This film was shown at the conclusion of the
1940 Tri-State Silicosis
Conference in
Joplin, Missouri, a gathering of industry and labor leaders to investigate and highlight the danger of silicosis, a debilitating lung disease from inhaling the dust.
Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins attended the conference at the
Connor Hotel, as did Dr.
Alice Hamilton. The film was produced by the noted
Great Depression era photographer
Sheldon Dick.. Dick's film is surprisingly experimental with a unsettling score and a dramatic narration that has a jarring effect on the viewer. It is an important piece of occupational and environmental health history because of its haunting advocacy for the welfare of the region's miners and their families and its stark images of the men who worked the Tri-State
Mining District during the
Depression era. Men and
Dust is an exposé based on the findings of the Tri-State
Survey Committee. It depicts the lead and zinc mining communities at the junction of
Kansas,
Missouri, and
Oklahoma, and their problems of survival
. In the film we see the fight led by the
Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers Union for improved mine owners efforts to eliminate silicosis, lead poisoning, and tuberculosis.
Near the end of the film is a call for a national workers compensation system to deal with occupational disease,
Federal government enforcement of improved working conditions, proper hospital facilities and affordable housing. For a summary of the Tri-State Silicosis Conference, go to
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/128/. For a detailed look at the silicosis problem, read the wonderful book
Deadly Dust: Silicosis and the On-Going
Struggle to Protect Workers'
Health by
David Rosner and
Gerald Markowitz, 2nd edition
2006 -- go to http://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/9780472031108-fm
.pdf for a short introduction. Sadly, today two million workers are still exposed to potentially hazardous levels of silica dust, mostly in the construction and sandblasting industries.
OSHA's current silica dust rule, issued in
1971, allows workers to be exposed at levels far exceeding those considered safe.
Almost two years ago OSHA submitted a proposal to the
White House to update the standard that protects workers from exposure to crystalline silica dust. Although the review should have concluded after 45 days, the proposal remained at the
White House Office of
Management and
Budget (
OMB).
Intense lobbying by employers is keeping this proposal from even getting a public hearing. A copy of this film is available in the US
National Archive film collection in
College Park, MD.
Thanks to the Historic Joplin
YouTube Channel for posting this film in
November 2011.
- published: 04 Jan 2013
- views: 1888