Technical Paper 136 
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
FRANKLIN K. LANE, Secretary 
BUREAU OF MINES 
VAN. H. MANNING, Director 
SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES 
A MANUAL FOR FOREMEN AND MEN 
BY 
FREDERICK H. WILLCOX 
WASHINGTON 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1916 The Bureau of Mines, in carrying out one of the provisions of its organic 
act—to disseminate information concerning investigations made—prints a 
limited free edition of each of its publications. 
When this edition is exhausted copies may be obtained at cost price only 
through the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Wash- 
ington, D. C. 
The Superintendent of Documents is not an official of the Bureau of Mines. 
His is an entirely separate office and he should be addressed: 
Superintendent of Documents, 
Government Printing Office. 
Washington, D. C. 
The general law under which publications are distributed prohibits the giving 
of more than one copy of a publication to one person. The price of this pub- 
lication is 20 cents. 
First edition, August, 1916. CONTENTS. 
Introduction 8 
Acknowledgments 3 
Accident prevention 3 
The superintendent 3 
The foremen 4 
How to attack the accident problem 5 
Responsibility of safety inspectors 5 
Plant-inspection committee 5 
Duties of the committee 6 
Means of obtaining cooperation and recommendations 7 
Foremen’s committee 7 
Means of putting recommendations into effect S 
Responsibility of the foreman : 9 
Causes of accidents at blast-furnace plants, in order of importance 9 
Precautions to be observed at blast-furnace plants 10 
Foremen. 10 
General force 12 
Cast-house crew 21 
Hot-blast men 32 
Stove cleaners. 34 
Dust-catcher men 35 
Stock-house crew 35 
Trestle gang and yardmen 37 
Pig-machine men 45 
Ladle-house men 47 
Slag-dump men 48 
Engine-room force 48 
Boiler-house force 50 
Riggers, millwrights, and handymen 52 
Pipe-fitters and tuyere gang— 57 
Bricklayers 58 
Carpenters 59 
Electricians 59 
Cranemen 61 
on first aid 62 
Transportation of injured 64 
Eye injuries 64 
Cuts, lacerations, and punctures 64 
Burns 65 
Fractures 66 
Blows on the head or abdomen 66 
Bruises and strains 67 
Publications on mine accidents and methods of metal mining 69 
Asphyxiation or shock 67 
in ILLUSTRATIONS. 
Page. 
Plate I. Scene in a cast house Frontispiece. 
Figure 1. Foreman warning men away from front of cylinder head 
of steam engine 13 
2. Scrap piled at the foot of a ladder, a dangerous place to 
leave it 13 
3. A dangerous practice, climbing between cars 14 
4. Safest ways of riding on railroad car 15 
5. Unsafe ways of riding on railroad car 15 
G. Safe and unsafe shoes 16 
7. Safety hand leather 17 
8. Taking chances on a ladder, carrying bucket in one hand 18 
9. Man falls from ladder 18 
10. The safe way ; haul up the bucket with a line 18 
11. Man standing near cinder ladle 19 
12. Cast-house man wearing leggings, felt hat, and woolen shirt- 21 
13. Unsafe method of drilling a tapping hole 22 
14. Safe method of drilling a tapping hole 23 
15. Safe method of operating punch-out gate 25 
16. Modern runner gate operated by a cable at a safe distance 
from the runner 26. 
17. Unsafe way to stop tapping hole 28 
18. Safe way to stop tapping hole 28 
19. Unsafe way of wetting down trough at “ rid-up ” 30 
20. Safe way of wetting down hot trough 31 
21. Safest way of using a pole to place cars 38 
22. Trestle laborer using safety pinch bar with a disk 39 
23. Trestle laborer using safety car wrench 40 
24. Man crawling out of hopper car through doors; an unsafe 
practice 41 
25. Trestle laborer in ore bin, wearing belt and life line 41 
26. Workman endangers passer-by in carrying bar through a 
doorway ; : 42 
27. Men standing dangerously close together while using picks 43 
28. Workman goes away and leaves manhole uncovered 44 
29. Passer-by falls into uncovered manhole 44 
30. Man cutting too far beneath bank 45 
31. Unsafe way of holding a bar for a sledge; man holding the 
bar is standing on same side as the striker 46 
32. Safest method of holding a bar 47 
33. Workman places wrench carelessly on ladder platform 54 
34. Wrench falls and injures helper 54 
35. Careless workman standing inside of cable bent around a 
snatch block 55 
IV ILLUSTRATIONS. 
V 
Figure 36. Workman wearing goggles when grinding tools 56 
Page. 
37. Workmen cutting rivets 57 
38. Workman throws down board with nails in it 60 
39. The result. Boards with nails sticking in them should not be 
left lying around 60 
40. Safe way to open a switch 62 
41. Electrician repairs wire with the switches in; a dangerous 
practice ! _ 63 
42. Result of repairing wire with switches in; short circuit burns 
electrician , 63 
43. The safe way to repair a wire, switches out 63 Bureau of Mines. 
Technical Paper 136, Plate I. 
Scene In a cast house. SAFE PRACTICE AT BEAST FURNACES; A MANUAL FOR FOREMEN AND MEN. 
Frederick H. Willcox. 
INTRODUCTION. 
In its efforts to increase safety in the metallurgical industries, the 
Bureau of Mines is studying the causes of accidents at blast-furnace 
plants and methods for their prevention. This paper describes the 
dangers of the different kinds of work about blast furnaces and 
points out how the risk of accident may be lessened or avoided. The 
paper also contains suggestions to foremen, master mechanics, and 
other officials on the methods of organizing and conducting safety 
Work. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 
Acknowledgment is made to the various companies that, by en- 
abling the author to examine their plants and to study their methods 
of lessening accidents and by furnishing photographs, have given 
valuable aid in the preparation of this report. 
ACCIDENT PREVENTION. 
THE SITPERINTEXDEXT. 
The following statement is addressed to the furnace superintend- 
ent, who should recognize that safety work is part of the task of a 
furnace-plant organization. In all efforts to reduce accidents the 
Management should take the leading part. If officials believe that 
accidents can be prevented, and show a determination to prevent 
them, the rest of the force will reflect that attitude. Improvement in 
carefulness follows insistence on safety, as increase of output or 
reduction of costs follows insistence on efficiency, and for the same 
obvious reasons. In either case the management must make special 
efforts to effect improvement, either by employing experts or by hav- 
lng the department heads make special study of safety conditions, 
and must supply necessary funds, for rarely or never can improve- 
ment be effected without the means to make necessary changes in 
plant equipment. It is true that all safeguards do not pay a direct 
financial return by preventing the accidents for the reduction of 
3 4 
SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES. 
which they are installed. It is just as true that these same safe- 
guards do pay when supplemented by other accident-prevention 
methods, because they show that the company is in earnest in its 
efforts to reduce accidents, by accepting the responsibility for causes 
entirely within its control. 
If the management gives tangible evidence of its interest in safety, 
and consequently has aroused the interest of the rest of the force, 
the foremen can do more to lessen risks and reduce accidents than 
any other group of men in the plant. As the foremen, in plant prac- 
tice, organize the force for cooperation and efficiency in plant opera- 
tion, and train themselves to observe and analyze the causes of 
trouble with mechanical equipment or furnace practice, so is it neces- 
sary for them to organize the force and train themselves for the best 
results in accident reduction. Although in blast-furnace works, 
defective plant arrangement or design, insufficient instructions, and 
lack of safeguards are sources of accidents, a considerable propor- 
tion of the accidents are due to carelessness, thoughtlessness, igno- 
rance, and clumsiness. However, men can not be expected to be al- 
ways alert for obscure dangers, to adopt new practices that aim to 
put safety on a par with quickness or convenience, or to be thinking 
about not taking chances that rarely result in accident, unless their 
foremen exhibit as much personal interest, cooperation, and attention 
to details of work and equipment relating to accident prevention as 
they do in matters of practice. 
THE FOREMEN. 
To prevent all accidents about furnace plants, to eliminate them 
entirely, is impossible because many accidents happen by chance and 
are accidental in the most literal sense. To bring about a perma- 
nent reduction, however, does not require great study, analysis, or 
planning. The methods used to get out the tonnage, the incentives 
to good practice and maintenance of equipment, and the precautions 
against incompetence can be applied equally well to avoiding ac- 
cidents from ignorance, carelessness, awkwardness, or unnecessarily 
hazardous conditions. 
Should two or three tuyeres burst, or a blowpipe and cooler burn 
every day, or a certain bearing get hot every week, or an armature 
burn out persistently every month, or a car become derailed on a cer- 
tain curve frequently, some one “ gets busy ” and finds out the 
trouble, whether mechanical or personal. To make a record in ton- 
nage, it is not sufficient to go to the blowing room and “ put the wind 
up,” a get-together spirit is necessary. If a furnace has to be taken 
off for repair every crew and foreman understand and cooperate in 
the work. Any unusual and dangerous task is given constant per- HOW TO ATTACK THE ACCIDENT PROBLEM. 
5 
sonal attention. Such work is not done by making a preliminary in- 
spection, preparing recommendations, and warning the men of the 
hazard; one or more foremen are on the job to have the work done 
safely. Past experience and common sense require this. However, 
the percentage of accidents from asphyxiation, break-outs, explo- 
sions, or slips is very small compared with the percentage of acci- 
dents that happen in regular daily work. Dozens of accidents are 
repetitions of the same circumstances, the cause, nature, and result 
being essentially identical. 
Accident prevention should be handled in the same way as oper- 
ating difficulties. If it is going to cost more to pay for accidents 
than to prevent them, if the prospect is that every fourth, sixth, or 
tenth man on the plant will lose 20 to 85 days’ work every year by 
accident and during that time be replaced by a less skilled employee 
who will have to be trained and will possibly cause vexatious delays 
and mistakes, and if better and safer working conditions attract bet- 
ter men, operating methods and instructions should be applied to the 
safety problem. The same methods that have been developed for 
efficiency may be used to increase safety. 
RESPONSIBILITY OF SAFETY INSPECTORS. 
Safety inspectors are invaluable for looking after recommenda- 
tions, investigating accidents, pointing out possible improvements 
in equipment and methods, and organizing safety work, but if there 
is an inspector at the plant do not put the responsibility for better- 
ment on him. His suggestions can no more eliminate accidents 
than suggestions can eliminate off-grade iron unless his recommenda- 
tions as well as the foremen’s are followed by improvements, detailed 
instructions, cooperation, and personal supervision. Moreover, if 
the safety inspector is not familiar with ojierating methods in detail, 
there are scores of hazardous places and practices that he will be- 
come familiar with only as accidents happen. Accident prevention 
is too big a job for the safety inspector unless he has the cordial 
cooperation of the foremen. 
HOW TO ATTACK THE ACCIDENT PROBLEM, 
PLANT-INSPECTION COMMITTEE. 
From the subforemen and workmen a plant-inspection committee 
°f two to four men should be selected and intrusted to inspect the 
plant every month on a certain date, one man being replaced each 
month or two months, thus keeping a working nucleus of experienced 
men on the committee. Each subforeman should serve on the com- 
mittee, as it may be assumed that these men have obtained promotion 6 
SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES, 
by displaying qualities that will be as valuable in promoting safety 
as in developing efficient operation. Select the workmen on the com- 
mittee from those who are familiar with their work and give some 
promise of being permanent employees, as only a certain percentage 
of a plant crew can be considered a permanent asset. These men 
should be given opportunity to serve on the plant committee and 
be drawn in turn from the cast house, stock house, trestle, boiler 
house, and all parts of the plant. 
DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE. 
The work of the inspection committee may be laid out under 
three heads: 
1. Study of the accidents that have happened during the preceding 
month. After the committee has examined an accident rejiort it 
should confer with the foreman in charge, the injured man, the 
man who caused the accident, any witnesses, and visit the place of 
the accident and see how the work is done. The comments and 
recommendations of the committee may be attached to the accident 
report for the superintendent’s information. 
2. Inspection of the plant for improper physical conditions. These 
conditions may include insufficient lighting, uncleanliness, refuse 
and debris under foot and overhead, slippery places, holes, lack of 
railings, overhead obstructions, poor walks, unguarded machinery, 
insanitation, and so on. Experience has shown that this field is 
the one most likely to receive attention from an inspection com- 
mittee. It is unnecessary to give detailed instructions here, as in all 
probability 75 per cent of the recommendations of the committee 
will at first concern this phase of the work. 
3. Inspection of the plant for unsafe practices. Especial em- 
phasis should be placed on this feature of the committee’s duties. 
Men engaged in accident prevention estimate the jmoportion of 
accidents due to the neglect of the worker at 40 to TO per cent. Em- 
phasize the meaning of these figures and encourage attention to 
this side of accident prevention. Insist that at least half of the 
time devoted to inspection be spent in observing operations, such 
as unloading or handling material, casting or pouring, method of 
using and condition of hand tools, condition of ladders, trestlework, 
and repair work. The big accident problem is unsafe practices, and 
these are largely a result of ignorance, carelessness, thoughtlessness, 
lack of instruction, lack of supervision, and mistaken eagerness or 
haste in accomplishing work by taking uncalled-for risks. Better- 
ing methods of work as related to accidents is an unlimited field 
for the committee. 
4. First-aid instruction. Have the men on the plant committee 
devote as much time as is necessary to the study of first aid, such as HOW TO ATTACK THE ACCIDENT PEOBLEM. 
7 
bandaging, stretcher drill, and resuscitation methods. The details 
of this work may be obtained in Miners’ Circular 23 a and the com- 
pany doctor can give the preliminary instructions. 
MU A TVS OF OBTAINING COOPERATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 
How much real interest is induced and how much good is accom- 
plished by the above means are problems that largely solve them- 
selves. Safety is a matter of common sense, foresight, and careful- 
ness. Accident reduction is not insured by committees any more 
than larger production would be; their purpose is to arouse the in- 
terest of every man in being watchful. Men will feel an interest in 
a particular subject and pride in their own work if they are given 
responsibility and their advice accepted. Their thoroughness in in- 
spection work and conscientiousness in reporting will largely depend 
on the attitude of the superintendent and foremen. If they treat 
the matter lightly the men will; if they show a desire to lessen acci- 
dents the men will respond and will take the necessary precautions. 
It is hardly correct to assume that any reduction in accidents is of 
benefit to the workmen alone, as compensation or liability insurance 
are factors to be considered. Some form of appreciation of the work- 
men’s efforts has usually been found essential and productive of 
results. The form which this appreciation should assume is for the 
management to decide. The following methods are suggested: 
1. The use of a “ suggestion box ” in which any employee may 
place a signed suggestion for promoting safety. Reward the best 
suggestion with a substantial token such as a cash prize, watch, tech- 
nical book, tool, or subscription to a trade journal. The award 
should be made monthly if practicable. 
2. Divide the various crews under the different foremen into 
divisions, and to each division that has had no lost-time accidents for 
one to three months, or has reduced its percentage of accidents in 
that period, give a prize such as cigars, and award the foreman a 
cash bonus or a prize. In case the accident percentage rate is taken 
as the basis, it may be advisable to take the accumulative rate, rather 
than the flat rate for each distinct period. The names of those who 
win the awards should be posted, together with the records on which 
the awards were based. 
foremen’s committee. 
The chief foremen, such as the general foreman, master mechanic, 
electrician, and yard or labor foreman, and any other foremen de- 
sired, should meet with the superintendent or assistant superintend- 
ent once a month for the purpose of discussing accident prevention. 
a Lynott, W. A., and Harrington, Daniel, Elementary first aid for the miner; Miners’ 
Circular 23, Bureau of Mines, 1916. (In press.) 8 
SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES. 
