A trial of Terylene overalls for lead-acid electric accumulator pasters.

A comparison of Terylene and cotton overalls has been made in the lead-acid electric accumulator industry. Six hand pasters wore personal lead-in-air samplers for two weeks. Three of the men wore cotton overalls the first week and Terylene overalls the second; the other three men wore Terylene overalls the first week and cotton overalls the second. The mean lead-in-air concentration in the breathing zone when the men wore Terylene overalls was slightly greater than when they wore cotton overalls but the difference was not statistically significant. Significant differences of lead-in-air concentrations were found between men and between the two weeks but not between days within the weeks. The lead-in-air concentration did not increase during the week. Neither a change to Terylene overalls nor more frequent laundering of overalls should be recommended for pasters in this factory on the basis of this study.