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Theses and Dissertations
1992
An industrial plague : occupational lead poisoning
in early twentieth century America
Christopher Alan Eldridge
Lehigh University
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\
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11 LE:
n Industrial Plague:
ccupational Lead
Poisoning in Early Twenti••1"""
eth Century America.
DATE: January 17,1993
/
AN INDUSTRIAL PLAGUE:
OCCUPATIONAL LEAD POISONING
IN EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY AMERICA
by
Christopher Alan Eldridge
A Thesi S(
Presented to the Graduate Committee
of Lehigh University
in Candidacy for the Degree of
Master of Arts
in
History
Lehigh University
1992
i
.t
/
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract
Text
Figure
3
1
32
Figure 2
46
Bibliography
~--
52
Vi-ta
57
\)
iii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. A Comparison of Lead Poisoning in
European and American Factories.
32
Figure 2. Occupational Distribution of Deaths
from Chronic-\;;;ead Po-isonin9j' United
States Registration Area, 1914 to
46
1924.
iv
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this thesis is to examine the issue of
occupational
American
lead
poisoning
reformers during
as
the
researchers and reformers
AUb,
and
Frederick
iproblem of
two
movement
of
after
to
industries
part
Hoffman
their
reduce
the
which used or
a
larger
perceived
by
years of
the
1907 ,-American
such as Alice
industrial lead
decades
was
first four
twent-ieth centuI"'Y.-- Beginning-in
/
it
began
to
Hamilton, Joseph
investigate
poisoning in the
European
lead
the
U.S., about
counterparts.
hazard
to
manufactured lead
one against
medical
industrial
The
workers
in
products was
diseases
in
general.
Most of the researchers who studied occupational
lead poisoning
during the
early decades of
tended to lean toward one end
between those
who put
this century
or the other of a continuum
workers' concerns first
who put business concerns
first.
and those
Hamilton championed the
workers' cause, considering it government's responsibility
--to----car:-e---for:-those-who--colltr:acted--d-iseases-at__ wo,,"-k.
/'\
and Hoffman tended to put business interests first,
least
attempted to
help the
workers without
Aub
or' at
asking for
sacrifices from business owners and management.
By the
end of the period,
most researchers involved
in these studies agreed that there had been an improvement
1
/
in the number
of industrial lead
industrial hygiene
in lead
poisoning cases and
industries.
The
in
opinions of
the researchers on how much of an improvement had occurred
tended
leanings
to vary somewhat
toward business
improvement
that
involvement
and money
improvements.
by
with the individual's particular
improvement
in
for the
had taken .place,
there
Whatever the
the end of this
or labor,
the less
would be
government
spent in
further
arguments of the researchers,
period, there had
the
greater the
occurrence
of
been a significant
industrial
lead
/
poisoning, but the battle against the disease was far from
over.
..
2
lead poisoning has plagued both skilled and unskilled
laborers for -thousands
of years.
The threat
poisoning to the health
of American workers, however, was
of-
lead
not generally acknowledged until the early decades of this
century.
In the years just prior
members
of
the
medical
government officials, and
the
health of
industrial
to the first World War,
profession,
1 abor
others who were
American
workers began
lead poisoning
as part
concerned with
to fight
of a
1eaders,
against
larger movement
against occupational diseases in general.
Although these reformers had been striving for better
protection
of
workers
against industrial
accidents
in
/'
,I
steel mills,
coal mines, and on railroads
1800's, it was_not until
since the late
the early twentieth century that
they began to focus on the very real dangers of industrial
disease.
Workers were
burned by chemicals,
breathed in
toxic fumes, gases, and dusts, or absorbed poisons through
their skin
serious
or digestive system, and many were stricken by
diseases as a
result.
3
Some
of the
more well -
known industrial
necrosis of
nitrous
diseases of the period
matchmakers (better
fume
poisoning of
were phosphorous
known as
"Phossy Jaw"),
munitions plant
workers, and
lead poisoning.
Industrial lead
poisoning
reformers during the late
began to
concern
1800's, when a movement against
industrial diseases began in Europe.
European pro - labor
--groups, memuers------of- the- medi ca 1 communi ty,
were
concerned
about
the health
for
studies,
lobbied
treatment
of workers, and
addressing
the prevention
as
to
poisoning
did not become an
problem,
reformers
twenty_or __thirty
lead poisoning
significant,
poiso~ing
be
around 1907
to
study. the
European
lead
U.S. until the
when
concerned
with
or
when
problem,
began to
they did.
about
study the
There
was
no
of industrial lead
increase in American lead
to attract their attention.
