PVA health hazards

I am sure that many readers will have picked up Susan Griffiths's
article on PVA with interest even the sceptical amongst us whom have
used a variety of PVA's for years without fear. When it comes to health
and safety matters we must not be complacent about materials we are
using simply because we have used them safely for years. For this reason
I spoke today with representatives of The British Adhesives and Sealants
Association, British Medical Association, Health and Safety Executive
and Royal College of Physicians.

All assume that by "Renaud Syndrome" the writer is referring to "Raynauds
Syndrome or Disease", a disorder of the blood vessels caused by 'a
degree of coldness that would not effect a normal person'. This disorder
is accentuated by exposure to cold, cold to the fingers and toes.
Essentially the disorder cuts off blood flow to fingers and toes.
Incidentally doctors advise against smoking since the act of smoking
further constricts the arteries. Young women are apparently most
affected. I have been unable to locate through these sources any
incidence of the disorder being contracted by fumes.

A bindery/workshop floor is however apt to be cold concrete and
therefore very cold on the feet. Drawing on my own experiences,running a
production line with operatives standing on concrete flooring for most
of the day I would recommend that the Susan Griffiths looks to
implementing a floor covering programme. We use a 1 inch thick
polypropylene matting on our floors, my production workers tell me that
the matting reduces calf strain and greatly improves circulation with
their feet being above the cold flooring. The matting will be available
from most industrial equipment suppliers, PVC is commonly used nowadays.
Should any of the sources mentioned earlier respond further on this
matter I will be happy to pass their comments on. I would finally add
that the BASA told me that they had never come across any incidence of a
similar type.

Mark Vine
Conservation Resources (UK) Ltd,England

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 8:78
                 Distributed: Thursday, March 23, 1995
                        Message Id: cdl-8-78-001
                                  ***