This is a little disturbing…
Wear your masks.
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Thanks for sharing…Rob
Wow. Not good. It’s a medical puzzle which makes me think. Where were the initial metals these metal workers were dealing with, were produced? What processes were used to initially make those metals that have changed over time? What other ingredients from lubricants on initial metal being manufactured to any types of substances that came in contact with the metals. We are all at risk. I have always been anal about ventilation while soldering. Sadly I fail at filing. I tend to do the tedious filing chores while sitting and watching TV. I love my hand files. Makes me wonder what else we are failing at now that we know there is a culprit out there?
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Totally unexpected!
One would think the high heat would would kill any living things.
Wow, yeah what did it come in contact with? Did someone devise a method to deliver this??? 
baffled. Better Filtration, not always possible.
I’ve been on jobs that would ridicule you if you complained about air quality. Maybe that’s why you have the job, you’re expendable! No hazardous duty pay. You have to watch out for yourself when no one else is!!!..~~*Stv
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Scary Stuff! But I still don’t think it should worry jewelers.
Coming from the medical perspective, there’s a lot of investigation that must be done. The source of the bacteria has to be traced down. As the entire work space was contaminated, a good assumption to start with was the germs came from the steel. Steel plates, other steel forms like tubing all gather dust while sitting outside or in a warehouse.. Stored steel at the work place warehouse should be investigated. If contaminated, the source could be local dirt or from further down in the supply chain. The steel wholesaler’s supply and warehouse is the next to be investigated, dirt there also must be checked out. Every warehouse, every step in the supply chain must be individually investigated. This effort is like a detective story. It will take months, a ton of money, and a dogged determination to find out the original source of contamination. Anthrax comes in the form of spores. Spores are resistant to usual disfectant procedures. Spores are easily aerosolized. Brushing off dust, walking on dirt will make spores air borne. Inhaling them causes a fatal infection if not recognized immediately and treated with antibiotics and antitoxins.
Jewelers have their own safety net. Both solid silver and copper are bacteriocidal. Bacteria in contact wilth copper will be killed within minutes. Silver contact requires 24 hours. Less known is both platinum and gold can also be bacteriocidal. Solid Platinum and Solid Gold do not kill bacteria. In nanoparticle form, both are very efficient at killing bacteria. Dirt is the culprit, spores come from dirt. Keeping your workplace clean and keeping outside dirt from contaminating the materials you work with keeps you safe. So far there has been no known cases in jewelers. I don’t think it’s a problem for the jewerly industry.
All of the welder’s cases of anthrax have come from Louisiana and Texas, where anthrax and it’s immediate related species are found in the soil. LA and TX are also known to be lax in OSHA requirements for using personal protective equipment, including respirators. Getting to use workers to use them is another problem that management doesn’t enforce strictly enough..
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Well put. And yes Texas and Louisiana are serious slackers. My maternal family is from Louisiana. The state motto is “Louisiana. Where half the state is under water and the other half is under indictment.” In all of the heavy humidity in southern Texas and pretty much all of Louisiana bacteria thrive as well as their buddy’s endospores.
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I live in Orlando Florida. TX and LA have nothing on us for wet climate and strange water borne and dirt borne killing particles. The puddle/small lake a block from us and ringed tightly by houses, has been banned for any one swimming or spending more than a moment in the water for fear of a flesh eating bacteria. That said, yes there needs to be more investigation. the main thing that jumped out at me was it was linked to steel. With the price of precious metals right now, many new people without proper training are turning to alternatives like steel. We should be stressing more ways to protect yourself while soldering and working with metals like steel. Next, with only 9 cases in the past how many years? No agency is going to spend money on finding the cause of the particles being it spores, or is it new? I left lab work back nearly 40 years ago. I couldn’t do it today. I would be interested in those in TX and LA along with here in FL what maladies crop up with those choosing to work with steel. There is a surplus steel where house filled with cut offs, and other rods sheets and other forms of the steel, to anyone. no sales number needed
For small numbers of sporadic cases, you are absolutely right that no governmental nor other agency will spend the time and money tracking only a few cases down. So far as working with steel is concerned, the risk is still extremely low… 9 cases over several years over thousands of steel workers who work with constant exposure to steel on a daily basis does not constitute an epidemic. That being said, if you are the victim, it’s small consolation to know that the risk is low. Common sense dictates that you work with clean metal. Rust spots will gather dirt and bacteria. Steel has to be cleaned of residual grease and dirt anyway, so it can be washed off with good old soap and water. Soap and water removes 90% + of bacteria. I scrub out my stainless steel kitchen sinks using a mixture of Dawn and ammonia. The ammonia does kill bacteria but exposure time is long- it’s not effective for disinfecting the sink, however it does boost the cleaning power of detergent on hard smooth surfaces. The most effective way at home to sterilize non heat sensitive materials is to bake it in the oven at 400 degrees for half an hour. Using household disinfectants such as bleach will work also, however exposure time is crucial. Wiping a piece of metal or any other material with bleach, rinsing it off does not leave time enough for bleach nor any other disinfectant to penetrate and kill bacteria. Soaking for at least 10 minutes AFTER washing off grease or other organic material is essential if you go the disinfectant route. The presence of organic material will “hide” the bacteria from the bleach. Once the surfaces are cleaned and disinfected, you’re good to go. Bacteria is on the surface of steel and other metals only, unless the metal is corroded, rusted or cracked., in which case you wouldn’t use bad metal anyway.
I myself have scrounged scrap steel for making wind chimes, mobiles, and a metal composter from a scrap heap at a steel yard. The risks working with scrap were getting cut by sharp edges, splattered with molten steel particles, and most importantly shortwave ultraviolet skin burns from the MIG welder’s electric arc. It’s not possible to weld without using a welding helmet, protective clothing with leather vests and arm sleeves without getting burned by shortwave UV or metal splatter.. So far as cleanliness is concerned, there’s three rules when welding- make sure the metal being welded is clean, make sure the metal is clean, make sure it’s clean…That applies not only to welding but also to brazing/soldering, and also to making your own tools from steel rod. Steel can be pickled and not react if using non oxidizing acids- Sparex (sodium acid sulfate), sulfuric acid. Hydrochloric acid is a no no…it can cause iron and steel to rust..Hydrochloric acid will also blacken stainless steel. It strips off the protective chromium oxide layer which makes stainless steel rust proof, attacks the metal underneath and oxidizes it.
Warm, moist climates as is across the South will host far more potential pathogens than dry hot or dry cold climates. Anthrax and related species can live in low oxygen environments. Anaerobic or low oxygen mud and sediments in mudholes and swamps are breeding ground for tetantus. Current tetanus shot guidelines no longer require tetanus shots for superficial cuts and wounds on a routine basis. Stepping on a rusty nail lying on the surface is in an oxygen rich enviroment and is not conducive for tetanus bacteria to grow. A puncture wound from anything sharp from walking barefooted in mud is a different matter. Anthrax will grow in both low and normal oxygen conditions. Anaerobic bacterial pathogens in general are nasty. These bugs are more resistant to antibiotics than aerobic bacteria.
The bottom line is that steel used in jewerly making requires only very small amounts. If it’s clean, it’s safe. Steel is hard, difficult to work with, has a high melting temperature. So why not use copper and brass?.. copper alloys do make for attractive jewelry. On the other hand, cut polished steel is attractive. The Germans during world war 1 made cut steel jewerly. These antique pieces are valuable as antiques.. The Germans had a precious metal drive to help fund the war. People were asked to “donate” gold and silver jewerly for the war effort.
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