At this meeting discuss each accident that has happened during the 
preceding month. Find out the cause, whether negligence of em- 
ployer or employee, or trade risk, and whether the accident was pre- 
ventable and could have been avoided by safeguards, by instructions, 
by different procedure, or by more care. Use the notes of the plant- 
inspection committee, and if feasible have the injured man, an eye- 
witness, or the subforeman describe the accident and find out how he 
thinks it might have been avoided. Should this conference with the 
men be made a basis of discipline, it will discourage frankness. Dis- 
cipline concerns carelessness and incompetence, and this question 
should be decided outside of and previous to this meeting. If the 
accident seems to have resulted from ignorance it should be the duty 
of the subforeman to explain why the man was not instructed and 
to see that the men are told of this danger and of a safe way of doing 
the work. If the accident is due to your own oversight be frank to 
say so; this will not destroy discipline. If the accident is clearly 
due to the lack of a safeguard see that the safeguard is placed 
promptly, though the accident may be the first one of its kind in 
years. 
Go over the recommendations of the plant-inspection committee, 
note each safety measure suggested, and put it into effect imme- 
diately or explain why it is not feasible—for instance, because it 
interferes with something else, must be postponed until relining, 
may not serve the purpose, or wull cost too much. It can be accepted 
that many railings, toe boards, guards, steps, and signs will be 
suggested, and that there will be futile recommendations. Before 
disapproving a committee’s recommendation because of the cost, 
refer it to the management. It will prove worth while to concur in 
many apparently trivial suggestions, to avoid discouraging the men 
offering them and to encourage the submission of really valuable 
ideas. If a different method of work is recommended, try it if it 
seems practicable. If it is thoroughly impracticable or useless and 
can not be tried, explain why. 
After the plant-inspection committee’s recommendations have been 
accepted and approved by the foreman’s committee, they should be 
submitted to the superintendent for approval. Approved recom- 
mendations may be put into effect in two ways. The inspection 
committee may locate the accident risk most thoroughly, but the 
design and installing of adequate mechanical safeguards is work 
for a skilled mechanic who has the advice of men familiar with the 
particular risk. To delegate the responsibility for and installation 
of a safeguard to a group or a committee is to make it nobody’s busi- 
ness. Place the responsibility for this on the master mechanic. 
MEANS OF PUTTING RECOMMENDATIONS INTO EFFECT. RESPONSIBILITY OE THE FOREMAN. 
9 
Recommendations that deal with unsafe practices are largely made 
effective through education and by example. Therefore each active 
or past member of the inspection committee should be made to feel 
that it is as much a part of his daily task to work for safety by 
setting a good example, giving warnings, supervising the work, and 
contriving how to accomplish the intent of safety recommendations 
as it is to execute duties that relate solely to plant operation. It has 
been found feasible, assuming that these committeemen are selected 
by reason of their rank, experience, or intelligence, to make them 
gang safety leaders and to give them some little authority and 
responsibility in matters relating to elimination of accident risk in 
methods of doing work. If this is practicable locally, it is a more 
desirable recognition of committee service than a “ safety ” lapel 
button or watch fob and more effective in sustaining interest. The 
button or fob is useful chiefly as a token of such responsibility. 
RESPONSIBILITY OE THE FOREMAN. 
The final responsibility for safety work can not be placed on com- 
mittees, gang leaders, or workmen. Practicable results in safety 
can not be obtained in that way any more than a plant can be run 
on such a basis. To put safety work on a sound and sensible basis 
the foreman must give the subject serious observation, study, plan- 
ning, and direction, such as is given to operating w.ork. The safety 
of the workmen always has been given foremost attention by fore- 
men, but the reduction in accidents effected by many companies 
indicates that this attention has been concerned more with obviously 
dangerous factors than with injuries due to hand labor, use of hand 
tools, falls, falling objects, and similar causes incident to daily work. 
To these causes, however, the greater part of blast-furnace accidents 
is due. Following are the causes of accidents at blast-furnace plants, 
arranged in the order of their importance: 
Causes of Accidents at Blast-Fuenace Plants, in Oeder of Importance. 
1. Hand labor. 
2. Hand tools. 
10. Flames. 
3. Flying and falling material. 
4. Falls of person. 
11. Railroads. 
12. Asphyxiation. 
13. Slips. 
5. Burns from hot metal. 
6. Machines and machinery. 
b Cranes, hoists, and rigging. 
8. Hot water and steam. 
14. Illness (including intoxication). 
15. Hot flue dust. 
16. Electric machinery. 
17. Explosives. 
9- Burns from cinder. 
18. Fighting and playing. 
If “ burns from hot metal ” and “ burns from cinder ” were grouped 
together they would rank third. “ Hand labor ” and “ hand tools ” 
cause over 40 per cent of all accidents; if “ flying and falling objects ” 10 
SAFE PEACTICE AT BLAST PUENACES. 
and “ falls of person ” are included, over 00 per cent of all accidents 
are represented; and if “ burns from hot metal and cinder ” are added 
the total represents approximately 75 per cent of all blast-furnace 
accidents. This shows where the accident problem lies. Effective 
prevention of accident from these causes requires study, observation, 
experience, and instruction. No one in the plant is more capable of 
doing this than the foreman, no one is in such close contact with the 
men, and no one can combine such work with operating supervision 
so advantageously and effectively. 
PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED AT BLAST-EURNACE PLANTS. 
FOREMEN. 
The following suggestions, which cover the dangers incident to 
different kinds of work about the blast furnace, are not intended to 
serve as rules, but as useful memoranda to foremen and workmen. 
It is not necessary to call in the men and go through this circular 
with them from cover to cover; it is even of questionable benefit to 
call a crew together at their place of work and repeat a long string 
of “ dont’s; ” precautions can better be impressed on the men gradu- 
ally and at opportune times. As the precautions given in these notes 
gradually come to be subconsciously in the minds of both foremen 
and workmen at their work, to that degree will the number of acci- 
dents permanently decrease. 
Avoid employing a man whose language no one of your crew can 
speak. Do not place a slow heavy man where a quick active one is 
required, or a slow-thinking man where a quick-witted one is re- 
quired, nor keep on the same job a man who gets hurt frequently in 
that occupation unless the labor supply is inadequate or men can 
not be shifted. When a man is employed or put to work on a new 
job instruct him as to his work and how to avoid accidents, warn him 
of unusual or obscure danger, and then put him under the charge of 
the gang leader or “ straw boss.” You should consider yourself per- 
sonally responsible for accidents that happen to your men from their 
ignorance of danger or of safe methods. Therefore watch for dan- 
gerous practices, ignorance, lack of skill, and carelessness, and take 
the necessary steps to correct faults when first noticed. Most men 
can be taught and encouraged to use proper methods of work, but 
when necessary impress on the men by admonition, warning, sus- 
pension, or discharge your attitude against carelessness or indiffer- 
ence. Drill your men to report immediately when injured, however 
slightly; send an injured man to the doctor or first-aid man, and 
then investigate the accident at once and discuss it with the subfore- 
man and workmen in order to bring out clearly the cause and im- 
press it on their minds. PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED AT BLAST~FUEISTACE PLANTS. 
11 
Where it is possible, make dangerous places safe rather than at- 
tempt to guard them with signs. Where signs are necessary accept 
the responsibility for placing them, see that they are in good condition 
and that they are used. Make it your business to see that machinery, 
hand tools, tackle, scaffolds, or any other appliances are safe. Do not 
allow men to start or operate machinery unless they are so authorized. 
Avail yourself of all safeguards provided for the men under your 
direction, such as goggles, leggins, and congress shoes when on duty 
about the cast house or pig machine. (See fig. 12.) Exhibit care- 
fulness in necessary personal work with machinery, electrical and 
steam equipment, and hand tools. Place and use prescribed safe- 
guards or signs. In this way you will be better able to insist that 
the men under you observe similar precautions. 
Personally supervise any work involving unusual accident hazard, 
such as work in gas mains or cleaners, tearing out linings, work in 
the cast house and about the stoves when blowing in or blowing out, 
or in event of a bad “mess” (piles of red-hot coke, slag, or iron 
spilled about the furnace, or in the yard, or on the tracks near the 
cast house), and any work about the bells or stock line. Don't allow 
men to go into any place dangerous from gas, falls, or falling material 
without breathing apparatus, safety belts and life lines, or watchers, 
as the nature of the work demands and circumstances permit. Never 
send inexperienced men to dangerous places or set them at hazardous 
work. Before sending or allowing men on top or where they will 
be exposed to material from slips and escape is difficult make sure 
that the furnace is not hanging. If the furnace is working stiff or 
slipping, the necessary precautions should be taken in regard to 
checking it or taking the wind off temporarily. 
Recognize that work about blast-furnace plants will still be haz- 
ardous, even after all safety measures have been taken and the force 
is at the “ top notch ” of training, skill, and carefulness. Impress 
this fact on the crew and insist on thorough instruction and care of 
every man by his gang boss. 
On occasions you will have to give detailed advice and directions 
to the workmen concerning dangers not described in this circular. 
The more common dangers arise in work about gas-containing equip- 
ment, work about the furnace in event of a breakout, heavy scaffold- 
ing and slipping of the furnace, stopping the furnace, blowing in, 
loosing the water supply, and so on. Many other hazardous opera- 
tions will occur to you. For such work a set of rules or notes in- 
tended for some particular plant conditions are futile or may even 
be dangerous unless varied to meet the situation. When unusual 
situations arise, safety depends on the measures taken by the fore- 
man. Experience, coolness, and common sense are more essential 
than rules. Certain emergencies can be largely eliminated, however, 
37161°—16 2 12 
SAFE PEACTICE AT BLAST FUEFTACES. 
by careful examination, forethought, and planning before under- 
taking dangerous work. At most plants it is the rule that, before 
any dangerous work is done, the superintendent and foremen to- 
gether definitely determine the various steps to be taken. This 
should be the rule at every plant. 
Following are some notes addressed to men in various occupations 
about the plant. Many of the men will be experienced in the dif- 
ferent positions and know of all the principal dangers and practices 
mentioned. With such men all that is necessary is, when you notice 
them becoming careless or forgetful, to show them wherein they are 
becoming careless. In placing new men it is worse than useless to 
give them a large number of instructions as they will only be con- 
fused. Keep these notes in mind and give them general instruc- 
tions and any special instruction you think they need at first. Then 
continue to instruct them from time to time and have the “ straw 
boss,” gang leader, or subforeman do the same. Personally super- 
vise their work as much as possible, and take advantage of every 
opportunity to forcibly impress on their minds the advantages of 
safe practice. 
More and more, managements are valuing foremen by their care 
of the men as well as by their records for tonnage and cost. Keep 
the safety of your crew in mind always, and when you think of some 
new precaution in work or practice refer it to the superintendent at 
once and try to have it put into effect. 
Familiarize yourself with methods of first aid and resuscitation as 
described in Miners’ Circular 23.a 
GENEEAL FOECE. 
The common and familiar accidents and their causes are men- 
tioned in this circular. Most of these causes are so simple or obvious 
that there may be a tendency to regard them lightly, which is a great 
mistake, for they cause most of the accidents at blast furnaces. The 
inevitable risks natural to the work are numerous enough without 
enlarging on them needlessly. If the men to whose attention this 
circular comes will study it and follow the suggestions, lives will be 
saved, suffering avoided, working days gained, and jobs held, by rea- 
son of fewer accidents. Some accidents are unavoidable but most 
accidents can be prevented by care, thoughtfulness, and observing 
the suggestions made by foremen and men and in this and other 
books on safety. 
If you see anyone in a dangerous place (fig. 1), doing anything in 
a way liable to injure himself or others, clumsy in the use of tools, 
ignorant of danger, or ignoring the use of safeguards or safety rules, 
° Lynott, W. A., and Harrington, Daniel, Elementary first aid for the miner : Miners’ 
Circular 23, Bureau of Mines, 1916. (In press.) PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED AT BLAST-FURNACE PLANTS. 
13 
Figure 2.—Scrap piled at the foot of a ladder, a dangerous 
place to leave it. Keep floor clean. 
Figure I.—Foreman warning men away from front of cylinder head of 
steam engine. If you see anyone in a dangerous place show him the 
danger. 14 
SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES. 
show him the danger and report the case if your warning is dis- 
regarded. Report at once unsafe equipment or tools, safeguards, or 
signs not in use or not replaced, and dangerous places unguarded. 
Watch other men’s work for dangerous or unsafe methods, but be 
careful that your own work is done safely. 
Keep things cleaned up. This is part of your work. Don’t leave 
tools or materials on floors, platforms, or paths where they will ob- 
struct work and make passage difficult (see fig. 2). Take time to 
keep the steps and platforms you have to use free from ice and to 
Figure 3.—A dangerous practice, climbing between cars. 
knock down overhanging icicles. Take care of the odds and ends of 
lumber, scrap, brickbats, coke, limestone, and ore you find about the 
yard. The majority of falls are on the ground level and are largely 
caused by rubbish underfoot. Watch where you step. Do not walk 
through steamy places unless it is necessary; if you must go, walk 
slowly. 
Don’t work where your material or tools can drop without being 
sure that the space below is guarded by danger signs. On the other 
hand, don’t work where you know that material may fall on you; 
remedy the condition if possible. PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED AT BLAST-FURNACE PLANTS, 
15 
Figure 4.—Safest ways of riding on railroad car. Don’t ride on trains unless your job 
requires you to. 
Figure 5.—Unsafe ways of riding on railroad car. 16 
SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES. 
In handling material such as ties, lumber, brick, bronze, castings, 
molds, plates, manhole covers, pipe, barrels, boxes, scrap, and pig 
iron, watch that nothing falls on your foot and be careful that your 
fingers are not caught. A large percentage of the accidents in blast- 
furnace plants happen in handling material. In using bars, sledges, 
wrenches, picks, and other tools remember that many accidents occur 
by men being struck with them. Glancing, slipping, and falling 
tools cause still more accidents. In using common hand tools more 
skill and care is required to avoid accidents than with many kinds of 
machines. 
Keep off of tracks if possible. If it is necessary to cross a track 
look both ways before starting across. If you must cross near a 
Figure 6.—Safe and unsafe shoes. 
train keep at least a car length from the end of the train, as it may 
start quickly or there may be cars coming on the next track. Do not 
cross through a broken train unless the trainman motions you to 
come ahead or unless you are sure there is no engine at either end. 
Take time to go around a train or to wait until it passes rather than 
to climb through (fig. B). Never crawl under a car. Avoid stepping 
on frogs, switches, or guard rails, as your foot may be caught. 
Don’t move material with push cars unless guarded by a flag, and 
when working where a car might be shoved onto you have a flag 
guarding the track approach. Don’t ride on engines, cars (figs. 4 and 
6), or locomotive cranes unless your job requires you to do so. PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED AT BLAST-FURNACE PLANTS. 
17 
Shoes should fit snugly about the ankle and leg, and the soles 
should be thick and free from holes that will allow the sole of the 
foot to be cut by sharp objects and protruding nails. (See fig. 6.) 
Whenever you see protruding nails stop and hammer them flat. In 
Figure 7.—Safety hand leather. 
handling rough lumber, sheet tin, or material having sharp edges, 
his best to wear stout gloves. For handling rough scrap wear safety 
hand leathers (fig. 7), not gloves, because in throwing the scrap down 
the rough edges may catch in your gloves and cause a bad wrench 
or fall. 18 
SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES. 
Figure 10.—The safe way ; haul up the 
bucket with a line. 