1908,
European coll eagues.
~esearchers
well publicized outbreak
or sudden
of occupational
occupational
to
years _.behind -thei r
problem
and
r.
poisoning
It is unclear why American
protection
issue in the
began
researchers began
conducted
Despite
however,
years just prior to World War
medical
for
and treatment
attention
occupational lead
workers
poisoning.
~ead
and others who
held international conventiqns
'such
American
of
legislation
diseases
the
modern
production
American lead production had,
4
been rising ge.nt1y from 368,000 ton? in 1900 to 413,000 in
1908.
There was, however,
a major increase
in
Americ~n
lead production over the period 1870 to 1885, when tonnage
increased
A.,
If this increase was
from 18,000 to 128,000.1
duplicated in Europe, it may account for
the European
the beginning of
movement against industrial
lead poisoning,
,
which was taking place during this period.
"
As American medical professionals were
.
increasingly
'.
concerned about
the occupational lead
poisoning problem,
the government also became involved by
sponSOring~eSearch
on the state
Individual states also
and federal levels.
enforcing the protection of
-----=---t
workers from lead poisoning. By the early 1930's, most of
began
to pass - legislation
those involved in the study and prevention
of the disease
"
agreed
that was
a marked
American
industries
products.
The
improvement in the
which
manufactured
or
extent of this improvement and
upon the lead poisoning rate
hygiene of
used
lead
its effect
of workers is, however, less
clear.
Generally speaking,
individual's body
lead
poisoning occurs
has absorbed enough lead
when
an
to break down
(
that
individual's resistance
to
the
poison's
damaging
in a variety of symptoms
that can
./
effects.
This results
1U.S., Department of Commerce, Statistical Abstract of
United States, 1940, p. 778
5
the
·
include abdominal
pains, paralysis of wrist
mental disorders.
There are
muscles, and
three distinct stages to ....tb.e__ ~
?
lead poisoning process:
exposure, absorption, and finally
poisoning.
Most
experts
on
industrial
twentieth century seemed to
through the lungs
with
due to
dust
l~ad
or
particles
was
industrial
the breathing
fumes
due
believed
to
the' primary
to
secondary
although
two types of
cause
of
~of
lead
cause
of
relative
the
absorption was often
a
The reason
contention between medical experts.
exposure by ingestion was
polluted
the swallowing
be the
poisoning,
importance of these
point of
was
of air
Absorption of lead through the
tract
lead
the early
agree that absorption of lead
industrial lead poisoning.
gastrointestinal
of
dis~~se
considered a secondary cause of
poisoning was because ingested lead was
more likely to be
eliminated in wastes before it was absorbed.2
Because
poisoning, any
lead dust
it
was
primarily
lead
type of industrial
put the workers at risk.
dust
that
process that
caused.
produced
Lead dust from paint
7
2For a more detailed discussion of lead exposure see Alice
Hamilton, Exploring the Dangerous Trades (Boston: Little, Brown,
and Company, 1943) chapters 7, 8, and 9; Sir Thomas Oliver, Lead
Poisoning: From the Industrial, Medical, and Social Points of· .
View (New York: Paul B. Hoeber, 1914) pp. 97 - 98; and American
Public
H~alth
Association,
Committee
on Lead
Poisoning,
Occupational Lead Exposure and Lead Poisoning (New York, American
Public Health Association, 1943), p. 8.
.
6
sanding, lead smelting, burning
of lead or lead products,
chemical processes involving lead,
that produced
workers were
wo~ld
lead dust
breathing and
lead absorption and
or any other operat1pn
pollute the
subject them
poisoning~
air that
the
to the risk
of
Similarly, if lead dust or
particles got
into the workers' food or tobacco, it could
be
through
absorbed
the
gastrointestinal
system
and
eventually cause poisoning.
Once
absorbed
into
the
the most
dangerous forms
high (60
percent) solubility in
nuclei,
organs
such as
irritated
the
of industrial
The modern
numerous
lead3, one of
lead due
stomach acid4,
bone marrow,
to its
poisoned
producing)
destroyeq elements
of
caused lesions on internal
If the damage was
lead poisoning could cause
had
hematopoietic (blood
circulatory blood tissues, and
organs and tissue.5
lead
For example, white
physiological effects.
cell
body,
extensive enough,
death~
understanding
of lead
poisoning
is
an
3"White lead" is the common term----for the basic carbonate of
lead.
