IIW History 1948-1958

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to meet requests that solutions or data should be made available \Yithout delay. In general, the rule of Commission VIII"has been for the members as a \Yhole to study all matters in their order of urgency; consequently, Sub-Commissions have not been set up except to deal with the Handbook which is mentioned be– low. In certain cases, however, the study of particular subj ects has been en– trusted to working groups composed of the members specially qualified in the relevant matters; these groups were made responsible for presenting reports for discussion and approval by the Commission as a whole at plenary sessions. This method of working has made it possible to make consistent progress in the preparation of a series of documents resulting from research work, the com– pilation of i11formation and from papers presented to the Commission. The discussion of these documents resulted in the clarification of many important points, thus contributing to the prevention of accidents which are always preju– dicial to the development of an industry. Particularly with an industry in rapid development, new investigations must be carried out in connexion with the pre– vention of accidents so that users may be informed of the precautions necessary for the safe use of new methods and processes. It has been with these r;oints in mind that, from 1948 to 1957, Commission VIII has wcrked successively on the subjects mentioned below. The principal results achieved are mentioned in so far as possible, though, naturally, the ori– ginal documents must be studied for detailed information. During the first years of its work, the Chairman of the Commission was Professor S. FORSMAN (Sweden), who was succeeded by Mr ANDRE, as isted by Jvir FRIBERG, \ ice-Chairman, both 0£ whom a re Swedish delegates. The Secre– tariat has been in the charge of Mr THRY IK, to "\\·hose work tribute must be paid . Following the Delft Assembly in 1949, the S"\\·edish delegation started research work on the formation of nitrous oxides in the case of gas "\\·elding in confined spaces. This question is of real importance in shipyards where plates and pipes haye to be shaped and wel_ded in the confined spaces of the holds of ships. Tests have shown that ventilation is necessary; fortunately, this is in any case considered indispensable for other reasons connect ed with ease of work and the comfort of the operator who has to work in confined spaces. At the Paris Congress in 1950, another S"\\·edish report raised the question of the possibly harmful consequences of fumes produced by arc welding when carried out in confined spaces. Many laboratory analyses have shown that, in these circumstances, good ventilation is necessary to prevent the fumes, which in general are not in themselves poisonous, from becoming too concentrated in the atmosphere of workshops, thus rendering breathing difficult. Precise data on this subject are now avail able and, on the basis of the recom– mendations adopted at Oxford in 1951, appropriate steps can be taken to prevent any risks from welding "l'l·ith covered electrodes of all kinds. Recently, the Com– mission has put on its agenda a further study concerning the possible accumula– tion of fumes inside the \Yelder's shield or helmet. In 1951 , the Commission also studied recommendations concerning the pro– tection of the eyes of welders from infra-red and ultra-violet radiation or from Yisible radiation given off during gas or arc welding. Thanks to the " ·ork of 2 . WORK ACCOMPLISHED AND IN HAND.