Figure 9.—Man falls from ladder. 
Figure B.—Taking chances on a ladder, 
carrying bucket in one hand. PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED AT BLAST-FURNACE PLANTS. 
19 
Ladders should be provided with spikes or nonslipping pads and 
when in use should rest squarely on a level surface. Grasp the sides, 
not the rungs, of the ladder and face the ladder in going up or 
coming down. Don’t attempt to slide down a ladder or to use one 
hand to carry tools, either ascending or descending. (See figs. Bto 
10.) Defective ladders should be taken to the carpenter shop at once. 
Figure 11.—Man standing near cinder ladle. Keep away from cinder and iron ladles 
while they are being filled. They may explode or boil over. 
Defective tools should be taken to the shop as soon as the defect is 
Boticed. Do not use a sledge, hammer, pick, or hatchet that is loose 
°B the handle, has a mushroomed head, or a split or splintered 
handle. Bars and wedges should also be watched, and if any defect 
18 Boticed be laid aside for repairs. When sledging stand on the 20 
SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES. 
opposite side from the man holding the bar, so as to avoid hitting 
him. (See figs. 31 and 32, pp. 4G and 47.) 
Do not meddle with electric switches, water or steam valves, or 
gas connections; it may cause delays and even a bad accident. Do 
not touch any electric line or dangling or broken wires; you may get 
a severe electric shock. Wear gloves when changing or cleaning 
electric-light bulbs. Never turn on gas, steam, electricity, or water, or 
set machinery in motion with which you have no regular business 
unless you are specifically directed to do so. 
Be watchful about the furnace. Gas may be escaping in many 
places and may kill you before you know it is present, the furnace 
may slip, the bosh or hearth of the furnace may break out, a tuyere 
may burst, or a blow pipe burn through, or there may be an ex- 
plosion. Keep out of the cast house except when your work calls 
you there. The furnace crew can sometimes tell when these things 
are about to happen by signs with which they are familiar; at times 
they happen without warning. Stay at your own work and be safe. 
Keep away from the bottom of the dust catchers, from under the 
downlegs of gas mains, and off of manhole covers of gas flues. Avoid 
iron and cinder ladles while they are being filled, shifted, or poured. 
(See fig. 11.) Do not go near a cinder granulating pit while it is in 
use and do not stand about gas burners or air doors of stoves. Never 
go on top of a furnace or gas washer unless under the direction of 
the foreman, or accompanied by some one. The tops of boiler set- 
tings, gas-engine basements, skip pits, and ore bins should be avoided 
unless your work takes you there. Before you begin work in such 
places, or in any place where there is a possibility of danger, wait 
until the foreman has told you that it is safe to go. Satisfy yourself 
that the place has been made as safe as possible. Never look in the 
peep holes of the tuyere stocks unless it is part of your duty. Always 
watch when passing near the furnace. Remember that frequently it 
is impossible for the furnace men to tell when the furnace is going to 
slip. 
Do not refuse to use safeguards, do not ignore rules and orders, or 
disregard danger signs. There is a reason for each and every one. 
Be sure to report every accident, even the slightest burn, cut, bruise, 
puncture, or substance in the eye, as this may prevent a trivial hurt 
from becoming a serious injury. Do not set bad examples by 
bravado, thoughtlessness, or negligence, for less experienced men to 
follow. Use common sense, foresight, and watchfulness. 
Those who can not read and speak English should be urged to 
acquire a working knowledge of the language at the earliest oppor- 
tunity. By so doing they will be in a better position to heed warn- 
ings and become acquainted with dangerous practices. PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED AT BLAST-FURNACE PLANTS. 
21 
CAST-HOUSE CREW. 
Acquaint laborers and new men with the possibilities of slips, gas, 
breakouts, and bursting tuyeres. If you can show them how to be 
less clumsy in handling tools do so, because awkward men may injure 
others as well as themselves. If 
you see anyone doing something 
that is dangerous or standing in 
some place where he might get 
hurt, tell him of the danger. If a 
man’s clothes catch on fire, do not 
let him run. Put the fire out witt 
a hose, or roll him in sand anc 
smother the fire by throwing sand 
on it, or wrap him in a blanket or 
coat. If a man is gassed or re- 
ceives an electric shock get him into 
fresh air, notify the foreman, and 
give him artificial respiration at 
once; loosen his clothing, take any 
tobacco out of his mouth, and keep 
liim warm. Instructions for treat- 
ing a man overcome by gas or elec- 
tricity are given in Miners’ Circu- 
lar 23.® 
Always wear clothes made of 
or hard jean cloth (see PL I, 
frontispiece) if possible, and espe- 
cially avoid greasy clothes, as they 
will readily catch fire. Wear stout 
shoes having thick soles and with- 
out cracks or holes, that are not too 
l°w, and fit tightly about the leg 
(see fig. 12). Congress shoes and 
leggins are advisable. Wear gog- 
gles or a mask to prevent injury 
handling hot metal or cin- 
der, breaking scrap with sledges, 
°r turning hose on hot material. 
Figure 12.—Cast-house man wearing leg- 
gins, goggles, felt hat, and woolen shirt. 
Note the “ Oregon type ” of sledge, 
with broad face. 
. ever wear ordinary gloves or hand-made hand leathers in handling 
lagged pieces of scrap. Leathers or gloves with a safety spring in 
le back are the only safe, ones, as the scrap will frequently catch the 
glove or leather and may cause a serious sprain or fall. 
“ Lynott, W. A., and Harrington, Daniel, Elementary first aid for the miner: Miners’ 
lrcular 23, Bureau of Mines, 1916. (In press.) 22 
SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES, 
When breaking runner scrap, slag, lumber, test pieces, etc., with 
sledges or a “ Mulligan,” use judgment in blocking up the pieces be- 
fore breaking them. The closer the material is to the floor, the less 
probability there is that it will fly in breaking. When barring scrap, 
plates, or other objects, be sure that the point of the bar is firmly 
engaged, or that the bar will not slip off the block, before you lift or 
put your weight on the bar. Keep your working place cleaned up. 
Bars, drills, and long-handled tools should be kept where they will 
not fall and injure anyone, by preference in a tool rack. If they are 
leaned against the wall, place them so they can not easily be knocked 
over or fall down. Don’t leave tools where men can stumble over 
them. Remove burned drills and bars promptly. Watch out for hot 
Figure 13.—Unsafe method of drilling a tapping hole. Men standing over open trough on 
planks, no shield used at tapping hole, men are wearing loose baggy clothing. 
bars and don’t throw bars without looking to see whether some one 
may be hurt by their rebounding. Be careful when the cast house is 
full of steam; feel your way, do not attempt to go quickly. 
When a blast furnace is being blown in or blown out, banked, 
stopped for a time, or started up, it is more dangerous than in regu- 
lar running. At such times do not rely upon your own knowledge of 
furnaces, but follow every direction of the foreman strictly. Do not 
do any of the routine duties about the stoves, dust catcher, bleeder, 
cinder notch, tapping hole, or tuyeres except by direction of the 
foreman or blower. 
Don’t go on the bustle pipe unless you notify the stove tender, 
keeper, or blower. When you have to work where you can smell gas, PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED AT BLAST-FURNACE PLANTS. 
23 
take frequent spells in fresh air and work with another man. Do not 
stay where there is gas unless your foreman knows the condition and 
that you are there. 
Figure 14.—Safe method of drilling a tapping hole. Steel plate over runner, shield in front of tapping hole, men wearing proper 
clothing, air jet used to clean tapping hole. 
Do not rest or stand under, near, or in front of blowpipes or 
tuyeres, as they may burst or burn through and throw metal, cinder, 
c°ke, or gas over you. When you know that the furnace is hanging, 24 
SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES. 
keep under cover and warn others. Keep away from the bottom of 
dust catchers, stove burners, downlegs, and manholes of underground 
flues at such times. In going to and from work avoid going under 
cranes carrying loads or under skip inclines, or through stock houses, 
boiler rooms, or places where you are unfamiliar with the work done 
there. 
Do not try to do work other than your own about the furnace 
unless you are familiar with the work or have been ordered to do it. 
Especially do not try to help the hot-blast man on shutdowns or on 
work with the bleeder, mixer valve, or any regulating part of gas or 
blast mains unless everything you do is specifically directed by him. 
Many accidents have been caused by misunderstanding what some 
one else was doing. 
Always use every safeguard provided—goggles, masks, shields, 
safety hand leathers, tongs, and gloves. (See PI. I, and figs. 6, 7, and 
12.) They are provided to prevent injury to yourself, and men at 
other plants use them. Refusing to use them is not a sign of bravery 
or of familiarity with your work, but rather of foolhardiness and 
ignorance of the danger. 
Do not drive the tapping bar through the skull in the tapping 
hole, or go on the last spell on the drill before you have placed the 
splasher and put a shield in front of the tapping hole, or a cover 
plate or sheets over the trough, in front of the splasher (see figs. 
13 and 14), except under unusual circumstances. When it is neces- 
sary to pull the tapping bar out don’t hold onto the “Welshman.” 
Lay a bar across the runner to support the tapping bar while driv- 
ing it out; the molten iron may rush out unexpectedly and burn you. 
Do not stand in front of the iron notch when opening it; work 
from the side as much as possible, even on the first spell, and keep 
your feet out of the trough. Be especially careful when working 
on a short, green, hard or an unusually long hole. On changing 
turn, the keeper going off duty should inform the one coming on 
as to the condition of the tapping hole. If the hole has been work- 
ing short or badly, and has not been taking the clay, the keeper 
shmdd inform the other keeper and tell him how much clay was used 
on the last stop. 
Do not cast until the skimmer, trough, runners, shutters, and spouts 
are dry and warm. Clay, sand, loam, or coke dust in the runners 
must be dry to avoid “boils” of molten iron. Do not leave pieces 
of cold scrap in the runners or place damp sand against the shutters 
or gates. Don’t let pieces of wood get under the skimmer dam 
or drain gates, and bank up the drain or “punch-out” gates on the 
outside with dry sand. In filling the mud gun before a cast, only 
one man should do the work if the clay is being fed at the funnel, 
because if two men are used, one to operate the plunger and one to PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED AT BLAST-FURNACE PLANTS. 
25 
feed the clay, one of them may be caught by the plunger. In load- 
ing clay at the funnel do not push it down with your foot; use a 
stick. However, the gun can be loaded as well and more safely by 
putting the clay in at the nose of the gun with a rammer. When 
the gun is loaded put about 3 inches of dry sand or ground 
ganister mixed with tar or black oil in the nose, removing enough 
clay to give room. Wet or sloppy clay may cause an explosion 
'when it comes in contact with hot iron. Do not wet the nozzle of 
the mud gun. Daub it with black oil after casting,, while it is 
Figure 15. —Safe method of operating punch-out gate. Note the mask worn to protect 
man from splashes. 
still warm, and again just at cast time. This will help keep it 
fi'orn getting wet, and will prevent a “shot” if the nose of the gun 
ls placed in the hole against a stream of molten iron. Oiling the 
ftose of the gun is better than warming it, because if the nose is heated 
too much or too long the clay will become dry and stiff, and may 
cause a short hole. If heating the nose is preferred, pouring one 
°r two hand ladles of cinder over it should be sufficient. 
When casting do not use cold or wet bars to poke out sand, clay, 
0r loam in the runners or gates or to break a path for the iron. Lift 
the punch-out or drain gate (fig. 15) slowly to avoid a rush of iron, 26 
SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES. 
Figure 16.—Modern runner gate operated by a cable at a safe distance from the runner. Only part of tbe cable is shown. PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED AT BLAST-FURNACE PLANTS. 
27 
which may cause boiling, and be sure the punch-out bar is warm. 
Before turning the iron into a ladle see that the ladle is spotted and 
is all right. Do not till the Indie within more than 8 or 9 inches of 
the top, as the iron may be spilled in shifting it. Do not throw 
large pieces of cold scrap into the ladle before or during the cast, as it 
ttiay cause boiling or an explosion of the hot metal. It is safer to fill 
the ladle nearest the furnace first and finish the cast in the ladles at 
the lower end, for several reasons. One reason is that the gates may 
be lifted quickly and the operator go away instantly. (See fig. 16.) 
If the iron is run to the bottom ladle first, be sure that all shutters 
are dry; if to the top ladle first, be especially sure the sand at the 
gates is dry. When using the pricking rod on an obstruction in 
the tapping hole, do not throw too much weight on the rod if stand- 
]ng close to the trough. Be sure that the hand ladles and chills for 
samples or pig-machine wheels are dry. Do not cross iron or cinder 
runners during a cast except when necessary, and watch your step 
very carefully; if you have to go in front of the iron notch, get across 
quickly. Do not step on the crust of hot cinder. Do not flip wet clay 
into hot iron to annoy or tease a fellow workman—it is too dangerous. 
In stopping the tapping hole, be cautious when placing the mud 
gun in the hole. Unless the cinder and iron in the trough lays away 
from the hole, drain the trough before putting the gun in. Do not 
Put the gun in the hole against a stream of iron unless the nose is 
V’arm and dry, as the iron may explode. After tlm gun is clamped, 
turn the steam on by the valve at the column, or by means of a long 
hook open the three-way cock on the gun. There is danger of gas 
bursting out or cinder being thrown back when the first clay is 
shot in. Care must be exercised in stopping the hole after the first 
shot, as the pressure in the furnace and the suction of the plunger 
throw the clay back in the barrel of the gun and a burst of gas 
or slag follow. It is safer to feed the clay into the gun with a 
shovel rather than to stand close to the hole and trough, unless one 
18 expert at throwing the balled clay into the funnel from a safe dis- 
tance. (See figs. 17 and 18.) As stated before, use a stick—not your 
foot—to poke clay down into the funnel. While stopping the hole do 
n°t stand so that all your weight is on the sheets covering the trough, 
und watch for the exhaust steam. Do not put the wind on until the 
hole has stopped taking clay freely, and after the hole is stopped 
'Gave the gun in it with steam on until the clay has set; this may 
Prevent a breakout at the tapping hole between casts. If men are 
changing tuyeres or plates, never throw or turn water into the funnel 
°f the mud gun or use wet clay before the hole is entirety stopped, 
ils gas may blow out on the tuyere men. Steji away from the gun 
0r a moment when shooting water into the hole. 
37161°—16 3 28 
SAFE PEACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES. 
Figure 17.—-Unsafe way to stop tapping hole. Helper is using his hands and standing 
too near tapping hole. 
Figure 18.—Safe way to stop tapping hole. Helper is using shovel and standing away 
from the trough and the tapping hole. PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED AT BLAST-FURNACE PLANTS. 
29 
In putting water in the skimmer trough at “ rid-up ” do not stand 
near by with a short nozzle to turn the water in (fig. 19). If the 
Avater strikes hot slag, the steam may scald you, and if it strikes a 
pocket of hot molten iron there may be an explosion. It is safer and 
just as effective to use a pipe, 15 feet or more long, turned down at 
the end (fig. 20). If it is necessary to break up crusts or skulls in 
the trough before turning water on, don’t use a cold or wet bar. 
'I hen handling hot scrap or slag use tongs or a hook whenever pos- 
able, and be careful in breaking or barring slag and scrap to avoid 
flying pieces, falls, or dropping material onto your feet. Before 
throwing scrap or cinder into a car be sure there is no one in it and 
that the pieces do not project over the end or sides of the car where 
they may fall or be pushed off. 
Never tighten the keys on the tuyere stocks or caps, or take up slack 
°n the bridles when the blast is on unless you are directed to do so by 
the foreman. Watch for tight bridle springs or split stock hangers, 
and don’t screw up the nut on the bridle until the spring is tight. 
