DUST FROM MANURES.

Thames Star, Volume LXI, Issue 17051, 3 December 1927, Page 5

DUST FROM MANURES.

DANGER TO FARMERS. SERIOUS ILLNESS CAUSED. DOCTOR ISSUES WARNING. A serious view is being taken by doctors in Morrinsville of an illness caused through inhaling the dust from artificial manures while top-dressing. One practitioner stated yesterday that he had already had three cases, all of a serious nature. He had not previously encountered the complaint. One case was that of Ralph Clements, son of Mr C. Clements, Tatuanui. This case was so serious that for a few days the patient’s life was despaired. By careful nursing the young man has now practically recovered and will be about* in a fortnight’s time. The other two cases were nut of such a serious nature, but nevertheless were very painful. The doctor stated that he mistook the first case he saw for measles, there being the symptoms of that complaint. The disease later assumed different characteristics. It commenced with an irritation in the region above the nose and was followed by severe headaches and a poisoning of the stomach. He, attributed it to the presence of sulphate of ammonia in the artificial manure, which had an irritating effect.

As a preventative the doctor recommended the use of a mask of some kind when top-dressing . Butter-cloth would be serviceable. The speaker said that he would not think of handling manure in this exceptionally windy weather without some protection for his bead. Inquiries were made among fertiliser merchants, from which it appears that the only manures that contain sulphate of ammonia are ammonia top-dress-ing and mixtures for root cropping and grain fertilising. The proportion of sulphate, which is a very active propeity, being almost pure ammonia is very small —only about 5 per cent. When combined with .other minerals in the manure this sulphate forms nitrogen. One merchant recalled that several years ago there had been cases of serious illness caused through mixing a preparation, nitroline, a nitrogen compound. In the case of Mr. Clements the constituents of the manure were bought separately and mixed, so that it is conceivable that some of the sulphate was inhaled in its unmixed state.