It was primarily used in production of lead - based
paints.
4Alice Hamilton and Harriet L. Hardy, Industr~~J Toxicology
. (Acton, MA.: Publishing Sciences Group, Inc., 1974), pp. 90, 91.
5InternationalLabour Office,White Lead: Data Collected by
the International Labour Office in Regard to the Use of White
Lead in the Painting Industry, International Labour Office
Studies and Reports, Series F (Industrial Hygiene) no. 11
(Geneva, Switzerland: International Labour Office, 1927), p. 79.
7
evolution of the
importance of
ceased, with
historical view.
lead dust
The debate about
inhalation versus
clear agreement that dust
primary cause of lead poisoning.
the
ingestion has
inhalation is the
Studies performed in the
past two decades have successfully attempted to
correlate
1eve 1s
poi son i. ng
of. 1ead
symptoms
dust
in
categorized by
poisoning has
the
air
wi th
severity.
1ead
Diagnosis
also changed from being
of
lead
based primarily on
which can vary from one patient to the next, to
symptoms,
simple measurements of lead levels in the blood.6
However a diagnosis of lead poisoning
/
was determined
in the early years of this century, medical researchers of
the period recorded
body
that the actions
manifested themselves
Since that
symptoms
era there has
in
a
of lead inside
variety
been no change
associated with
of
the
symptoms.
in the list
of
According
to
lead poisoning.
\'
Occupational
Lead
written
published
and
Exposure and
by
the
Lead -Poisoning,
a book
American
Health
Public
Association in 1943, there were three basic forms of
poisoning,
the
symptoms
of
which
could
overlap
lead
in
6For more information on the current understanding of lead
poisoning and its diagnosis, see Alice Hamilton and Harriet L.
Hardy, Industrial ,.'toxicoloQY XActon, ' MA.: Publishing Sciences
Group, Inc., 1974); Richard Lansdown and William Yule, eds., Lead
Toxicity: History and Environmental Impact (Baltimore, MD.: The
Johns Hopkins Press, 1986); and National Research Council, .
Committee on
Lead in the Environment, Lead in the Human
Environment (Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences,
1980._
8
...... ,
individual
sometimes
nausea,
caused
colic
severe
attacks
of
a
lead
this
of
permanent physical
due-to
(sharp
the "Alimentary
pain
in
the
weariness,
Type,"
abdomen),
and
other
This type was the most frequently seen and was
least
Repeated
first,
constipation,
severe
symptoms.
the
The
cases.7
poisoning
type,
hqwever,
damage or death.
relatively - low
level
manifestations.
could
cause
It usually occurred
of-lead
exposure
and
absorption.8
The second type of lead poisoning, the "Neuromuscular
Type," weakened or even
~
paralyzed the extensor muscles or
the forearms and hands, producing what was commonly termed
"wrist
drop."
Muscular achiness and stiffness, headache,
vertigo, and insomnia often
poisoning.
accompanied this form of lead
This more severe
type of poisoning
was less
common than the alimentary type, and usually resulted from
exposure to larger amounts of lead.9
The
third type
of
lead poisoning
workers was the "Encephalopathic Type."
serious and rarest form
to
be found
in
This was the most
of lead poisoning.
In
adults it
usually occurred only after severe and rapid absorption of
7American Public Health Association,' Committee on
Poisoning, Occupational Lead· Exposure and Lead Poisoning
York: American Public Health Association, 1943), p. 50.
8Ibid.
9Ibid., p. 51.
9
r
Lead
(New
lead.
Included in
the list of
lead
poisoning were
symptoms of this form
confusion, mania,
and heavy
of
stupor
'followed by coma, possibly with convulsions.10
In a study
William
F.
of 30 cases of industrial lead poisoning,
Ashe
symptoms that
listed,
in order
the patients had.
was general weakness, which
Other
examples include
anorexia,
15 with
with numbness
with stupor
in many
with
occurrence,
At the top
23 with
of extremities,
Lead
and duration
23 with
dreaming, 5
2 with convulsions,
and 2
poisoning manifested itself·
different symptoms, the severity
the amount
30 cases.
abdominal pain,
with excessive
the
of the list
was present in all
nausea, 9
or coma.11
of
of lead
of which varied
exposure
and the
physiology of the individual patient.12
Although
modern
physicians
have
attempted
to
rigorously classify degrees of lead po{~oning\ the general
to)icity
of
lead has
Greek, Roman,
been
and Arabian phys'icians knew
colic if it was swallowed.