Do not start to loosen the monkey or stock bridles, hangers, keys, or 
caps until the blast is off and the gas is drafted back. Wear goggles 
watching the peep sights during a cast or check, and do not 
°pen the peep-sight plug until you are sure no one is in line with it. 
Don't try to blow coke out of the eyesights until the blow pipes have 
had time to cool. Know where the hose and water valves are situated 
111 the cast house, as they are needed quickly at times. When playing 
the hose on tuyeres, blowpipes, or the furnace jacket, stand behind a 
column as much as possible, or to one side, as they may burst or burn 
through. In case a tuyere bursts or a blowpipe burns out do not 
Av°rk about them unless thoroughly familiar with the danger. Work 
t° one side as much as possible when dropping blowpipes, claying 
llP? cand changing tuyeres, as cinder, coke, or gas may blow out. The 
tuyere opening should always be firmly plugged with clay as soon as 
fhe blowpipe is dropped. Never work about an open tuyere or plate 
'''' hen water or wet clay is being put in the tapping hole. Watch for 
hot bars, blowpipes, and scalding water or steam. Do not put up the 
blowpipes after a shutdown until the foreman orders you to, for unless 
the blowing engine is turning over it might cause an explosion. Don’t 
look into a blowpipe when cutting out clay after a stop. 
D hen “ hotting up the monkey,” or plugging the cinder notch, 
year goggles or a mask and long leather gloves; be sure of your foot- 
-IJlg, and always use the shields provided. Work from the side of 
the cinder notch as much as possible when opening it, and when 
breaking cinder in the runner during a flush keep out of line with 
tbe cinder notch and be careful the cinder does not splash on your 
feet. Cinder will splash farther than iron. Keep as far away as SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES. 
Figure 19.—Unsafe way of wetting down trough at “ rid-up.” Short nozzle on the hose, man standing close to trough where he is exposed to 
an explosion of hot metal or steam. PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED AT BLAST-FURNACE PLANTS. 
31 
Figure 20.—Safe way of wetting down hot trough. Extension nozzle on hose, man standing away from the trough. 32 
SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES. 
possible when throwing coal in the cinder runners. It is just as well 
not to throw coal into stiff cinder, as it does not greatly help matters. 
Do not throw damp or wet rubbish in the cinder ladles, and 
always examine them for water or dampness and dry them out with 
cinder before flushing or casting, because a damp ladle may boil or 
explode when being filled. Keep away from the granulating pit 
when the skimmer trough is being drained or when you think iron 
is coming over the cinder dam. If it is necessary to plug a cinder 
ladle with clay, always place a sign or station a watcher before going 
into the ladle. Be sure there is no one in a car or ladle before 
throwing rubbish into it. 
Be prompt to report anything abnormal or unusual about the 
furnace—for instance, the blast pressure becoming high or low; 
hanging, tightness, or slipping of the burden; cold or dirtjr cinder; 
sloppy, dead, or leaking tuyere; gas lighting on the bosh or about the 
mantle; hot spots on the shell; delays in filling the furnace or in 
spotting iron or cinder ladles; wind and gas leaks; or signs of a 
break out, such as steam or gas coming from about the jacket, col- 
umns, or pavement, the water getting hot or steamy in the discharge 
from the hearth or bosh jacket or on the jackets, or the pavement 
or columns getting unusually hot. Especially, report promptly any 
signs of the cooling wTater supply becoming slack. Neglect of these 
points oftentimes leads to unnecessary hard work and danger from 
“ messes,” breakouts, slips, burned tuyeres and blowpipes, or explo- 
sions. The foremen are looking for these signs also, but one man 
may not see all of them. 
HOT-BLAST MEN. 
Be careful that the gas or blast is not turned into or gas drafted 
back through a stove that is being cleaned. Do not open or close 
any doors or valves or remove any signs or locks on such stoves 
until the foreman has told you to do so. Before turning gas into a 
stove, warn any well-bottom cleaners working about the doors, as 
it may flash back when it ignites; and be sure that the chimney valve 
is open. If you think that the stove is not hot enough to light the 
gas, put a large bunch of burning waste at the gas door or provide 
other means to ignite the gas. Don’t stand by the burner after 
turning gas into the stove; step away quickly. At times the gas 
will not light until it reaches the top of the well or combustion 
chamber, and it is then likely to light explosively and puff out 
through the burner and air doors. Be especially careful when you 
are turning on gas from a furnace just blown in or from one shut 
down on account of leaky “bronze” (tuyeres, coolers, bosh plates, 
cinder monkey, etc.). In case of doubt always use burning waste; 
don’t let the stove fill with gas and then try to light it. If the stove PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED AT BLAST-FURNACE PLANTS, 
33 
does not light, shut the gas oil' and start over again, using burning 
waste. 
Before you blow off a stove, warn men to keep away from the 
blow-off valve, and especially warn them away from the blow-off 
door if the stove is being shut down for a leaky tuyere, as the gas 
may be very explosive. Be sure that the blast is on the new stove 
before shutting the cold-blast valve of the stove being taken off. 
t let the hot-blast valve drop sharply onto its seat and don’t 
let the blast slam the chimney valve into place; set the valves easily 
by hand. Open the cold-blast valve slowly to avoid racing the blow- 
ing engines. 
In case of the blast stopping unexpectedly from any cause shut 
the mixer valve on the by-pass at once, then close the cold-blast and 
bot-blast valves as soon as possible. Never forget to close the mixer 
Valve before checking or shutting down the furnace, beginning a 
cast, or stopping the blowing engine. To forget to do this may 
cause an explosion that will wreck the mains and engines. When 
it is necessary to take the stoves off during a shutdown to “ change 
bronze,” or for a short stop, be sure the burners are closed tightly. 
B hen ready to start the furnace and bring the gas down, never 
turn the gas into the stove until the blower has given the signal. 
Be sure that the explosion doors or bleeders on the gas mains or 
dust catcher are closed during a shutdown; if any air gets into 
the mains there is always a chance of an explosion. Whatever way 
the blower tells you to handle the top bleeder, whether to keep it 
open or shut during a shutdown, always follow his order to the 
w°rd. Many serious furnace accidents are caused by operating 
bleeders and gas valves other than in the way ordered. The least 
change from orders may cause a terrific explosion. If the gas is 
wild ” in drafting it back in one stove at a shutdown, draft back 
through an additional stove at once. 
Keep away from the dust legs and manhole covers on gas mains, 
from gas burners and air inlet doors, when the furnace is sticking 
and liable to slip. Be careful when you open an air door to see 
how the gas is burning; if too much gas is turned on, or if the 
checkerwork is dirty, the gas may flash back into your face. Keep 
and warn others away from these places; no one should handle burn- 
ers, doors, or valves unless directed by the stove tender. Do not 
tighten any thumb or other nuts on doors or blow-off valves when 
the stove is on blast; you may be killed or injured by the bolt 
breaking. Watch the water on the hot-blast valve and seat, because 
leaking into the stove may cause the furnace to slip or get 
c°hl; it will then be more dangerous. Report any gas leaks about 
the burners or mains; do not let them leak unnecessarily. When 34 
SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES. 
the millwright is examining the chimney valve for leaks do not 
change the stove from blast to gas. When the hot-blast valve and 
seat are being inspected be sure the chimney valve is kept open and 
the gas turned off. 
STOVE CLEANERS. 
Before entering a stove to clean it, lock the cold-blast valve and 
gas burner shut, fasten the chimney valve open, and either block 
the hot-blast valve in its seat or disconnect the cable from the stem, 
or lock the windlass, and attach danger tags; be sure these things 
are done. Stop any leaks about the burner with clay as even a 
small leak may allow considerable gas to drift into the stove. It 
is always safest to close the burner door, but if this can not be done 
for any reason, turn the burner on its seat, away from the door 
or seal it off with a blank. When ladders must be used to get into 
a stove through the dome manhole do not try to carry tools up 
or down the ladder, use a hand line. (See figs. Bto 10.) Keep 
away from the well of the combustion chamber and do not sit 
on the bridge wall between the well and the checkerwork; the wall 
may give way. Boatswain’s chairs for cleaning, tearing out, or 
repairing the well lining should be supported by tackle attached 
to the top of the stove shell when possible, and the chair, rope, and 
tackle tested to double a man’s weight before use. Anyone work- 
ing in a boatswain’s chair should wear a life belt attached to the 
chair-sling block. Do not use a torch inside a stove; use an elec- 
tric light on a standard insulated extension cord and have an elec- 
trician make all connections. When it is necessary to clean checker- 
work from the bottom or to clean out under the arches keep under the 
arches as much as possible to avoid bruises from falling brickbats, 
clinkers, or tools. It is best never to enter the bottom until every- 
one is out of the top. Always wear goggles when inside a stove 
and do not remove the locks from the valves until everyone is out 
and the manholes are closed. In cleaning flue dust from the bot- 
tom of a stove be careful to avoid burns; the dust is usually hot 
and easily runs into one’s shoes. Notify the stove tender, before 
opening the cleaning, air-inlet, or blow-off door to clean the well 
from the outside, and have him turn the gas off enough to avoid 
any danger of flame puffing back through the door at which you 
are going to work. In case the furnace is hanging, stop work until 
it slips and keep away from the cleaning door. In loading barrows 
with hot cinder or dust do not fill them so full that they will run 
over; handle them carefully, and warn others to keep out of the 
way. Bars and cutters used in cleaning wells should be handled 
with crossbars when withdrawing them from the stove. Keep away 
from the doors when gas is being turned in the stove. PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED AT BLAST-FURNACE PLANTS. 
35 
DUST-CATCHER MEN. 
Empty the dust catcher regularly; if you let it get filled and the 
furnace slips, there may be an accident. Notify the foreman when 
the car is full and if the car is not moved promptly and an empty 
one spotted. Never dump the dust catcher when the wind is off the 
furnace or when the furnace is hanging or liable to slip unless you 
are doing it under the orders and directions of the foreman or super- 
intendent. In dumping dust legs, dust pockets, or dust catchers be 
sure there is no one underneath to get burned, and warn men against 
approaching, as the dust may fly and burn them. Be careful in clean- 
ing up dust and never step on it, because it will run like water when 
hot, and burn you severely if it gets in your shoes. Be cautious in 
Playing a hose on hot dust, as it sometimes explodes or flies. Do not 
dean up under the dust catcher unless you have notified the fore- 
man and he has told you to go ahead; the bell may be forced open 
hy a slip or by being overweighted and the dust may burn you. For 
the same reason never go into a dust car after it is spotted under the 
dust catcher; pack the doors before the car is placed. Turn the 
mater on full before you open the bell, and water the dust thoroughly 
mlien dumping the dust catcher. Don’t fill the car with hot dry 
dust and then turn the water on; it will soak down slowly, and the 
contents may explode. Always place a card on the car so that the 
unloaders will know they are handling flue dust. 
STOCK-HOUSE CREW. 
Rod the furnace regularly and in case it is hanging or stiff report 
fo the foreman promptly. If anyone is working in the skip pit, 
°u the skip incline, hoist, or skip, don’t move the skip, except under 
direction and after giving warning. If an oiler or “handy man” is 
morking on the sheave wheels, bell rods, hoppers, distributor mecha- 
nism, or bell-rod cylinders, do not lower the bells except on signal 
from those on top. Never start the skip or hoist cage until you 
receive the proper signal, unless you have all regular charging oper- 
ations in sight, and then signals are not required. When the blast 
is off, or when the furnace is shut down and men are working about 
tbe top or bottom, do not fill the furnace or lower the bells without 
marning the men away from the tuyeres and hoppers on top, and 
then only under the direction of the foreman. If the furnace is 
being shut down or if it is working irregularly and stops taking 
charges on account of hanging and slipping, do not put wet ore 
°U the bell; at many plants it is considered dangerous to dump wet 
°re when the furnace is low. Eeport anything about the skips, bells, 
0r indicators that does not seem right, such as skips striking the 36 
SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST EURKACES. 
bumper blocks too hard, slack or frayed cables, irregular, slow, or 
quick movement of the bells, or water in steam lines. By early 
notice an accident or possibly a hazardous delay may be avoided. 
Never let anyone go up the skip incline to the top alone. 
Scale-car operators should watch for stock-house cleaners or others 
crossing the track and should always have the car under control. 
Watch out for overhead obstructions. Let the furnace millwright 
or electrician do all repair work on the car. Be careful not to leave 
ore or stone on the edges of the chutes; many accidents are caused by 
stock falling from the chutes. When barring or punching at the 
chutes or doors of the bins be careful to avoid a rush of ore or stone 
falling on your foot. Do not open the door of a nearly empty bin 
or get under it just as the car doors are dropped on the trestle; the 
material may easily fall through and bruise you, or if it is flue dust 
or sinter, burn you. Wear goggles when the coke is very dusty or 
when breaking ore or limestone. If steam is used to thaw ore in the 
bins or piles be sure that the hose is strong and in good condition. 
See that no one is in line with the nozzle when you turn the steam 
on. If gas is used see that it stays lit and that a pocket of gas does 
not accumulate. Do not light gas by hand with a match, use burn- 
ing waste, placed on the floor or in the chute. 
Most accidents with ore buggies happen from catching the fingers 
between the buggy handle and a column, Avail, or other obstruction. 
Watch out for this and use safety handles. Be careful not to let the 
buggy leg come down on your heel, or to run the wheel over some- 
one’s foot. Never race with a buggy, you may easily lose control of 
it and receive a wrench, strain, or bruise. Watch that your fingers or 
feet do not get caught between a lump of stone or ore from the chute 
and the buggy or floor. Don’t undercut an ore or stone pile, or let the 
stock lodge above you, keep it knocked down Avith a bar. (See fig. 
30, p. 45.) Never stand close to the elevator pit as the cage comes 
doAvn, ready to take the buggy off the instant the cage comes to rest, as 
many men have had their feet crushed in this way by getting them 
caught between the cage and the floor sill. Don’t try to get on the 
cage before it has come to rest, or after the signal for hoisting ha§ 
been given. 
When it is necessary to clean the skip pit, notify the skip operator 
and do not go into the pit until he tells you to. Avoid walking under 
bin doors and chutes. Keep off the scale-car track and watch for 
the car when crossing the track. Don’t stand on the track Avhen sig- 
naling the car operator. Be careful that your bar does not touch a 
third rail or trolley Avire. It is best not to ride on the scale car, and 
you should never jump on or off the car Avhen it is moving. 
When you enter the motor house or hoist-engine room notify the 
skip operator, both on entering and leaving. Stay at your own place PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED AT BLAST-FURNACE PLANTS. 
37 
of duty, even when you are “ spelled off.” Keep away from the cast 
house and stoves unless you are required to go there to help. Re- 
port all bad places to the foreman, such as dark corners, overhead 
obstructions, poor track, holes, and unsatisfactory bin doors. Be sure 
to report every injury, as even a slight injury if neglected may have 
serious or fatal results. Even a bit of coke dust may seriously in- 
jure the eye if not taken out right away. If a man receives an elec- 
tric shock free him from the source of current, being careful not to 
Set a shock yourself, give him artificial respiration at once accord- 
ing to the method described in Miners’ Circular 23 a and send for the 
foreman. Similar first aid is needed if anyone becomes gassed while 
forking on top. 
On hand-filled furnaces top fillers should remember not to step 
over trap or lift doors at the top of elevator shafts while the ele- 
vator is running. 
The safety of many men about a furnace plant depends indirectly 
°n the care and interest the stock-house crew take in their work. 
