This 1972 color educational film by the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Mines explains and details different air contaminants and safety measures to protect against them. The Bureau of Mines was established in 1910 to deal with mine disasters, and then expanded to oversee U.S. mineral resources. It was abolished in 1996. The film begins with narration explaining that humans can live only minutes without air; a man falls over the side of a rowboat into a lake (1:11). White smoke from a factory pollutes the air (1:21). While showing a transparent model of a human body with the skeleton visible, narration explains that human brains have been able to overcome most deficiencies by creating machines like bulldozers, planes, and automobiles, but most automobile users don’t protect themselves from dirty air. A man climbs into and drives a red convertible on a dusty road (2:14). A professor shows an experiment to demonstrate the composition of air: he puts a glass lid over a lit candle and the flame goes out, using up oxygen (3:08). He points to a chart showing air’s composition: 20.95% oxygen, 78.09% nitrogen, 0.92% argon, 0.03% carbon dioxide, and 0.01% other gases. The professor lowers a lit match into a jar with oxygen; the flame burns brighter; with nitrogen, it is extinguished (4:06). The human body model shows how the lungs take in oxygen to the brain and heart and expel carbon dioxide (4:41). The professor demonstrates mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on a mannequin (5:03). He points to a chart showing that air needs at least 16% oxygen to be non-hazardous; mine atmospheres are recommended to have no less than 19.5% (5:20). Men in hard hats work with underground mining machinery (5:52). Children playing in a field hit a baseball out-of-bounds; they go to retrieve it in an abandoned mine, which the film says can be dangerous due to lack of oxygen (6:10). The professor shows a 5000 parts-per-million cube representing the threshold limit for carbon dioxide for 8-hour exposure, according to the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists. A chart shows characteristics of carbon monoxide, another air contaminant (7:22); newspaper articles showing deaths from this “silent killer” are shown. A man working on a car with the engine running, emitting carbon monoxide, rubs his eyes and forehead, then collapses (8:43). Showing ventilation and exhaust systems (9:22), the film says adequate ventilation prevents air contamination. A “Natural Gas: No smoking, matches, or open lights” sign (9:34). The film emphasizes the importance of fire extinguishers and protection from fumes: a man dons a gas mask (9:40). The professor points to a chart on hydrogen sulfide, another contaminant occurring in mines and chemical plants that can spontaneously combust when exposed to iron and air, and smells like rotten eggs (10:20). The professor shows a hydrogen sulfide detector (11:39). He shows a chart for the contaminant sulfur dioxide (11:47). The narrator mentions other contaminants from fumes such as lead, zinc, and cadmium. A man is shown welding with a blowtorch (12:37). A man drilling wears protective equipment against silica dust (13:25) and pneumoconiosis, a disease caused by inhaling dust particles. A coal miner operates machinery generating coal dust (14:05) . A scientist examines dust particles under a microscope (14:37). The film ends by reviewing air contaminant protection measures, such as proper ventilation, protective equipment, and following warning signs.

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