed. Dr. Hartridge suggests that masks should be provided for some classes of work, and that as a precaution against sudden attacks, cylinders containing oxygen, or an equal mixture of oxygen and carbon dioxide, should be readiiv available. Artificial respiration and warmth are sometimes necessary in the latter case, or the respiratory system may be stimulated by injections of potassium cyanide. For cases of chronic poisoning. fresh air. outdoor exercise, tonics and good food constitute the usual treatment, though blood transfusion is sometimes resorted to.