Stop Silicosis (US DOL 1938)
In 1938, the US Department of Labor released this film aimed at preventing the occupational disease of silicosis. It was produced in response to the national outcry over the death of more than 500 workers at Union Carbide's Hawks Nest Tunnel project near Gauley Bridge West Virginia in the early 1930s. That overexposure to silica dust caused this deadly disease had been known for more than 100 years, but many employers ignored workplace dust control methods. Sadly, almost 70 years later, hundreds of workers each year still develop this preventable lung disease. The current OSHA exposure limit for silica dust is based on science from the mid 1960s. Most of the information and prevention measures in this film are still relevant today.
Producer US Dept. of Labor 1938