Dioscorides and
recognized
since antiquity.
that it caused
Ancient students of
Pliny, wrote of its
medicine,
poisunous effects on
10Ibid., pp. 42, 51.
11William F. Ashe, "Industrial Lead Poisoning as a Clinical
Syndrome," Journal of- Industrial Hygiene 25 (February 1943): 56.
12See
also
May
R.
Mayers,
"Lead
Absorption
and
Compensation," Journal of Industrial Hygiene 11 (April 29): 124 137 for a discussion of the varying effects of lead exposure and
absorption on individuals."
10
I
the human .body.
such
The use of lead in
as cooking pots and
wines
resulted
Tanquerel
first
1839.
of
outbreaks
of
of poisoning
France dtd .. some of
times
on
He categorized
industrial
reported that, in
there were 1 ,217
industrial exposure over the
that 406 of them
382
modern
La Charite,
colic due· to
lead to French
~ges.13
his writings he
In
Hospital of
serious
des Planches
research
poisoning.
the addition of
in many
during the Middle
household containers
cases of
Paris'
lead
the patients by occupation, finding
who
involved in producing
lead
period 1831 to
worked in the production of
were painters
the
used lead-based
~white
lead,
paints, 75
were
red lead or lead monoxide, with the
rest spread out over 21 other occupations.
Other symptoms
des Planches found in these 'patients were arthralgia (pain
in-!he joints) in
encephalopathy
755 cases, paralyses in 127
(brain
disease)
in
72
cases, and
cases.14
Des
Planches clearly established the link between occupational
exposur~
to lead and lead poisoning' in workers.
The European movement against
including lead
.
years of
occupational diseases,
poisoning, began to grow
the nineteenth
century.
during the later
Several international
13Alice Hamilton, Industrial Poisons in the
(New York: The Macmillan Comp~ny, 1925),.p. 19.
14Ibid.
United States
meetings
were held on the
and others concerned with
The
1867
included
"protection for
- labor groups
the industrial disease problem.
of ' the---Workers '
Congress
Association
subject by pro
poisoning
lead
workers in unhealthy
in
International
demands
for
industries."15
The
1896 International Workers' Conference in Paris called for
the
implementation of
necessary
to
protect
prohibition of certain
The
trades.16
whatever
safeguards
\1orkers'
were
deemed
including
health,
industrial processes and dangerous
1897
International
Congress
on
the
Protection of the Workers ]aid out specific guidelines for
the
reduction
members
of
industrial
diseases.
The
Congress
demanded that males under the age of 18 and women
,-
be excluded from unhealthy jobs, that workers in
industries receive
r~gular
if safeguards could not
ef~ects
of
prohibited.
a
medical examinations, and that
protect workers against the toxic
given material,
The
were responsible
Congress also
for the
dan~erous
use
of that
material
declared that
health of workers
17Ibid., pp. 11, 12.
12
employers
in dangerous
15International Labour Office White Lead, p. 11.
16Ibid.
be
L,
during
this
Some
time.
of
them
Planches' studies of occupational
expanded
upon
lead poisoning.
des
,
'.
(-
One of
the most influential was Englishman Sir Thomas Oliver, wfi&
.'
-:-.--:-c:~,_ .--~----_.- ·.-:"t'C·"_'_~_
. --. ; ;.""';';";':".: ': :-:C':.·;-_":-':~·::·;'."'t:_·:·.,.,;~;.;;-;:~._-...::::::_~, ..:::.:.'-?~,-", -';'''k.''J.'t:.1-49f;;-~:'"'''':· • _
discussed some of the physiological aspects
,L.'_'""
~
•
;'-;".
_
._.
of industrial
lead poisoning in his book Lead Poisoning in its Acute and
Chronic Forms, published in 1891.