Careful weighing, regular charging, reporting’ any difference in ap- 
pearance or quality of coke or limestone, and constant watching of 
tile movement of the charge in the furnace will prevent many slips, 
u messes,” and dangerous work at the tuyeres, tapping hole, and fur- 
nace top. 
TRESTLE GANG AND YARDMEN. 
Watch for the lorry car, locomotives, and cranes and do not go 
under the ore bridge just before ore is dumped into the bins. Do 
uot jump on or off moving cars; many men are hurt that way every 
year. Never sit on or near the track or bridge rails to rest; find a 
safe place. When you hear the warning whistle at the furnace get 
°ut of the car at once and under shelter as it means the furnace is 
hanging and may slip. When ore is being dynamited and a warn- 
ing is shouted, get under cover and stay there until material has 
stopped falling. Do not try to jump across the bins from rail to 
rail; use the crossovers. They were put there to use and the minute 
saved by not using them is worth less than the good example set by 
Using them. 
T>o not use a pole in spotting cars with a transfer car or locomotive 
pu an adjoining track, use a cable with safety hand locks. If there 
ls no cable and a pole must be used, stand on the same side of the pole 
that the coupler of the car is on (fig. 21). Be careful in pinching 
ears on the trestle, you may fall and receive a severe injury. Pinch 
a car the way the foreman has shown you, and report pinch bars 
Wth smooth heels or dull points to the toolman or foreman. The 
a Lynott, W. A., and Harrington, Daniel, Elementary first aid for miners: Miners’ 
Circular 23, Bureau of Mines, 1916. (In press.) SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES. 
safest pinch bar (fig. 22) is one fitted with a disk and tool-steel heel. 
When turning on a steam jet to thaw ore see that no one is in 
line with the jet; use a clamp to hold the nozzle, and avoid work- 
ing with worn hose. Watch that cinders from trestle locomotives, 
or hot coke, do not start fires in the coke bins or walks. 
A safety car wrench for opening drop doors on cars is shown in 
figure 23. 
It is dangerous to open drop doors on loaded cars unless you know 
how. Do not try to do it until you have been shown and, if possible, 
have watched for a day men who know how. Before getting into a 
car to unload it, or crawling under a car to work on the drop doors, 
Figure 21.—Safest way of using a pole to place cars. 
make sure, by asking the foreman or “ straw boss,” that the car will 
not be moved. Wait until the doors are dropped before going on top 
of material in cars to be unloaded. When unloading hopper cars, 
do not stand over doors or on the edge of the material; it may slip 
and carry you down into the bin where you may be suffocated or 
severely injured. Obtain a firm footing in the bottom of the car 
between the doors, or be sure of a firm hold on the side of the car. 
By all means wear a belt and safety line if these are provided. Do 
not undercut material any more than is necessary and watch that 
the lumps do not catch you. Be very cautious in opening the doors 
of cars loaded with flue dust; if dry, it will fly out. Avoid stepping PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED AT BLAST-FURNACE PLANTS. 
39 
°n flue dust in cars, for even apparently wet dust may be dry and hot 
beneath and cave when yon step on it. Always get out of a car the 
same way you get in; do net crawl out through the doors in the bot- 
tom of the car (fig. 24). 
Before you drop material into empty or nearly empty bins notify 
the stock-house crew so they can keep clear of falling material, and 
Figure 22.—Trestle laborer using safety pinch bar fitted with a disk, A. Should the bar 
slip his knuckles will be protected. 
be sure that the bin doors are closed. In poking ore in bins and 
c‘hutes see that you will not get caught in case a fall of ore catches 
*he bar. Never go into any bin to shovel material or to clean the 
bin unless you have a belt with a life line attached to a girder or tie 
( see fig. 25). Use a flag or track torpedo to protect the bin you are 
forking in, or ask the foreman for a watcher to hold the line and 
Warn men not to dump material in the bin or run cars over it. 40 
SAFE PEACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES. 
Do not work with a pick or sledge if the handle is cracked or the 
head loose. Do not use a bar, wedge, or sledge having burs or 
splinters; give it to the toolman. Watch that your tools do not 
touch electric conductors. When carrying bars, pipes, or other 
material through doors be careful so as not to strike persons passing 
by. (See fig. 26.) 
Avoid leaving tools, scrap, boards, lumps of ore or stone, or sheet 
iron, on the walks where they may cause some one to stumble, or fall 
into a bin or into the stock house. Coke forks or shovels should be 
placed with the edges or prongs pointing to the floor. Report to 
Figure 23.—Trestle laborer using safety car wrench. When the shaft begins to revolve 
the hinged jaw releases. Disk is to prevent man's hand from striking car, short bend 
on end of handle is to prevent use of pipe extension. 
your foreman any rotten, loose, or burned planks in the walks, or 
defective lights. When you are set at new work be sure to ask 
about the work, the way to do it, and the dangers connected with it. 
Do not ignore danger signs; they mean what they say. Do not 
wrestle or play when at the plant, especially when on the trestle 
where you may fall into a bin or the yard. 
Men working in ditches and excavations should work far enough 
apart to avoid any risk of striking one another with picks or other 
tools. (See fig. 27.) Before leaving an excavation for the night or 
for other work cover the hole with planks. Manhole covers should PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED AT BLAST-FURNACE PLANTS, 
41 
24.—Man crawling out of hopper car through doors ;an unsafe practice. Do not get 
out of hopper cars through the doors. 
Figure 25.—Trestle laborer in ore bin, wearing belt and life line. 42 
SAFE PEACTICE AT BLAST FUBNACES. 
always be replaced when a job is done, or even when leaving the 
job for a short time. (See figs. 28 and 29.) If you are chipping 
concrete, wear goggles, as chips frequently fly in the eye. Don't 
undercut piles of ore or stone, or piles of frozen earth, sand, or 
other material. Don't undercut banks when excavating; keep them 
knocked down; test the edges with a bar and knock or pry any 
loose earth down (fig. 30). Frozen ground is especially dangerous. 
Stay out of cast houses, pig machines, boiler houses, and other 
places where your work does not require you to go, and keep away 
from iron and cinder ladles when they are being shifted. When- 
ever possible, keep from under cranes in operation. Always warn 
the crane man before beginning to clean the tracks about the granu- 
lating pit, as he may accidentally drop some hot slag over the sides 
of the car unless he knows you are beneath, or scalding water may 
run from the grab bucket as it is carried over your head. Be care- 
ful in cleaning up about a loaded cinder car as steam and scalding 
water may escape suddenly from a drop door. Don't throw wet or 
damp rubbish into cinder ladles, as it may cause an explosion, and 
in turning a hose on a leaking cinder or iron ladle stand as far away 
as possible, as you may be scalded by steam or burned by an explosion 
or “ shot ” if the water hits molten iron. Avoid walking on ash 
piles; they may be hot underneath and burn your feet if you break 
through. Keep your feet out of flue dust when cleaning it up. 
Figure 26.—Workman endangers passer-by in carrying bar through a doorway. PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED AT BLAST-FURNACE PLANTS. 
43 
In loading or unloading cars, see that the gang planks or runways 
are in good condition and are properly placed and secured. 
Be careful when handling heavy material or using tools (see figs, 
and 32), as most accidents about blast-furnace plants are caused 
in such work. When necessary to go on a roof or window ledge 
lo clean windows always use a safety belt and a life line. When 
cleaning windows from a ladder do not overreach; go down and 
move the ladder if necessary. Be sure that the ladder is resting 
Figure 27.—Men standing dangerously close together while using picks. 
S(juarely at the bottom so that it can not slip. If the ladder is a 
long one have some one steady it. Always have at the top a cross 
Piece long enough to span the entire window. The cleaner you keep 
Urn yard the better and more safely everyone can do his work. Don’t 
piles of rubbish accumulate, or pieces of lumber, brickbats, scrap, 
and other material lay around, or leave tools about; some one may 
stumble over them. Fill up small holes and depressions and report 
Promptly any steam or hot water puddles caused by leaky lines. 
37161°—16—4 44 
SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES. 
Figure 29.—Passerby falls into uncovered manhole. 
If you make an opening or remove the cover from any opening in the floor, valve pit, or sewer, guard that opening 
so no one can fall into it. 
Figure 28.—Workman goes away and leaves man- 
hole uncovered. PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED AT BLAST-FURNACE PLANTS. 
45 
PIG-MACHINE MEN. 
Always wear goggles or a mask when working about the troughs 
while iron is being poured; be cautious when the molds are cold or 
if they have ice, snow, or water in them, and, especially when cinder 
is coming over, keep away as much as possible. When it is necessary 
to work under the strands to knock out the “ stickers ” keep from 
directly under the strand as much as possible, both the one you are 
working on and the adjoining strands. Men tending the lime vats 
and sprays should watch for stickers when it is necessary to go 
Figure 30.—Man cutting too far beneath bank. Don’t undercut piles of ore, stone, sand, 
or frozen material. 
under the strands to adjust the sprays or to feed lime, while the 
machine is running. Aim to do such work between casts and shut 
off the steam when working about the sprays or vats. Before pouring 
examine the top of the ladle to see that there is no solid crust of 
cinder or iron frozen over the hot metal. Such crusts should be 
broken with a warm, dry bar as otherwise the metal will splash 
badly when it breaks through the crust. Never operate the motors, 
clutches, or hoists for pouring ladles or running the strands unless 
it is your job, or unless you are told to do so by the foreman. Keep 
awTay from around the sprocket wheels. Remove the scrap and 46 
SAFE PEACTICE AT BLAST FUENACES. 
clean the rails between pouring ladles or casts. Don’t try to save a 
few seconds by stepping on or across molds in motion or containing 
hot metal; use the walks or go around if necessary. Be sure that 
the bars you use to bar scrap out of the troughs with are dry and 
warm and avoid using short poling sticks. Before releasing the ladle 
after pouring replace all safety dogs or legs in position. 
When you are working about the rear of the machine wear goggles 
to protect the eyes from flying chips of iron or lime dust. Use care 
in loading cars to prevent side loading, overloading, and loading 
Figure 31.—Unsafe way of holding a bar for a sledge ; man holding the bar is standing 
on same side as the striker. 
directly upon drop doors, and see that no pigs are left on the end 
frames where they may fall off. 
When working on the pig-machine strands, or changing molds, 
see that motor switches are locked open, tagged with a danger sign, 
or that the clutch is fastened open. Avoid touching electric lines, 
motors, or light sockets, for where there is so much steam and metal 
floors as about pig machines, you may get a severe electric shock or 
burn. Keep sledges, cutters, and other tools in good condition, be 
careful in using them, and watch your hands and feet when handling 
molds or pigs. Report cuts, burns, and bruises promptly. PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED AT BLAST-FURNACE PLANTS. 
47 
LADLE-HOUSE MEN. 
Don’t leave large pieces of scrap on the ladle spouts, they may 
cause accidents in shifting or pouring, and in removing them use 
a long bar and keep away from in front of the ladle; work from the 
side. Before trying to remove a bottom skull clear away all over- 
hanging rim or side skulls and knock out any loose bricks. The 
bottom skull will then come out more easily and safely. Before re- 
moving a skull or cleaning a ladle be sure the ladle is securely blocked 
Figure 32.—Safest method of holding a bar. 
or propped. When trying to lift a rim skull out of a ladle with the 
crane don't stand on the rim of the ladle, the hook may slip and 
strike you or cause you to fall. Watch all ladles for iron frozen on 
the rim or spouts, skulls, and “ hot spots ” or signs of failure on 
the lining whereby hot metal might break through. A thin place in 
the lining is usually shown by the ladle shell becoming rusty red. 
Do not clean hot kish or metal from ladles onto damp ground; to 
do so may cause an explosion. When cleaning a ladle into the 
quenching pit use a long-handled scraper and keep as far back as 
possible. Take time to pull the cleanings out slowly and keep them 48 
SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES, 
from running out suddenly if they start to slide. There is no dan- 
ger of an explosion if the cleanings are fed into the water inter- 
mittently and in small quantities and not too fast. An accumulation 
of unquenched ladle cleanings beneath the water or a rush of clean- 
ings may explode. To guard against sparks or small splashes wear 
goggles or a mask. When playing a hose on hot scrap or ladle 
cleanings stand as far away as possible to avoid steam or small 
explosions. If you dry ladles with gas, do not try to light the gas 
with a torch; kindle a small wood fire or throw burning waste on 
the ladle before turning the gas on. Always examine a relined and 
dried ladle that has been standing about before using it; if it seems 
to be damp inside, build a fire in it or dry it again. A damp lining 
will probably cause boiling, leaks, or explosions of hot metal. Al- 
ways report water in cinder ladles. 
Do not work inside of a ladle without notifying the crane man 
or placing a sign to show him you are inside, so that he will not 
carry loaded buckets over you. Use hooks or tongs in handling 
heavy pieces of scrap. Gloves or hand leathers, except safety hand 
leathers, should not be used, as they may catch and cause you to 
fall. In hooking on scrap to be lifted with the crane see that you 
do not catch your hand. When breaking scrap with a steel drop 
ball get behind shelter and place danger signs to warn others from 
flying pieces. In steadying heavy crane buckets use a hook or a 
long-handled shovel. Do not stand close where you may be crushed 
or caught between the bucket and some other object. 
SLAG-DUMP MEN. 
When dumping cinder ladles at dumps, pits, or conveyors keep 
away from the front, as the cinder will splash to a great distance. 
Never pour cinder on flue dust or refuse coal; to do so may cause 
a great burst of flame or an explosion. Never try to remove a 
“sticker” or apparently solid skull from a cinder buggy or ladle 
that has just been brought from the furnace to the dump; the sticker 
is probably molten inside, and if it does not fall out itself when the 
ladle is tilted and you try to pry it out it may burst and splash 
hot cinder on you. Before working on such a ladle report the 
sticker to the foreman. He will, if necessary, set the ladle aside 
long enough for the slag to harden, when it can be pried loose with- 
out danger from burns. 
ENGINE ROOM FORCE. 
Before changing blowing engines on a furnace first notify the 
furnace blower unless it is an emergency change on account of a 
breakdown. In case of a stop at the furnace keep at least one engine PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED AT BLAST-FURNACE PLANTS. 
49 
turning over at sufficient speed to avoid any chance of its being 
stalled. Watch that the flywheel does not turn backward owing to the 
back pressure of the blast; few blowing engines will do this, how- 
ever. By keeping an engine turning over against the butterfly valve 
in the cold-blast main with the snort valve open there is the least 
chance for an explosion or fire in the cold-blast main and air tubs. 
In case two or more furnaces are blown from one room attach 
a number to each engine showing the furnace it is blowing to avoid 
any possibility of confusion in checking the furnaces. When the 
furnace whistle is blown for a check observe the signal light or 
number as well as the whistle before checking the furnace. In case 
of a shutdown when the engines are stopped close the stop valves 
between the air tubs and the cold-blast main. In case there is a 
steam connection to the cold-blast main examine the connections at 
the beginning of each turn or shift to see that both air and steam 
connections are in working order and that no steam is leaking into 
the main. Always be ready to turn steam into the blast main if 
the signal or word is given. Place numbers at each steam inlet to 
correspond to the furnace number. Always be ready to check the 
engines promptly; at times conditions at the furnace demand throw- 
ing the snort valve open very quickly and getting the wind off as 
fast as possible. 
