Dust of Life (Les poussieres)

DUST

The weight of free dust contained in the universe...

is at least equal to the weight of the celestial bodies.

Sun dust... Cloud dust...

Called aerosol,

dust in suspension has covered the world.

The very ancient dust of the Sahara.

Saline dust given off by the waves of the sea.

The living dust of pollen.

Heavy industrial dust.

Dust from the stations of Paris.

Dust of London fogs.

In many regions,

the quantity of dust spread in the air by industry

is considerable.

Mining cities, coated with dust, day and night,

by the uninterrupted work of blast furnaces.

Village petrified by the white dust of the lime-kilns.

Dust of the loom.

These fibrous shreds, hanging like vermin,

indicate a company working with linen.

The threshing machine, by breaking the linen fiber,

makes a dust through which the natural light can hardly pass.

In this atmosphere, a spotlight can play the role of a sun-ray.

This spearheaded vegetal dust,

seen here under the microscope,

causes one of the many pulmonary infections

called pneumoconiosis.

Yet, among all varieties of dust,

the deadliest is the dust from silica.

If a living cell absorbs a particle of silica dust.

noticeable here as white stains,

the poisoned cell is quickly and totally destroyed.

By destroying the pulmonary tissue, the silica dust

causes the most serious of pneumoconiosis:

silicosis.

Some professions are especially affected by this disease.

The sea, which turns the siliceous rocks into shingle,

has caused the crumbling of the cliffs of Normandy,

and left piles that have originated an odd industry:

the grinding of shingle.

Man, imitating the sea, turns the shingle into sand,

but this sand, useful to industry, is dangerous for man.

The silica dust spread by the grinding and the riddling of the shingle...

has made necessary, after deadly accidents,

the wearing of protective masks.

Caught in the machines by the filtration system,

a part of the dust is taken away by a water flow.

This sand, with its various destinations,

will be used for making rice powder,

As well as for foundry work.

Sanding down with a sand jet.

The grains break against a foundry casting to sand it down,

releasing siliceous dust particles,

made even more toxic by being fine and fresh.

It is a real break-out of the matter.

The porcelain of Limoges is made of kaolin, of feldspar, and of pure silica.

Made traditionally by the same worker,

the crusting, the centring and the calibrating of the soft paste,

will give its shape to the porcelain plate.

After the drying, the plate is worked by the edge-maker.

His position is one of the most exposed of the porcelain industry.

With lathe and abrasive,

the worker takes off the streaks and spreads an abundant siliceous dust.

Suction hoses struggle to get more of the terrible dust

away from the pulmonary alveoli.

True acrobat, a diverting character,

Here comes the kiln loader, carrying his fragile porcelain to the oven.

Finishing work.

The polisher, grinds away, using siliceous matter...

the most understated defects of this enamelled porcelain...

of which the transparency remains inimitable.

He may feel perfectly healthy,

the silicosis is here, detected by radiography.

Silicosis nodules, in the "Snow storm".

Mountains of the Alps, of which the pure climate revivifies silicosis patients.

Mountains ringing out with the thunder of landmines.

Crossed over by galleries,

its siliceous rock is broken down with dynamite.