One of the arguments in
~
Oliver's study was that lead exposure
a long period of time was
more damaging than a large dose
over a short period of time.
or inhalation of
time would
in small doses over
He also wrote that ingestion
lead in any form
over a long
eventually result in lead
poisoning.18
workers
who were regularly exposed to
were in
greatest danger
of lead
period of
Thus,
lead in their jobs
poisoning, even if
the
exposure levels were relatively small.
Oliver's book
le~d
could
ingestion.
but
hands
he also
enter
the
emphasized the
Oliver
important
in
inhalation
and
danger
of lead dust,
importance of
keeping one's
~he
considered
the
principal ways,
through
body
Oliver acknowledged
clean.19
especially
also discussed the two
personal
prevention
of
hygiene
industrial
diseases.
The issues
raised by Oliver's book
became important
\
18Sir Thomas Oliver, Lead Poisoning in its Acute and Chronic
Forms (Edinburgh and London: Young J: Pentland, 1891), pp. 2, 3.
19Ibid., pp. 4, 9.
13
..~.'
, ..-••~",._".~ '._ ,,.. ~,
elements in
the American
debates over
poisoning" prevention that were to
issues
became
points
oGcupational lead
follow.
of contention
These types of
between
individual
,~~,
researchers, who often
the other
a
~f
who believed
Was
trended to "lean
-Atone end,there
~ontinuum.
that the
worth. any
manufacturers.
toward one end
protection of the
necessary
or
were those
workers' health
financial
investment
At. the other extrema were those
by
who were
in favor of attempting to fight the lead poisoning problem
without
sacrificing
the needs
and
desires
of business
interests.
For
example,
significantly
of
members
poisoning
of
was often
the
second
in
large, quick
terms of
doses of
lead.
period
deaths.
The problem was that
much more
because it required
by
resulted from
resulted
would be
unacceptable
symptoms, usually
extended
to levels that
and
satisfactory by
forms of lead
which
time was
that
The severest
poisoning
were
considered
group
of the first group.
poisoning,
prevention
reduced the incidence of the severest forms
lead poisoning
researchers
lead
As Oliver
from
more
smaller
dangerous
noted, however,
doses
and
over
caused
an
more
reduction of lead exposure
safe even over
long
difficult, and expensive,
peri~ds
to
of
achie~e
thorough, painstaking, and continuous
hygienic work.
14
The arguments about the
through the stomach versus
importance~of
ingesting lead
inhaling lead dust had similar
:11
implications.
Employers and
argued that lead poisoning
those who favored them often
was the workers' fault because
they ·d·i d-not-· keep -'themse-lves
clean,-and--thus-swallowed--
lead
their
or absorbed
endorsed
the
it
through
workers'
position
skin.
tended
to
Those
who
stress
the
importance of lead inhalation, which the workers could not
control.
These
issues
became crucial
elements in
the
American debates over industrial lead poisoning prevention
and
compensation that
began in
the years
following the
publication of Oliver's book.
Around
Trades,
American
1907,
became
another of
an important
~QJiver's
books, Dangerous
influence
in
doctor Alice Hamilton.
field of industrial
Hamilton
~her
became
a pioneer
in
in America.
Her studies
critical
part
early
movement
against
the
She
against occupational
indu!5trial
field of
half of the
15
industrial
and writings
history
of
diseases.
biographer, Barbara Sicherman,' writes, "No
during the first
became one of
industrial diseases.
medicine
of
exploring the then -
medicine.
the most important reformers to work
lead poisoning and
of
This book was one of the
writings which inspired .her to begin
infant
the life
the
were a
American
Hamilton's
one did
twentieth century to
more
alert
Americans to the danger
Hamilton."
articles
of industrial
than Alice
~iseases
Hamilton's contributions included many journal
based
detailed
on
occupational diseases,
research
three books (one of
into
various
which washer
autobiogFaphy), participation in various state and federal
studies
government-sponsored
and
commissions,
and
countless independent studies.
Born in 1869,
family.
As
Hamilton grew up in a
a child,
her life
wealthy Indiana
was centered
around her
extended family living
within the Hamilton's Fort
Indiana compound.
existence there was very sheltered
Her
and she was brought up in the strict
Wayne,
Victorian traditions
of the day.20
A1though she
them for
the
loved her famil y and
her entire life,
remained close to
Hamilton soon felt
Some of
atmosphere of her home.
stifled in
her more prominent
character traits, according to Sicherman, were a desire to
be useful, love of adventure, and a need for independence.