Before entering a cylinder to make repairs lock the steam throttle 
and the vacuum stop valves, place blocking in the cylinder, and 
block the flywheel fast. The drain valves should be opened prior 
to taking off the cylinder head. In undertaking repairs to gas 
engines be sure that the gas valves and water seals to the engine 
are closed. It is essential that two men should work together in 
repairing gas-engine parts that are inside the cylinder, are near gas 
or inlet valves, exhaust lines, or are in inclosed places, such as base- 
ments and tunnels. Be prompt in shutting down gas engines when 
the signal is given, as there is even more danger involved in delay 
with gas engines than with steam engines. 
Oilers and wipers should wear closely fitting clothing that can not 
be easily caught in moving parts. In wiping and inspecting the 
engine watch that you do not get caught by rocker arms, wrist plates, 
eccentric rods, and Corliss or other valve mechanisms. Be careful 
that you do not slip on oily platforms and steps, and be prompt to 
report equipment out of order or in a condition dangerous to em- 
ployees or the plant, such as valve wheels without lock nuts, steam 
leaks, worn or oil-soaked governor belts, broken steps or railings, de- 
fective indicators or gages. 
Remember that uniform and correct speed of the blowing engine 
has much to do with the regularity of the furnaces. Irregular speed 
causes slips and other serious troubles. Report immediately to the 50 
SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES. 
blower any trouble with the pumps and tuyere-water supply so 
that he may be prepared to take care of the furnace in case the flow 
of water becomes slack or fails. 
Do not put any engine or machinery in motion without seeing 
whether anyone is in a position to get caught or struck. Do not 
work on electrical equipment or touch wires unless advised by the 
electrician. Let the electrician fix the lights. In working above be 
careful not to drop tools or leave them where they may fall on 
someone below. Keep from under loads carried by cranes. When 
the crane is being used one man only should have authority to signal 
the crane man to hoist. The crane man should try to hoist straight, 
but as the crane is usually high heavy loads may swing, so it is best 
to keep at a safe distance when he starts to hoist. Do not tighten bolts 
in leaking flanges on live steam lines except under the direction of 
the master mechanic. Be careful in placing a ladder before using it 
and if there is any danger of its slipping have someone hold it. Do 
not carry tools or material up or down a ladder; use a hand line 
(sec figs. Bto 10). Return mushroomed or burred chisels and other 
defective tools; report or remove rounded nuts and be careful not 
to use too large a wrench or one with spread jaws. Don’t pull on a 
wrench when you are in such a position that you may lose your bal- 
ance and fall if the wrench slips. 
BOILER-HOUSE FORCE. 
Always pay attention to furnace signals for checks, slips, and shut- 
downs and be sure to follow the plant rules for taking boilers off 
when the furnace is shut down; failure to do so may cause an ex- 
plosion. When the furnace is hanging and liable to slip, and espe- 
cially when one or more checks have been blown to slip the furnace, 
keep away from gas burners, firing and ash-pit doors, and explosion 
doors; the gas may flare out and burn you when the furnace slips. 
Do not sit on or near dust boxes, burners, or gas mains; a very small 
leak will let enough gas escape to “ gas ” you. Do not stay in any 
place where you can smell gas. If your work requires you to do so 
have a helper with you and be sure that your foreman knows what 
you are doing. 
Do not go inside a boiler setting to make repairs or clean it until 
you have stopped with clay all gas leaks about the burners and mains 
near openings into the setting. If the burner or burner valve leaks 
and the burner can be pulled back put a piece of sheet iron between 
the nose of the burner and the setting. If the burner can not be 
pulled back put a blank flange in the downleg or other feasible place, 
unless the valve is absolutely tight. Do not enter the setting, boiler, PEECAUTIONS TO BE OBSEEVED AT BLAST-EUENACE PLANTS. 
51 
or work on the tubes until the foreman has either locked or placed 
danger signs at the gas burners, blow-off valves, and stop valves at 
the steam leader and feed lines. Wait until the clinker and dust has 
been cooled off, and have someone to watch you while inside and 
“ spell ” you off, before entering the combustion chamber. Don’t stay 
inside when turning a hose on the walls to cool them, as the clinker 
is likely to spall off and expose red-hot dust or brick which may 
make the water boil and spit and scald you. Before opening man- 
hole covers or tubes the safety valve should be lifted; be sure the 
steam is entirely exhausted from the boiler. 
Unless it is your work and you are familiar with it, do not turn 
gas into the boilers after a shutdown unless the foreman is present. 
It may explode and burn you if it is not lighted properly. Simi- 
larly, do not turn steam into a cold line or put the boiler on the 
main steam line unless the foreman, water tender, or head fireman is 
present. Never open a burner or valve with a danger sign on it. 
If it appears that some one has forgotten to remove danger signs 
when through work, report to the foreman. Don’t remove the signs 
yourself unless directed to do so. 
To open -a cold-steam line proceed as follows: First, open the 
valve drips; second, open the by-pass or open the stop valve enough 
to warm the line slowty; third, do not open the main-line valve until 
you are certain the line is heated. To turn the boiler into the main 
steam line; First, bring the boiler pressure to within 5 pounds of 
the main-line pressure; second, open the valve next to the boiler 
slowly; third, open the valve next to the main steam line slowly. 
To clean boilers: First, close all stop valves on the steam main (do 
not depend irpon any automatic stop or nonreturn valve) ; second, 
close all valves between the mud drum and the blow-off main; third, 
if there is but one valve, put a blank flange between the valve and 
the boiler; fourth, close the stop valves on the feed water next the 
main line and next the boiler; fifth, close the stop valves on the feed 
water next the main line and next the boiler; sixth, place danger 
signs at the valves and lock them; finally, be sure the steam is en- 
tirely out of the boiler. 
In removing and replacing gage glasses wear heavy goggles. 
When turning water into a gage glass place a shield in front of the 
glass to protect yourself from glass or steam should the glass break, 
and turn the steam in slowly. Leaks in pipe flanges and gasket or 
valves should be promptly reported. Never use a hammer, chisel, 
or wrench on live-steam lines in an attempt to temporarily stop leaks. 
Watch your steam hose and replace it when it shows weakness. In 
blowing off boilers open and close the blow-off valve slowly. 52 
SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES. 
In unloading ashes be sure that they are wet down, and in turning 
water on them do not get close enough to be burned by steam. When 
unloading coal wet it down, if very dry or dusty. Never use any 
kind of a light other than an electric light when working about 
dusty coal, and do not smoke. Neglect of this precaution may 
cause a violent dust explosion. 
RIGGERS, MILLWRIGHTS, AND HANDYMEN. 
Don’t go on top of the furnace unless you notify the furnace 
foreman, so that you will not be on top when the furnace is liable 
to slip. Also notify your foreman so that he can send someone 
with you. One man should always stay where there is no gas, but 
in a position to watch the other man while he is inspecting or oiling. 
If the latter appears to be getting “ gassed,” the alarm should be 
given the stock-house or cast-house crew, and every effort made by 
the watcher to get the exposed man out of the gaseous place, or to 
keep him from falling while the crews are coming up. Do not go 
over the receiving hopper unless you notify the skip or bell operator 
not to operate the bells. Avoid making even routine examinations 
of hoppers and bells unless the furnace foreman knows that you 
are doing it and upon what particular top or furnace you are work- 
ing. Repairs to explosion doors or bleeders or work inside of hop- 
pers should never be undertaken when the wind is on. At shutdown 
don’t light the gas on top of the furnace until you have received the 
signal from the blower. 
Before going into gas mains, scrubbers, or any inclosed gas-con- 
taining or gas-using place to make repairs or inspections, be sure 
that every gas connection is closed and the place cleared of gas. 
Familiarize yourself with the layout of gas valves, water stops, and 
gas mains, so that you may know where all gas connections are. 
Always wait until your foreman and the furnace foreman say it is 
safe to go in. In closing and opening sand, goggle, or slide valves 
watch for gas. When it is necessary to work in gaseous air, as it 
often is to make some other place safe, to shut down or start up a 
furnace, or other reason, work in “spells,” and if you feel sick or 
dizzy go into fresh air at once. When possible, always wear breath- 
ing apparatus or a belt and life line, both in inclosed and uninclosed 
gaseous places. Avoid smoking in such places. 
When it is necessary to examine a chimney valve on a stove notify 
the stove tender not to shut the blast off or turn the gas on. Before 
examining hot-blast valve slots or valves see that the gas is shut off 
and the chimney valve is open. Do not go inside of a hoist drum to 
replace or take up the hoisting cable until you have seen for your- 
self that the steam-stop valve is shut and the pinion blocked in the PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED AT-BLAST-FURNACE PLANTS. 
53 
gear, or, if it is an electric hoist, that the motor switch is locked open 
and the gears blocked. Avoid trying to adjust the feeding or run- 
ning on of cables on wrenches or hoist drums while they are in 
motion. Do not work on cranes, hoists, skip inclines, skip pits, and 
scale oi* lorry cars unless you know that the motor switches are 
locked open. When on crane runways be sure the main-line switch is 
open, or if the crane must be used protect yourself with track 
torpedoes. When pouring hot babbitt or lead warm the sockets or 
molds, and wear goggles to protect your eyes from splashes. 
Before going on scatfolding, inspect it and satisfy yourself that it 
is safe. Don’t lean castings against scaffold uprights or pile material 
against them. When placing material upon scaffolds let it down 
carefully, don’t throw it down or let it drop quickly, especially if 
lowering it with a winch or hoist. Place material evenly and look 
out for overloading. On coming down from scaffolds or platforms 
don’t slide down ropes; use the ladders or steps provided. Never 
throw tools or other materials down from scaffolds unless the space 
below is protected with danger signs or a watcher. Do not leave 
bolts, rivets, tools, etc., on platforms when through work or lay them 
during the work where they may fall through holes or from the edge 
of the platform. (See figs. 33 and 3d.) Remember to use care when 
on ladders. 
Do not attempt to tighten or adjust doors, nuts, valves, or pack- 
ing glands while the blast is on, and avoid rushing repair jobs by 
loosening too many nuts or keybolts on blast mains, hot-blast valve 
seats, or heads before the blast is off. Ascertain the correct number 
to loosen and do not exceed that number. 
Where hoisting tackle is used the danger of practices such as walk- 
ing near taut hoist lines, getting foul of guy lines, standing in 
front of snatch blocks (fig. 35), etc., may not be apparent to laborers 
or members of the furnace crew who are helping. You can pre- 
vent accident by warning the men of these obscure dangers. Be 
sure that all hoist lines, cables, chains, tackles, and boatswain’s 
chairs are in good shape before using them. Care should be 
taken in slinging a load to see that the slings are properly ar- 
ranged and the load balanced and securely fastened to prevent slip- 
ping. The part of the sling from the hook to the load should be 
long enough so that it makes an angle of more than 45° with the 
ground. Very short and flat slings are under much greater stress 
than ones arranged as above. In hooking on tjie load watch that your 
hand does not get caught, and don’t grab the cable above the lower 
sheave block. 
Be sure to replace all belt, gear, machine, and engine guards, 
shields, and railings; they prevent accidents. Do not try to do work 
on electrical wires or to connect temporary lights. Defective in- 54 
SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES. 
Figure 34.—Wrench falls and injures helper. Don't 
leave tools or material lying in such position that they 
may fall on anyone. 
Figure 33.—Workman places wrench carelessly on ladder 
platform. PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED AT BLAST-FURNACE PLANTS, 
55 
sulation may cause a severe shock or burn, especially if you should be 
standing on an iron plate. Keep your tools in good shape and re- 
turn all tools with burrs or mushroomed heads, cracked handles, or 
other defects for redressing and repairs. Avoid using pipe wrenches, 
defective wrenches, or a wrench that is too large for the bolt head or 
nut to be removed. The wrench may either slip or round off the nut. 
Figcrb 35.—Careless workman standing inside of cable bent around a snatch block. Don’t 
stand inside of the angle of a line or cable passed through a block. 
Be especially careful in working on rounded nuts and replace them 
with new ones at the first chance. Don’t cut rivets, bolt heads, or nuts 
off until you have placed a shield to prevent them from flying, or 
have a sign or a watcher to warn men of the danger. When clipping 
or cleaning castings always wear goggles. (See figs. 36 and 37.) 
Regular inspection of hoists and skips, brasses, bells, sheaves, hop- 
pers, and valves may prevent sudden shutdowns and extra hazard- 56 
SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES. 
ous work. Members of rigging and millwright gangs, being in 
every part of the plant in their regular work, should know more 
about many obscure and not readily apparent dangers than most 
Figuue 36.—Workman wearing goggles when grinding tools. Note the guarded emery 
wheel. 
of the furnace force. It should be a part of their duty to report 
any dangerous practice or condition. There are many trivial sources 
of accidents, so many that no one man or committee can see them 
all, or, in some cases, even know that they exist until injury results. PRECAUTIONS to be observed at blast-furnace plants. 
57 
PIPE FITTERS AND TUYERE GANG. 
Do not go up on the bustle pipe or stack platforms until you have 
notified the blower, keeper, or stove tender. When going above the 
bustle pipe it is safest to have a watcher. Before repairing sprays 
on dust catchers or on skips, skip-pit siphons, steam, air, or oil lines 
on top of the furnace, or sprays on the furnace jacket, notify the 
furnace foreman as it may be necessary to stop charging or to 
check the furnace. When changing bronze, make all plate, tuyere, 
and cinder-notch water connections before the blast is turned on. 
Figure 37.—Workmen cutting rivets. Note shield, also use of goggles. 
Leaking steam, where the men have to work, is always annoying 
and is frequently a menace on account of the noise and the mist, 
and the possibility of scalds. You can do much to prevent the 
danger from this cause by promptly attending to the leaks. Warn 
other men of the danger of attempting to stop steam leaks on pipes 
under pressure by tightening flanges. 
A blast-furnace plant is different from other plants in that, if an 
emergency requires a quick shutdown, the operation may be very 
hazardous, unless everyone knows what to do and does the work 58 
SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES. 
assigned to him promptly and accurately. Make it your first duty 
to learn the layout of the water and the steam lines so that in 
an emergency you will know what to do. The safety of the plant 
may depend on the working of the steam lines leading to the gas 
mains, and the water lines leading to the water-seal valves. It is 
up to you to see that these lines are always in working order. Try 
them frequently by testing the steam line to the main for gas, and, 
if the line is plugged, clean it. Try the lines from the water and 
also from the steam supply for delivery; keep them drained to pre- 
vent freezing, and be sure the valves are not stuck. Do not let the 
water collect in the Avater-seal valves. 
Successful and safe furnace operation depends in part upon the 
cooling-Avater system being kept in proper condition. Careful test- 
ing of tuyeres, coolers, plates, regularity in flushing the mud' and 
sediment out, and regular inspection of the strainers, will do aAvay 
with much of the disagreeable, difficult, and, at times, dangerous Avork 
caused by chilled or slipping furnaces, “ messes,” and bursting tuyeres 
due to water leaks. 
BRICKLAYERS. 
Inspect a scaffold before going up on it, and do not let your 
helpers or laborers go up unless you are satisfied that the scaffold 
is safe; many of them probably do not know whether it is safe or 
not, and must rely upon your judgment. In piling brick on a scaf- 
fold be careful not to overload it. Don’t permit your helpers to 
drop the bricks on the flooring; make them set the bricks doivn 
carefully, and don’t let buckets of clay or loads of bricks doum 
heavily. Avoid OATerloading the hoist buckets, so that the material 
can not fall off; use safetA" hooks for hoisting buckets and pails. 
Don’t throw brickbats doAvn promiscuously when you are on a repair 
job; rope off a danger place, and place a danger sign to Avarn the 
men. Be careful not to your tools or bricks where they can 
be easily dislodged and fall, whether there are men below or not. 
