ID#: 9449
Caption:
This 1950 historical photograph was provided by the Center for Disease Control's (CDC), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and depicted industrial medicine in action. It showed a worker loading a Vic-90® machine in a dry cleaning establishment. In the 1950s, concerned with hazards in the dry cleaning workplace, the Industrial Hygiene Division (IHD) investigated dry cleaning environments. New nonflammable cleaners had recently been introduced, which created concerns about their toxicity. As of 2005, there were approximately 36,000 dry cleaning businesses in the U.S., most employing less than ten people. The focus today is on the perchloroethylene (tetrachloroethylene of Perc), used as a solvent in 85% of dry cleaning shops. It is carcinogenic in animals, and suspected to be so in humans.
High Resolution: Click here for hi-resolution image (5.36 MB)
Content Provider(s): CDC/ Barbara Jenkins, NIOSH
Creation Date: 1950
Photo Credit: Unknown
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Copyright Restrictions: Permission is not required for public domain images, however, these images are provided by CDC and are available for personal, professional, and educational use with appropriate attribution. Redistribution must credit CDC and, where known, the individual photographer, and identify the CDC website as the free source. For additional terms see Use of Agency Materials | Other | CDC