Report of Board appointed to inquire into the prevalence and prevention of lead poisoning at the Broken Hill silver-lead mines to the Honourable the Minister for Mines and Agriculture.

  • New South Wales. Legislative Council.
Date:
1893
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of Board appointed to inquire into the prevalence and prevention of lead poisoning at the Broken Hill silver-lead mines to the Honourable the Minister for Mines and Agriculture. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

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    3349. Chairman.'] Why do they not? The water is in the level, and some distance from where some of ^l:^ men are working. They would have a long way to come. .^_a_^-1^ 3350. What do you call a long way ? A man working up on the tenth or eleventh floor would have to j^^^^ -^^^^ come right down that many floors to the level to get the water. 3351. The floors are 6 or 7 feet apart? Tes. 3352. He would have a good many steps to go up and down ? Tes. 3353. If water were conveniently provided, do you think men would take advantage of it ? I believe some would, but others would not. 3354. Do you know what kind of ore it is that you are in at Block 11 ? It is carbonate of lead ore that I work in. 3355. Mr. Howell.'] We are in sulphides in the 300-foot level. 3356. Chairman.] You think it is important to keep lead dust down ? Tes. 3357. Tou are working in a moist kind of ground ? Tes ; no water, but merely damp—not quite so damp as clay. 3358. Still there is some sprinkling done in that part of the mine ? Tes; the -water is there for any one to use. 3359. Do they sprinkle it ? Tes. 3360. Would the use of too much water for sprinkling lead to any other objectionable state of things ? Men working in the floor underneath would be annoyed by the water running through the floor. 3361. Nothing else? No. 336j^. Tou are a married man ? Tes. 3363. Tou live in your own place ? Tes. 3364. Have you taken advantage of the bath that has been recently put up ? No. 3365. Tou have plenty of accommodation in your own house ? No, not a great deal of accommodation; but I use water pretty freely on myself. 3366. At present you have plenty of water ? Tes. 3367. Is your house connected with the water service ? No. 3368. What did you do a year ago, when the drought was ? We had to do the best we could without. 3369. Tou would still have to do without it if another drought came ? Tes ; you cannot afford to have many baths when water is 7s. or 8s. 100 gallons. 3370. Tou have no objection to using the baths put up by the Proprietary Company ? No ; the only thing is when you go there, you have to wait so long, there are so many after them. 3371. But I believe there are three tank baths and sixteen showers ;—are they always full ? Tes ; every time I have been there I could not get in. I have been there three different times. 3372. After what shift has that been so,—day or afternoon shift ? Any shift, and before I would go on the afternoon shift at 4 o'clock. 3373. I suppose the number of men coming off each shift is about the same? Tes. 3374. Mr. Howell.] A little more on the day than on the night shift, but far more men come off on the 4 o'clock shift than on any other shift during the twenty-four hours, as the day men or surface hands all knock off at that time. \_The Chairman examined tvitness' gums. He shoivecl a slicjht hlue line.] 3375. Chairman.] How old are you ? Thirty-three. 3376. Have you ever had any sickness ? No. 3377. Mr. Hajulet.] Have you any children. One. 3378. What is the age ? Very nearly seven months old. 3379. How far is your house from the mine? I am living about 250 yards from Mr. Howell's place. 3380. Did you ever find, in your experience, that your wife suffered in any way from the smoke ? She has not been up here long enough for that. 3381. Nor the child ? No. 3382. What is the size of your house ? 24 x 12. 3383. Two rooms ? Tes. 3384. Do you think you have escaped lead-poisoning from anything you have done, or from having taken care of yourself, or is it simply because you were in a part of the mine where there was not much lead ? I do not know. I have always taken plenty of medicine. I have kept myself well regulated. I think that has a great deal to do with it. I never abused myself in any way with drink. 3385. Tou knew when you first went to work at the mine that there was danger? Tes ; I was frightened of it. 3386. So you have generally taken care of yourself ? Tes. 3387. Mr, Howell.] Speaking about the quantity of lead in Block 11, you understand that the only body of carbonate of lead ore ui that place extends from about M'Gregor's shaft 260 odd feet north of western side? Tes. 3388. The balance of Block 11, as far as you know, is either manganic iron or dry silicious ore ? Tes. 3389. Quite a patch of it yet, below and above the 230-foot level ? Tes. 3390. The ground is of a damp character, and very little dust ? Tes. 3391. But all the balance of Block 11 is pretty much made up of kaolin ironstone and silicious iron? Tes 3392. There was onetime when nearly one-half of the men working in Block 11 were working in lead? Tes. 3393. That lasted for about two years ? Tes ; close on two years—not quite. 3394. Tou consider the ventilation good in all parts of the mine where you have worked ? Tes; I consider the ventilation better now than it was before the strike. 3395. How do they produce ventilation in the cross-cuts ? They have fans and pipes. 3396. They are always put up? Tes. 3397. Mr. Thomas.] Tou say that for two years in Block 11 about half the number of men employed there worked in lead ? Tes. 3398. During that period then they would only work two weeks out of the lead and two weeks in? Tes. 3399. Can you tell moAvhat two years they were ? Two years ending last Christmas twelve month. 3400. That would be from Christmas, 1889, to Christmas, 1891 ? Tes. 3401. What portions of those two years did vou work in Block 11 ? -From the 24th , 1889, to 3rd April, 1892. . - 3402.