Before going into inclosed places where gas has been used or con- 
tained satisfy yourself that the gas valves are tightly shut. Eemem- 
ber that in such places there is always an odor of gas unless ventila- 
tion is very ample and pronounced. It is sometimes necessary to 
go into these places, and although you may feel assured that there is 
no gas leak, come out at once if you begin to feel dizzy or ill. Gas 
may come from old brickwork, flue dust, bulkheads, or Avet surfaces 
in amount sufficient to overcome you, and when ventilation is diffi- 
cult the slightest odor of gas is a Avarning for you to exercise the 
greatest caution. Always wear a belt and life line and a breathing 
apparatus where ventilation is Aveak or lacking and there is reason PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED AT BLAST-EURNACE PLANTS, 
59 
to expect gas. Use electric lights when working inside gas mains; 
torches make the air nnfit to breathe. Use goggles when yon are 
cutting brick, and if you get a bruise, abrasion, or laceration report 
it at once. 
CARPENTERS. 
It is your duty to use sufficient and strong enough lumber to make 
every scaffold, staging, railing, gangway, and ladder safe. The men 
may not know whether they are safe or unsafe; but whether they 
are competent or incompetent to judge, you can not evade responsi- 
bility for unsafe construction. Temporary ladders, runways, and 
other wooden constructions not intended for permanent use often 
are used when they have become unsafe. Make it your duty to con- 
demn any unsafe equipment of this kind and to promptly remove 
temporary scaffolds or ladders when the need for them has passed. 
Avoid leaving lumber with projecting nails about the plant, and 
hammer flat or remove all projecting nails that you notice on scrap 
lumber or lumber used in construction. (See figs, 38 and 39.) In 
laying planks for temporary floors, walks, or runways place the ends 
so that men in stepping on them will not tip the planks up. 
Most of the accidents that happen to men doing carpenter work 
are caused by their hitting themselves with hammers and hatchets, 
from saws slipping, and in handling lumber. In working on lumber 
piles watch that you do not fall. In handling rough, heavy, or 
splintered lumber be careful not to drop it on your hands or feet 
or lacerate your hands. Be watchful and careful in the use of hand 
tools, and observe danger signs and the directions and warnings of 
foremen and men acquainted with the dangers at the different parts 
of the plant. By so doing a large proportion of the injuries com- 
monly encountered will be avoided. 
ELECTRICIANS. 
The insulation on electric wires and on tools and rubber gloves 
can not be depended on to prevent shock, as the insulation may not 
be in good condition. Do not work on live circuits unless absolutely 
necessary, and if necessary and you are in doubt as to the voltage 
of the circuit, consult the foreman and obtain his permission. 
Try to observe the following precautions: Use only one hand if 
possible (figs. 40 to 43) ; work on only one wire at a time and in- 
sulate it before starting on the next one; insulate parts of opposite 
polarity within reach of tools; do not touch electric conductors when 
you are standing on iron plates, structural iron, wet ground, or pave- 
ment—get a dry board or rubber mat to stand on; use tools with the 
37161 °-—l6 5 60 
SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES. 
Figure 39.—The result. Boards with nails sticking in 
them should not be left lying around. 
Figure 38.—Workman throws down board with nails 
in it. PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED AT BLAST-FURNACE PLANTS. 
61 
handles adequately wound with tape, and wear rubber gloves with- 
out cracks or holes. 
Take the same precautions with supposedly dead circuits, as there 
is always a chance of such circuits being crossed with a live circuit. 
Low-voltage systems, telephone wires, and signal wires may similarly 
be crossed with high-voltage lines. 
When power has been cut off by opening a switch place a danger 
sign bearing your name on the switch and lock it open. Do not 
remove the sign and lock unless the work is completed, everybody 
and everything clear of the circuit, and no one in a position to be 
injured by the machinery starting up. Do not attach wire or cord 
for lights to iron pipes or structural parts. Neglect of this precau- 
tion may lead to charging of equipment or parts so that a man may 
receive a shock when least expected. Make frequent inspection of 
flexible cord for hand lights, portable clusters, or electric drills. The 
various crews frequently handle them when standing on wet places 
where, should the insulation be defective, a serious burn or shock 
might result. 
Remove all dead circuits not likely to be used. Avoid installing 
temporary wires in a slipshod manner. Do not let inexjierienced 
men handle electrical equipment, and do not set bad examples of care- 
less familarity with electrical equipment for inexperienced men to 
follow. Always attend immediately to an electric burn. Such 
burns are often misleading; a third-degree burn which may not be 
immediately painful may later result in gangrene. 
Familiarize yourself with the methods to follow in case of an 
electrical shock to an employee, as described in Miners’ Circular 23.® 
CRANEMEN. 
Never carry a load over a workman’s head. If men are working in 
the path of a load, run the trolley out to avoid them, or give them 
warning. Before moving a crane be sure that no one is in a position 
to be injured. Open the main switch before leaving the cab, and do 
not go or allow another to go on top of the crane runway without 
opening the main-line switch and attaching to the switch a notice 
bearing his name. If the switch is found open and no notice on it, 
notify the foreman instead of shutting it yourself; there may be a 
reason for its being open. 
Do not hoist without a signal when men are hooking on or sling- 
ing material. If possible be sure that their hands are not inside the 
hook or sling. Place the trolley directly over the load to avoid 
swinging it against the workmen. In hoisting heavy loads test the 
brake when the load is a few inches clear of the floor. 
a Lynott, W. A., and Harrington, Daniel, Elementary first aid for the miner : Miners’ 
Circular 23, 1916. (In press.) 62 
SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES. 
After a repair job is finished go over the crane carefully and pick 
up any tools, bolts, or parts left behind. Watch for loose parts; 
see that the brakes, warning bells, and switches work properly and* 
report at once insecure or dangerous parts or places. Don’t leave 
chains, hooks, or buckets hanging at heights that do not clear a 
man’s head. 
FIGURE 40.—Safe way to open a switch. In handling any circuit known to be alive, 
wherever possible use only one hand, keeping the other behind the back. 
In plants where the continual presence of a doctor or nurse is 
not feasible it is advisable to have at least one emergency first-aid 
box. These boxes are furnished by various manufacturers and asso- 
ciations and contain materials designed or recommended by advisory 
boards of physicians and by the American National Ked Cross. 
They are admirably adapted for use at isolated plants and primarily 
are for the prevention of infection. A first-aid box in the charge of 
the chemist, storekeeper, or watchman will encourage the workmen 
NOTES ON FIRST AID. Figure 43.—The safe way to repair a wire, 
switches out. 
Figuge 42.—Result of repairing wire with switches in ; 
short circuit burns electrician. 
Figure 41.—Electrician repairs wire with the 
switches in ; a dangerous practice. 
63 64 
SAFE PEACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES. 
to form the habit of seeking immediate first-aid treatment for slight 
injuries. Such treatment, if correctly performed, may prevent in- 
fection or illness, but further treatment should be by a physician. 
When a man is so badly injured that he needs immediate relief 
before a physician can arrive or before he can be taken to the first- 
aid room it is essential that some one with a knowledge of first aid 
should assume charge, preferably the foreman, first-aid man, mem- 
ber of safety committee, or ranking employee and direct the work 
of caring for the injured man until the doctor arrives. 
Do not move an injured person or move any part of his body 
until you are sure of the nature of the injury. If the injured man 
is unable to walk use the greatest care in placing him on the 
stretcher. Stretchers are now so universally available at plants 
that mention of other means of carrying men should be unnecessary; 
however, familiarity with methods of handling injured men is es- 
sential. 
TRANSPORTATION OF INJURED. 
EYE INJURIES, 
Any object in the eye that irritates the lid or eyeball probably 
makes a cut which may be infected just as easily as a cut on the hand 
or foot, and more so if a toothpick, match, knife, or handkerchief 
is used to remove the object. Moreover, infection of a wound in the 
eye is a very serious matter, because the eye is the most delicate 
external organ of the body. If any injury to the eye is neglected 
or wrongly treated, not only may the eye become inflamed, involv- 
ing loss of time, but the sight may be lost. If you get something in 
your eye, do not try to remove it from the eye at your working place; 
go to the first-aid station and have your eye examined at once. If 
the object can not be removed by cotton rolled on the end of a match 
or toothpick or by a loop of sterile horsehair, it is probably imbedded 
in the eyeball or eyelid, and the injury should be examined by a 
physician immediately. 
Whenever the skin has been cut accidentally, it is safe to assume 
that germs have been introduced, because tools, clothing, or other 
material, the dust in the air, or the skin itself may carry disease germs. 
Every wound should be primarily looked upon as infected and receive 
immediate attention. A fresh cut should not be washed, even by the 
first-aid man; leave that for the physician. Unsterilized water is 
dangerous, for it may contain infectious germs. For the same 
reason waste, cobwebs, tobacco, or dust should not be put on a wound, 
nor should the open wound be touched with the fingers. 
CUTS, LACERATIONS, AND PUNCTURES. 
If a fellow workman gets hurt and the wound bleeds profusely, 
or in spurts, apply a tourniquet or constrictor and notify the first-aid NOTES ON FIRST AID. 
65 
man. Immediate first aid by fellow employees is imperative in such 
cases, as the man may bleed to death before the first-aid man can 
arrive. A belt, suspender, handkerchief, rope, or any immediately 
available material that can be tied with a knot and twisted will do 
for a tourniquet. The man should be made to lie down and the 
injured part be kept elevated as high as possible by some one. If a 
limb is crushed or badly mangled, the tourniquet should be placed 
above the knee or elbow, near the crotch or arm pit, and twisted 
until just enough pressure is obtained to stop the blood. Every 20 or 
30 minutes the tourniquet should be loosened a little; if bleeding 
recommences, it should be tightened again. If the circulation is 
stopped completely for upwards of three hours gangrene may de- 
velop. Many severely bleeding wounds may be stopped simply by 
pressure in the wound with a clean bandage. Details of methods 
of applying tourniquets and bandages are given in Miners’ Cir- 
cular 23.° 
Puncture wounds, such as are caused by nails, slivers, and small 
sharp objects are perhaps the most dangerous of all small wounds. 
Such cuts are always larger on the inside than on the outside on 
account of the elasticity of the skin, and the danger of infection is 
greater because the puncture closes, little bleeding occurs, and there 
is less chance of any dirt and germs that may have gotten into the 
wound being flushed out by the flow of blood. Puncture wounds of 
the foot, and the palm of the hand, the thumb, and the little finger 
are especially dangerous. 
BURNS. 
A burn is not readily infected when first inflicted unless it has been 
broken open accidentally or by careless or improper handling. A 
burn should not be washed by anyone except the physician. For 
small burns picric-acid gauze or sterile gauze with vaseline spread 
on it, placed over the burn and fastened with a roll bandage, is effica- 
cious. The use of carron oil, which is a mixture of linseed oil and 
lime wTater, is not recommended. Soda and sterilized water may be 
used, but is not as soothing to burns as picric acid. 
When a large burn is caused by clothing ignited from hot metal or 
cinder, or by electric flashes, steam, or boiling water, it is better not 
to remove any but the outer clothing. The injured man should be 
handled as little and as carefully as possible. It may be necessary to 
cut away part of the clothing, such as a sleeve or trouser leg. In 
case medical or hospital attention is not immediately available, the 
entire burned area should be covered with picric-acid gauze or vase- 
line-covered gauze. If a hospital is near, the clothing may be satu- 
° Lynott, W. A., and Harrington, D., Elementary first aid for the miner: Miners’ Cir- 
cular 23, 1916. (In press.) 66 
SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES. 
rated with a soda and water solution (one-fourth pound soda in a 
half gallon of clean water). After such treatment, the injured per- 
son should be wrapped closely in a blanket. 
All burns should be reported immediately to the foreman or first- 
aid man. Sometimes a second or third degree burn—that is, one in 
which the inner and outer skin, or skin and flesh beneath, are de- 
stroyed—may not, although a serious burn, be immediately painful, 
but later may lead to gangrene. 
FRACTURES. 
For the purposes of first aid, fractures may be classified as “sim- 
ple,” when the broken bone does not come through the skin, and 
“compound,” when the broken bone sticks through the skin. Unless 
a broken limb is handled carefully a simple fracture may be con- 
verted into a compound fracture; therefore, a man with a fracture 
should not be moved until a splint has been applied. A compound 
fracture requires a longer time for recovery than a simple fracture. 
A splint is simply a light stick or piece of wood for keeping the 
injured part in a fixed position by means of bandages. A broken arm 
or leg can be placed in a straight position, and if no splint material 
is available, a coat may be rolled from each side toward the center 
over the sleeves, placed about the broken limb, and tied there. An 
injured arm may then be tied to the body or a broken leg to the 
uninjured leg. 
In case of a broken back, neck, or severe crushing and internal 
injury a patient should not be lifted until a physician comes. Un- 
necessary handling is harmful, causes needless suffering, and as a 
physician is generally immediately available at furnace plants, first 
aid in such cases is, as a rule, of questionable value. The patient may 
be kept flat on his back and covered with a warm blanket. 
BLOWS ON THE HEAD OR ABDOMEN. 
When a man receives a blow on the head or abdomen, first aid is 
not usually possible. Avoid rough handling, loosen the clothing, do 
not give liquid stimulant, and call a physician at once. Don’t let the 
patient go home alone. After receiving a severe blow on the head 
men have continued work, or stopped work for the day, and then 
suddenty became seriously ill or died. Similar developments are 
possible after a heavy blow on the abdomen. 
BRUISES AND STRAINS. 
Such injuries as bruises and strains should always have the atten- 
tion of a physician rather than first aid only, for although the injury 
may at the outset seem very slight, it may develop into a deep-seated 
injury with permanent total or partial disability. NOTES ON FIRST AID. 
67 
ASPHYXIATION OR SHOCK. 
To remove a victim from contact with an electric circuit, cut the 
current off if there is a switch handy. If not, roll or push the man’s 
body from the circuit with a dry piece of wood or wrap your hands 
Figure 44.—Schaefer method of artificial respiration. Expiration. 
in a dry cloth and stand on dry wood, grasp his clothing and lift his 
body from the wire, or place a loop of dry cloth or rope over the 
man’s head or feet and jerk him from the wire. 
Figure 45.—Schaefer method of artificial respiration. Inspiration. 
In case a man has been asphyxiated or “ gassed ” or has received an 
electric shock, carry him into the open air, send for a doctor, and 
then proceed as follows; 
Feel with your finger in his mouth and throat and remove any 
false teeth, tobacco, etc. Lay him face downward, with one arm ex- 
tended out straight beyond his head. Place his other arm under his 68 
SAFE PRACTICE AT BLAST FURNACES. 
head, and turn his face to one side, so that mouth and nose are free 
for breathing. Have someone draw his tongue forward. Put a 
folded jumper or coat under the lower part of his chest if he is thin. 
Straddle him on your knees, facing his head (see fig. 44), with your 
knees a little below his hips; then with fingers outstretched place your 
hands at the lower part of his ribs with your thumbs nearly joining. 
Hold your arms straight and rigid, swing forward slowly so that 
the weight of your body is gradually brought to bear on the subject’s 
body; then swing back, removing the pressure, but keep your hands 
in place; repeat 16 to 20 times every minute. (See figs. 44 and 45.) 
If you have not a watch, follow the rate of your own deep breathing. 
Keep it up for 3 hours unless natural breathing is resumed. Keep 
the man warm and do not try to give liquid stimulant until he is 
conscious and able to talk and drink. Do not hold ammonia bottles 
under his nose or mouth. 
