Business School rogue Laboratory Conducts Investigation of Heat Effect at Boulder Dam

Carrying out a course of research begun three years ago party of investigators from the Business School fstigue laboratory, under the direction of D. B. Dill, assistant professor of Biological Chemistry, spent six weeks last summer in field work at the Hoover Dam in Boulder City, Nevada. The party was interested particularly in the effect on workmen of conditions of intense heat and high humidity.

Since the establishment of the fatigue laboratory it has engaged in a study of fatigue in normal individuals at work and at rest, and of the conditions which induce fatigue. In 1929, following thorough research in the Cambridge laboratory, field work was begun in order to carry on the study in extremes of temperature, humidity, and altitude.

The location chosen in that year was Leadville, Colorado, at an altitude of 10,000 to 14,000 feet. The following summer the scene of activity was shifted to the Panama Canal Zone, where conditions of high temperature and great humidity prevail. This year Boulder City was chosen because of the high temperatures whish had been reported there the are the humidity, and the led opportunity for studying the effect of these conditions on the workmen assembled at Hoover Dam.

By using Cambridge as the "control point" for the research and by keeping the original party of investigators as nearly intact as possible, since they themselves are the subjects of many of the experiments, it was found possible to make satisfactory comparisons of the results obtained at the various locations.

The party was interested this year in studying fatigue as induced by excessive turn-over of moisture through perspiration, and in determining what if any changes in the blood occurred. It was found that in general a large exchange of moisture failed to have any marked effect on the workmen, provided their diet contained sufficient water and a generous amount of salt. Because of less intense heat and more attention to diet, hept prostrations at the dam were considerably reduced this year, but those which occurred were studied carefully by the Harvard experts.

Through repeated blood tests it was found that, in spite of intense heat, the character of the blood remained fairly constant. The party was able to dispel the notion that cold water and meat are injurious in hot climates.

In its work at Hoover Dam the party had the cooperation of the Secretary of the Interior, Ray Lyman Wilbur, and of the Bureau of Reclamation, as well as of the company building the dam.

Besides Dr. Dill, the party included A. V. Boch, associate professor of Medicine, J. H. Talbott, instructor in Biochemical Sciences, B. F. Jones '22, instructor in Biochemical Sciences, and others.

The work of the fatigue laboratory was begun by Elton Mayo, professor of Industrial Research at the Business School, but it was soon recognized that work of this nature required the cooperation of industry on the, one hand and science on the other. Through the efforts of L. J. Henderson '98, professor of Biological Chemistry, the laboratory has brought together scientists from other parts of the University and has opened the doors of industry to them under ideal conditions for study.