William A. Burgess
Harvard University
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Featured researches published by William A. Burgess.
American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal | 1980
Robert D. Treitman; William A. Burgess; Avram Gold
The concentrations of eight air contaminants suspected of causing acute and chronic health problems for firefighters were measured in over 200 fires in the City of Boston using a personal air sampler. Threatening concentrations of both carbon monoxide and acrolein were found in a small proportion of the fires. Less hazardous levels of hydrogen chloride, hydrogen cyanide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon dioxide were also noted. Benzene was found in most fires, but at concentrations well below those expected to cause acute injury. The air sampling data have application in treatment of smoke inhalation victims, development of firefighting strategies and selection of respiratory protection devices.
Archives of Environmental Health | 1974
Gilles P. Theriault; William A. Burgess; Lou J. DiBerardinis; John M. Peters
To estimate the current dust exposure in the granite sheds of Vermont, 784 personal mass respirable dust samples were collected from 13 occupational groups in 49 granite sheds, and 483 of these samples were analyzed for quartz content. A lifetime estimate of exposure to granite dust and quartz was calculated for each worker from the dust concentration data and a complete occupational history. Five indices of exposure were developed, and dust-year was selected by a multiple regression analysis as the index most highly correlated with changes in vital capacity (FVC). The current dust and quartz concentrations in the granite sheds differ from previous estimates due to differences in sampling and analytical techniques. Since the quartz content of granite dust differs between occupations, the threshold limit value for granite dust should be stated directly as a quartz limit.
Archives of Environmental Health | 1973
John M. Peters; Raymond L. H. Murphy; Benjamin G. Ferris; William A. Burgess; Manmohan V. Ranadive; Henry P. Perdergrass
Sixty-one welders were studied at a shipyard by means of questionnaire, partial physical examination, x-ray films, and comprehensive tests of pulmonary function. Extensive air sampling was accomplished. The results were compared with 63 pipefitters similarly studied. There were no significant differences noted. St was noted, however, that both groups revealed evidence of depressed values of pulmonary function. By comparing welders to a third group (pipecoverers exposed to asbestos), evidence for the development of obstructive lung disease in welders and restrictive lung disease in pipecoverers arose, although nonsmoking welders appeared to have normal pulmonary function. When the shipyard groups were compared to pipefitters with no asbestos and no welding exposures, all shipyard groups were abnormal. Based on other prediction formulas, this finding remained consistent. It would thus appear that all three shipyard groups have depressed pulmonary function.
American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal | 1983
Michael J. Ellenbecker; Robert F. Gempel; William A. Burgess
A new technique to measure the performance of local exhaust ventilation systems has been developed and tested in both the laboratory and the field. The technique involves the measurement of the capture efficiency of exterior hoods, defined to be the fraction of contaminants given off by a process captured by the exhaust system serving that process. Capture efficiency measurement can be a powerful tool in the evaluation of local exhaust systems, since it is a direct, quantitative measure of system performance; in contrast, indices of performance now in use are either qualitative or measure quantities which may not be related directly to system performance. A basic theory for capture efficiency has been developed, and a prototype system for measuring capture efficiency has been constructed and tested. Preliminary laboratory and field measurements using the system have demonstrated the power of the method, which should find widespread use in the design of new ventilation systems and the evaluation of existing ones.
The New England Journal of Medicine | 1976
David H. Wegman; John M. Peters; Rudolph J. Jaeger; William A. Burgess; Leslie I. Boden
Introduction Over 80 million American men and women spend one quarter of their lives in a workplace outside the home. The deterioration in health quality that results from exposure to hazards in th...
American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal | 1979
Otto Grubner; William A. Burgess
Breakthrough curves of organic vapors through a charcoal bed are analyzed by a simplified Theory of Statistical Moments. It is shown that this theory adequately describes the dependence of the shape of the breakthrough curve on concentration of vapor, velocity of air, particle size of charcoal, and length of the bed.
American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal | 1973
Janet Walkley Cares; Abraham S. Goldin; John J. Lynch; William A. Burgess
An infrared technique for the determination of quartz in respirable granite dusts is described which has been used in a survey of the granite industry to obtain with reasonable confidence a general picture of the quartz dust concentrations to which workers are exposed. The procedure is simple and can be carried out by technicians. In our laboratory we have been processing 30 to 35 samples per day, with about an additional ⅓ day required for scanning the KBr pellets. Pellets are mounted and may be permanently retained. Sample calculation is simple and can be readily adapted for machine calculation or computer. By this method of analysis, it should be possible to establish a TLV based on milligrams of respsrable quartz per cubic meter or air, either in place of or in addition to the presently accepted TLV.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences | 1972
Parker C. Reist; William C. Desieghardt; Homer E. Harris; William A. Burgess
If one is to specify the use of half-mask dust respirators (hereafter called “respirators”) to control individual exposure in coal mines, knowledge of the protection these devices offer is necessary. Information is needed not only on basic efficiencies, such as those defined in laboratory testing under the United States Bureau of Mines’ approval testing program, but also concerning the effectiveness of the units under field conditions, since the latter determines the ultimate value of a respirator to a miner. Wearing a respirator for extended periods of time is not comfortable. The mask continually presses on the face, and breathing through the filter requires added effort, particularly if the worker is doing heavy labor or has impaired lung function. As a result of these factors, miners will not wear respirators unless they consider them absolutely essential or unless they are required to do so under well-enforced mine regulations. When miners do wear the respirators, they frequently lift them from their faces to speak, eat, spit, and so forth. Under these conditions, the effectiveness of the respirator is reduced from the ideal or “test-stand” case. In this paper information is provided on the use of respirators in mining, with particular attention to those situations where they can be used effectively and to the level of protection that can be expected for a miner who wears a respirator.
American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal | 1976
William A. Burgess; Jack Murrow
Current practice in the design of exhaust hoods for low volume-high velocity exhaust systems is empirical and evaluation of performance is conducted at the completed installation. A procedure is described for laboratory evaluation of prototype hoods using a simulator in conjunction with a tracer aerosol.
American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal | 1974
John J. Lynch; William A. Burgess
The catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide (CO) to carbon dioxide (CO2) in air by Hopcalite is the basis for a personal sampler for carbon monoxide. Four or eight hour integrated samples are obtained by drawing air at 0.5 liter per minute (lpm) through stripping beds of Ascarite and molecular sieve which remove water vapor and CO2 present in the ambient air. The air sample then passes to a preweighed glass U-tube which contains Hopcalite, Ascarite, and anhydrous magnesium perchlorate. After sampling, the U-tube is reweighed; the increase in weight is due to the trapped CO2 from the oxidized CO. At 0.5 lpm and 70°F, the 1.5 g of catalyst in the U-tube convert more than 90% of the CO to CO2. For a four-hour sample in the range of 20 to 100 parts per million (ppm) CO, the relative standard deviation of duplicate measurements is ±6%.