It is important that every foreman and every member of a safety 
committee in the plant should understand this method of resuscita- 
tion. 
For details of first aid, bandaging, use of splints, stretcher work, 
and methods of resuscitation, see Miners’ Circular 23.® 
® Lynott, W. A., and Harrington, Daniel, Elementary first aid for the miner : Miners’ 
Circular 23, Bureau of Mines, 1916. (In press.) PUBLICATIONS ON MINE ACCIDENTS AND METHODS OE METAL 
MINING. 
Limited editions of the following Bureau of Mines publications are 
temporarily available for free distribution. Requests for all publica- 
tions can not be granted, and applicants should select only those 
publications that are of especial interest to them. All requests for 
publications should be addressed to the Director, Bureau of Mines, 
Washington, D. C. 
Bulletin 62. National mine-rescue and first-aid conference, Pittsburgh, Pa,, 
September 23-26, 1912, by H. M. Wilson. 1913. 74 pp. 
Bulletin 75. Rules and regulations for metal mines, by W. R. Ingalls, James 
Douglas, J. R. Finlay, J. Parke Clianning, and John Hays Hammond. 1915. 
296 pp., 1 fig. 
Bulletin 80. A primer on explosives for metal miners and quarrymen, by 
C. E. Munroe and Clarence Hall. 1915. 125 pp., 15 pis., 17 figs. 
Bulletin 101. Abstracts of current decisions on mines and mining, October, 
1914, to April, 1915, by J. W. Thompson. 1915. 138 pp. 
Bulletin 113. Abstracts of current decisions on mines and mining, reported 
from May to September, 1915, by J. W. Thompson. 1916. 124 pp. 
Technical Paper 4. The electrical section of the Bureau of Mines, its pur- 
pose and equipment, by H. H. Clark. 1911. 12 pp. 
Technical Paper 6. The rate of burning of fuse as influenced by temperature 
and pressure, by W. O. Snelling and W. C. Cope. 1912. 28 pp. 
Technical Paper 7. Investigations of fuse and miners’ squibs, by Clarence 
Hall and S. P. Howell. 1912. 19 pp. 
Technical Paper 11. The use of mice and birds for detecting carbon mon- 
oxide after mine fires and explosions, by G. A. Burrell. 1912. 15 pp. 
Technical Paper 13. Gas analysis as an aid in fighting mine fires, by G. A. 
Burrell and F. M. Seibert. 1912. 16 pp., 1 fig. 
Technical Paper 15. An electrolytic method of preventing corrosion of iron 
and steel, by J. K. Clement and L. Y. Walker. 1913. 19 pp., 10 figs. 
Technical Paper 17. The effect of stemming on the efficiency of explosives, 
by W. O. Snelling and Clarence Hall. 1912. 20 pp., 11 figs. 
Technical Paper 18. Magazines and thaw houses for explosives, by Clarence 
Hall and S. P. Howell. 1912. 34 pp., 1 pi., 5 figs. 
Technical Paper 19. The factor of safety in mine electrical installations, 
by H. H. Clark. 1912. 14 pp. 
Technical Paper 22. Electrical symbols for mine maps, by H. H. Clark, 
1912. 11 pp., 8 figs. 
Technical Paper 29. Training with mine-rescue breathing apparatus, by 
J. W. Paul. 1912. 16 pp. 
Technical Paper 30. Mine accident prevention at Lake Superior iron mines, 
by D. E. Woodbridge. 1913. 38 pp., 9 figs. 
Technical Paper 40. Metal-mine accidents in the United States during the 
calendar year 1911, compiled by A. H. Fay. 1913. 54 pp. 
69 70 
PUBLICATIONS ON MINE ACCIDENTS. 
Technical Paper 46. Quarry accidents in the United States during the cal- 
endar year 1911, compiled by A. H. Fay. 1918. 32 pp. 
Technical Paper 47. Portable electric mine lamps, by H. H. Clark. 1913. 
13 pp. 
Technical Paper. 58. The action of acid mine water on the insulation of 
electric conductors; a preliminary report, by H. H. Clark and L. C. Ilsley. 1918. 
26 pp., 1 fig. 
Technical Paper 59. Fires in Lake Superior iron mines, by Edwin Higgins. 
1913. 34 pp., 2 pis. 
Technical Paper 61. Metal-mine accidents in the United States during the 
calendar year 1912, compiled by A. H. Fay. 1913. 76 pp., 1 fig. 
Technical Paper 62. Relative effects of carbon monoxide on small animals, 
by G. A. Burrell, F. M. Seibert, and I. W. Robertson. 1914. 23 pp. 
Technical Paper 67. Mine signboards, by Edwin Higgins and Edward 
Steidle. 1913. 15 pp., 1 pi., 4 figs. 
Technical Paper 77. Report of the Committee on Resuscitation from Mine 
Gases, by W. B. Cannon, G. W. Crile, Joseph Erlanger, Yandell Henderson, and 
S. J. Meltzer. 1914. 36 pp., 4 figs. 
Technical Paper 94. Metal-mine accidents in the United States during the 
calendar year 1913, compiled by A. H. Pay. 1914. 73 pp. 
Technical Paper 105. Pulmonary disease among miners in the Joplin 
district, Missouri, and its relation to rock dust in the mines; a preliminary 
report, by A. J. Lanza and Edwin Higgins. 1915. 48 pp., 5 pis., 4 figs. 
Technical Paper 116. Miners’ wash and change houses, by J. H. White. 
1915. 27 pp., 3 pis., 3 figs. 
Technical Paper 129. Metal-mine accidents in the United States during 
the calendar year 1914, compiled by A. H. Fay. 1916. 96 pp., 1 pi., 1 fig. 
Miners’ Circular 5. Electrical accidents in mines, their causes and preven- 
tion, by H. H. Clark, W. D. Roberts, L. C. Ilsley, and H. F. Randolph. 1911. 
10 pp., 3 pis. 
Miners’ Circular 8. First-aid instructions for miners, by M. W. Glasgow, 
W. A. Raudenbush, and C. O. Roberts. 1913. 67 pp., 51 figs. 
MttvEES> Circular 10. Mine fires and how to fight them, by J. W. Paul. 
1912. 14 pp. 
Miners’ Circular 13. Safety in tunneling, by D. W. Brunton and J. A. 
Davis. 1913. 19 pp. 
Miners’ Circular 15. Rules for mine-rescue and first-aid field contests, 
by J. W. Paul. 1913. 12 pp. 
Miners’ Circular 17. Accidents from falls of rock or ore, by Edwin Higgins. 
1914. 15 pp., 8 figs. 
Miners’ Circular 20. How a miner can avoid some dangerous diseases, by 
A. J. Lanza and J. H. White. 1916. 26 pp., 4 figs. INDEX. 
A. 
Page. 
Abdomen, blows on, treatment for 66, 67 
Accidents, at blast furnaces, causes 
of__ 4, 5, 9-12, 16, 24, 25, 33, 43 
due to unsafe practices, per- 
centage of 6 
prevention of, 3, 4, 7, 8 
suggestions for, prizes for_ 7 
responsibility of foremen 
for 4 
reporting of, need of 10, 20, 46 
See also Hand-labor accidents; 
Ore buggies, accidents 
with; Tools, accidents 
from. 
Asphyxiation, treatment for 67 
Page. 
Cast house, clothes worn in, figure 
showing 21 
Casting, safety regulations in 21—32 
Clay, wet, in casting, cause of ex- 
plosion 25,27 
Clothes, style of, for blast-furnace 
work, description of 21 
fiure showing 21 
Cranemen, safety rules for 61, 62 
Cuts, treatment for 64, 65 
Cutting beneath bank, danger from, 
figure showing 45 
Dust catcher, care of, safety rules 
for 35 
B. 
B. 
Electric insulation, defective, re- 
sults of 55, 59, 61 
Electric lights, use of, around 
dusty coal 52 
in gas mains 59 
in stove cleaning 34 
Electric shock, danger from 20, 
46, 53-55, 59, 61 
treatment for 21, 37, 67 
Electrical repairs, making of, figure 
showing 63 
Electricians, safety rules for 60, 61 
Engines, blowing, safety rules for 48—52 
cylinders of, warning men 
figure showing 13 
English language, knowledge of, 
need of ! 20 
Explosions, causes of 20, 25, 
27, 29, 32, 33, 35, 48, 51 
Eyes, injury to, care of 64 
Bars, carrying of, method of, figure 
showing 42 
holding of, methods of, figures 
showing 46, 47 
Blast furnace. See Furnace. 
Blast-furnace plants, accidents in, 
causes of 4, 5, 
9-12, 16, 24, 25, 33, 43 
hazard at 11 
inspection of 6 
safety rules for workmen In 13—21 
Blows on head and abdomen, treat- 
ment for 66, 67 
Boilers, cleaning of, safety rules 
for 51 
Breathing apparatus, use of 52, 58 
Bricklayers, safety rules for 58, 59 
Bruises, treatment for 67 
Burns, care of 61, 65, 66 
frequency of, at blast-furnace 
plants 9, 10 
C. 
F. 
Cables, danger from, figure show- 
ing 55 
Carpenters, accidents to, causes of_ 59 
safety rules for 59 
Cars, climbing between, danger of, 
figure showing 14 
hopper, improper exit from, fig- 
ure showing .■ 41 
unloading of, care in 38 
riding on, methods of, figures 
showing 15 
placing of, use of pole for, fig- 
ure showing 38 
Falls of persons, percentage in blast- 
furnace accidents 10 
First aid, for asphyxiation 67 
for blows on head and abdomen_ 66 
for burns 61, 65, 66 
for cuts, lacerations, and punc- 
tures 64 
for eye injuries 64 
for fractures 66 
for transportation of injured 64 
First-aid box, need of ■ 63, 64 
First-aid instruction, need of 6, 7 
Flying and falling objects, accidents 
from, percentage of 9, 10 
71 72 
INDEX 
Foremen, committee of, duty toward 
accident prevention by 7. 8 
responsibility for accident re- 
duction 4 
selection and duties of 4, 5, 9—12 
warning men of danger, figure 
showing 13 
Fractures, first-aid treatment for 66 
Furnace, blast, blowing of, danger 
from 22, 33 
Page. 
M. 
Page. 
Machinery, defective, reporting of 32, 
35, 36, 49, 62 
Management, plant, duty of, relative 
to safety conditions 3 
Manhole, uncovered, danger from, 
figures showing 44 
Masks, wearing of, in blast-furnace 
work 21, 45 
Master mechanic, responsibility of, 
for safeguards 9 
Metal. See Casting. 
Millwrights, safety rules for 52-56 
G. 
Gas, cause of asphyxiation— 20, 50, 52, 58 
cause of explosion 33 
Gate, punch out, operating of, fig- • 
ure showing 25 
runner, operating of, figure 
showing 26 
Gloves, for blast-furnace work, wear- 
ing of- 17, 20, 21, 24, 48, 59, 61 
Goggles, for blast-furnace work, fig- 
ure showing 56, 57 
wearing of 11, 21, 24, 29, 34, 
36, 42, 45, 46, 48, 51, 53, 59 
N. 
Nails, in boards, danger from, fig- 
ure showing 60 
Officials. See Management, plant. 
Ore buggies, accidents with 36 
O. 
P. 
H. 
Picks, danger in use of, figure show- 
ing 43 
Pig machines, handling of, safety 
rules for 45, 46 
Pinch bar, use of, care in 37, 38 
figure showing 39 
Pipe fitters, safety rules for 57, 58 
Prizes, for prevention of accidents 7 
Hand labor, accidents from, percent- 
age of 9 
Hand leathers, for blast-furnace 
work, figure showing ' 17 
wearing of 17,21, 24, 48 
Hazardous operations. See Acci- 
dents. 
Head, blows on, treatment for 66, 67 
Hor-blast men, safety rules for 32-34 
R. 
I. 
Respiration, artificial, method of, 
figures showing 67 
Riggers, safety rules for 52-56 
Rubbish, care of 14, 22, 32, 40, 42, 43, 47 
Inspection committee, recommenda- 
tions of, approval of 8 
selection and duties of 5—7 
Inspectors, safety, duties of 5 
S. 
Safeguards, for ladders 19 
installation of , 8 
use of 3, 4, 20, 24 
See also Gloves ; Goggles ; Hand 
leathers; Life line; 
Masks; Safety belt; 
Shields; Tongs. 
Safety, insistence on, effect of 3 
Safety belt, use of 43, 52, 58 
figure showing 41 
Safety rules, for blast-furnace plants- 13-21 
for bricklayers 58, 59 
for carpenters 59 
for cast-house crew 21-32 
for cleaning boilers 51 
for cranemen 61, 62 
for dumping slag 48 
for dust-catcher men 35 
for electricians 60, 61 
for hot-blast men 32-34 
for pig machines 45, 46 
Ladders, carrying bucket on, figures 
showing 18 
safeguards for 19 
Ladles, cleaning of, care in 47, 48 
filling of, danger from, figure 
showing 19 
Ladle house, safety rules for men 
in 47, 48 
Leggins, for blast-furnace work, 
wearing of 11, 24 
Life line, wearing of, figure show- 
ing 41 
need of 34,, 38, 43, 58 
Lights, electric, use, around dusty 
coal 52 
in gas mains 59 
in stove cleaning 34 
L. INDEX 
73 
Page. 
Page. 
Safety rules for ladle-house men— 47, 48 
for millwrights 52-56 
for riggers 52—56 
for running of blowing engines- 49-52 
for scale-car operators 36 
for stock-house crew 35—37 
for stove cleaners 34 
for trestle men 37—43 
for yardmen 37-43 
Safety work, organization of 3, 4, 5, 9 
Scaffolds, inspection of 11,53,58,59 
Scale-car operators, safety rules for 36 
Schaefer method of artificial respira- 
tion, figures showing 67 
Scrap, at foot of ladder, danger 
from, figure showing 13 
cold, cause of explosion 27 
Shield, for hlast-furnace work, fig- 
ure showing 57 
wearing of 24, 29 
Shock. See Electric shock. 
Shoes, style of, for blast-furnace 
work 11, 17, 21 
figure showing 16 
Signals, giving of 33, 35, 37, 49, 61 
Signs, danger, observance of 20, 40, 59 
placing of 11, 32, 39, 53, 58, 61 
removal of 51 
Slag, dumping of, safety rules for 48 
Steam, danger from 29, 52, 57 
Stock house, crew of, safety rules for 35-37 
Stoves, cleaning of, safety rules for_ 34 
Strains, treatment for 67 
Stretchers, use of, in carrying in- 
jured workmen 64 
“Suggestion box,” use of 7 
Superintendent, furnace, recognition 
of safety work by 3 
Switches, opening of, figure showing 62 
T. 
Tapping bar, wrong use of 24 
Tapping hole, drilling of, figure 
showing 22, 23 
stopping of, figures showing 28 
Tongs, for hlast-furnace work, use 
of 24,29,48 
Tools, accidents from, percentage of_ 9 
care of 11, 
14, 19, 22, 40, 46, 50, 53, 55, 62 
dropping of, danger from 19, 
22, 40, 50, 53 
figures showing 54 
carrying of, method of 34 
Trestle men, safety rules for 37-43 
Trough, hot, wetting down of, fig- 
ures showing 30, 31 
Tuyferes, bursting of, danger from— 21, 
23, 29 
handling of, safety rules for— 29, 
57, 58 
Wounds, puncture, care of 65 
Wrench, use of, figure showing 40 
dropping of, danger from, fig- 
ures showing 54 
W. 
Y. 
Yardmen, safety rules for 37-43