It is a fragile one it gives way, and the burning oil is Falls of lamps occur in a variety of ways. Sometimes Falls of a person carrying a lamp stumbles or is jostled against: lamps. sometimes a lamp is pulled off a table or the latter is upset hanging lamps are sometimes insecurely suspended and sometimes a lamp is used as a missile. : Again, cases have occurred where a lamp which was being carried in the hand has suddenly flared up, with the result that the person carrying it has dropped it in alarm. Another class of accident is caused by the ignition of the oil in attempting to refill the lamp while it is alight or in close proximity to a fire. In such cases a person loses presence of mind and upsets the burning oil. It is doubtful as to how far the number of lamp Suggested accidents could be diminished by any legislative legislation. measure. The two suggestions which have been made as to legislation with this object are, first, to raise the flash-point to 100° F., and secondly, to establish a legal control over the construction of lamps. the flash The first suggestion has been mentioned in previous Effect of chapters (pp. 75 and 144). It is urged that by this raising means explosions would be entirely prevented, inas- point. much as the temperature of the oil in the reservoir of a lamp seldom attains 100° F. It has been shown that this contention is erroneous (chap. v.). The conditions in the lamp are entirely different from those in the testing instrument, owing principally to the heated metal of the burner. Professor Dewar* has shown that, under ordinary conditions of burning, the metal work of the burner inside the oil-container is * Select Committee, 1896; Q. 6758 et seq. liable to acquire a temperature as high as 149° F., while if the draft is impeded, this temperature may rise still higher. Therefore, if the flash-point of the oil alone were to be depended upon, absolute immunity from lamp explosions could not be attained unless only oil of a much higher standard were employed. As to what this figure would be, opinions differ, but probably it would not be less than 150° F. (Abel), a flash-point which is quite out of the question, with the present construction of lamps, and sources of supply of oil. Moreover, if the flash-point were raised there is no certainty that only oil above the legal standard would be employed, for it must be clearly understood that there would not, nor ever could be, in this country, a total prohibition of the sale and use of any particular description of petroleum. It is true that at the present time the effect of the restrictions placed on petroleum below a flash-point of 73° F. (Abel) has been almost entirely to abolish the use of spirit as an illuminant. Spirit now, however, costs more than oil, and there is therefore no inducement to any one to use the former in preference to the latter. If, however, the flashpoint were raised, all this might be changed, and oils with flash-points below the legal standard might be found to be much cheaper and better illuminants. In such case it is unlikely that legislative restrictions would any longer serve as a deterrent to the use of lower flash-point oils. The effect of the use only of oils of a flash-point above 100° F. (Abel) in preventing accidents from falling lamps is by no means certain. If a lamp falls on a carpet and the oil escapes, a conflagration may ensue, whatever the nature of the oil, unless the lamp happens to be extinguished. But it is urged that the rapidity of the combustion will be much less in the case of highflash oil. Other conditions being alike, this contention is perfectly true, and in this respect the higher the flash-point the greater will be the safety. But if in the struggle to supply a high-flash oil at a reasonable price the free-burning qualities are sacrificed, this advantage may be largely nullified. An oil which is sluggish in ascending the wick tends to heat the lamp unduly; and if when the lamp is upset the high-flash oil has become much hotter than would have been the case with oil of the present standard, there will be little difference in the rapidity of the resulting conflagration. It is stated by those in favour of raising the flashpoint that lamp accidents with high-flash oil are practically unknown. Even if this were true, it would not be conclusive as to the absolute safety of this description of oil, for two reasons. In the first place, the flash-point of the oil involved has not been ascertained in the case of the majority of lamp accidents which have occurred; and secondly, high-flash oil has not until lately been used to any large extent by the classes amongst whom the greater proportion of accidents occur. In the last two years, however, a brand of oil flashing at about 100° F. (Abel) has been sold at prices which have brought it within the reach of such classes, and accidents with this oil have occurred. Indeed the proportion of such accidents to those with low-flash oil appears to be somewhat greater than might be expected from the relative proportions in which the two oils are used amongst the poorer classes. It would not be safe, however, to draw conclusions from this fact, owing to the large number of cases in which nothing is known as to the quality of the oil. from A more powerful argument in favour of a higher Immunity flash-point is the comparative immunity from lamp accidents in accidents in Scotland, where Scottish shale oil is prin- Scotland. cipally used. But here again some other cause must Effect on price of oil. be operating to reduce the number of accidents, as the recent large increase in the consumption of low-flash oil in Scotland does not appear to have led to any increase in the number of lamp accidents. Moreover, in Germany and Switzerland, where the standard is lower than in this country, the number of accidents is also smaller than in England. It is, therefore, by no means certain that raising the standard would have an appreciable effect in rendering lamp accidents less frequent. An important consideration to be taken into account is the effect which the raising of the flash-point would have on the price and quality of the oil if such a measure attained the desired effect of preventing the use of low-flash oil as an illuminant. It was shown above that fatal lamp accidents are largely outnumbered by fatal falls down stairs. Yet the most advanced reformer would not venture to suggest legislation for the abolition of houses of more than one storey. Obviously public safety is not the only consideration to be taken into account. Petroleum is essentially the illuminant of the poorer classes. The additional safety to be attained by raising the flashpoint, the amount of which at best is somewhat doubtful, would be dearly bought if it entailed a serious increase of expenditure to the classes who can least afford it. The exact increase in the price of oil which would result from legislation raising the flash-point to 100° F. (Abel) can only be a matter of conjecture, owing to the numerous conditions on which the price depends. The evidence on this point before the Select Committee was of the most contradictory character, and is therefore of little guidance as to the probable increase. The Committee, however, have reported that the effect of such legislation would be to materially increase the cost of petroleum to the consumer. In attempting to arrive at an estimate, several considerations must be taken into account. At the present time Scottish oil, having a flash-point of over 100° F. (Abel), is somewhat lower in price than American low flash-point oil, while the so-called Water-White," which is the high flash-point oil imported from America, costs wholesale a little over a penny a gallon more than the ordinary American oil. But Scotch oil could never be produced in anything like the quantity which is required in this country. Nor would the supply of American Water-White oil be sufficient for our needs, inasmuch as this brand represents but a small percentage of the crude oil as taken from the wells. It is possible, however, to refine the ordinary oil so as to bring the flash-point up to 100° F. (Abel.) This may be done by distilling off a certain percentage of the lighter petroleum; but in order to maintain the same free-burning qualities, it is necessary to remove also some portion of the heavier oils. The results of laboratory experiments having for their object the raising of the flash-point of the ordinary oils of commerce, are not conclusive, as hightest oil would not in practice be made from low-test oil, but would be produced direct from the crude oil. It is therefore difficult to say what proportion of the ordinary oils at present made would be rejected in making oils of 100° flash-point. It may be assumed, however, that if the free burning quality is not sacrificed the diminution in yield would not be less than 10 to 15 per cent. and might be more. Extra capital expenditure would be necessary at the refineries to maintain the output, but, except for this, the additional cost of the refining operations would not, probably, be |