Industrial Hygiene During WWII 1943 USPHS

The United States nation's participation in national defense activities and eventual entrance into World War II precipitated the establishment of more state, local, and territorial industrial hygiene units during the seven-year period 1940-1946. The war effort forcefully brought to light the importance of conserving manpower in order that production may be stepped up and maintained, firmly established industrial hygiene as a public health function. A few years earlier, the State and Provincial Health Authorities of North America, which has had an active Industrial Hygiene Committee since 1922, adopted a resolution in 1934 to the effect that occupational disease prevention should be considered a major activity of public health departments. In 1936 the American Public Health Association and the American Medical Association also passed similar resolutions. The interest and support that had been building up gradually was ignited into action by the passage in 1935 of the Social Security Act. Through funds provided under this Act for the development of health programs in the states, the Division of Industrial Hygiene of the Public Health Service launched a full-scale program to establish industrial hygiene units in state and local governments. For a detailed history of industrial hygiene in government agencies, read Victoria Traskos 1955 article, Industrial Hygiene. Milestones in Governmental Agencies, at http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/reprint/45/1/39.pdf . This clip is from the 1943 film, Save a Day, made by the US Public Health Service (PHS). The entire film is available at the US National Archive in College Park Maryland.

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