Hamilton chose
anywhere
medicine because
and still be useful,
doctors were able
were not tied
to go
down to one
field, and were their own bosses.21
,
20Barbara Sicherman, Alice Hamilton, A Life in Letters
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1984), pp. 1 - 33.
Also, Alice Hamilton, Exploring the
21Ibid., p. 33.
Dangerous Trades (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1943), p.
39.
16
/
After years of studying at home under the tutelage of
her father,
1886,
Hamilton's formal education began
when
Connecticut.
Young
training.
of
home,
~
for
Fa.rmington,
attended Miss Porter's School for
short period
however,
to
of
time.22
prepare
for
She soon
her
medical
1890 Hamilton entered the Fort Wayne college
Medicine, then transferred a year later to the medical
department
This
first
and
for a
Wayne
Fort
left
There she
Ladies
returned
\
she
in October
of the
school was
University of
Michigan in
somewhat progressive,
Ann Arbor.
being one
of the
to require four years of study for a medical degree
rigorous
clinical
-success in
scientific
and laboratory
training
work.
with
Due
her studies, Hamilton was
an
emphasis on
to her
exceptional
allowed to graduate
early and received her M.D. in 1893, at the age of 24.23
The next major
step~
in Hamilton's life was
to Hull House in Chicago in 1897, when she
at the Women's Medical School of
Hamilton
had
been
fascinated
her move
began to teach
Northwestern University.
by
the .settlement house
movement since her early college days, and she saw her job
at Northwestern
as an opportunity
living at Hull House.
to fulfill a ~dream by
She lived there for at
least part
22Ibid., p. 22
23Sicherman, Alice Hamilton, pp. 34
36,
Hamilton .discusse~ her years as a medical student
chapter 3.
u
17
56.
A1so,
in Exploring
of each year until Jane Addams' death in 1935.
Hamilton met
there, as well
The people
as the experiences
she had,
profoundly i nfJ uencedherpersonal "b.el iefs. __ andva 1ues, as
:;:c'r.:t':':'~..:r--":;'::"=:72.J~,::":"):;;.IrL:.-,r.·~~~~:,:".~...:::r;:.J':::~:":'·~~·n;-;·~:':,~
:,,::.::;--~·,,-J~?·J'.:=;-;-:,~":t::.~t.:~£t'::;
"...---. -- ..,'.
well
as her
future
'." ...../,-, _.
career.
',_.
' . '
Her
. ._c':.:r-".;::.;;,y
years at
Hull. House
allowed her to see for the first time real poverty and the
lives of
immtgrant factory workers.
While at Hull House,
she was also exposed to political ideas that were entirely
new
to her,
champions
primarily those
of the poor.
friends in Hull
of pro
leaders or
For example, Eugene Debs had many
House, and its
members were shocked
angered at his imprisonment during
was among
- labor
those who voted
World War I.
for Debs
~in
the
and
Hamilton
Presidential
Election of 1920, while he was still in prison.24
While at Hull House,
in
studying and
started
impr~vinQ
inv~stigate
to
vicinity of Hull House.
causes of
a typhoid
the slums.
improved
in
the lives
the
the poor,
problems
epidemic that was
the
to public attention
poor sewage systems
sections
enforcement of
spreading through
of
the public
Ch~agO,
and led' to
sanitation laws
./
j
24Sicherman, Alice Hamilton, pp.
Hamilton, Exploring, chapter 4 .
18
110
the
that were
removal of several errant sanitary inspectors.
..
in
and
In falli 1902, she researched the
privies and
slum
of
public health
Her studies brought
illegal, open
common
Hamilton-began to be interested
114.
and
She argued
Also
see
~
'
that flies
real
were spreading the di gease by
cause
of
the
epidemic
was
landing in open
later
"
...
found"
to
be
underground sewer leakages into water~upp~y systems, this
• .r"
experience intrigued
Hami-l-ton and piqued---her interest in
public health issues.25
Around 1907,
Dangerous Trades,
evils
of
Hamilton read Sir Thomas Oliver's book,
.
and a Chlcago
industrial
experiences with
decided to
by
diseases
Influenced
journalist.
}
newspa~er
by
a
these
young
writings
working class people at
learn all she could
.
artlcle on the
muckraking
and
her
Hul.L-.!::f'ouse, she
about industrial hygiene.
She found, to
her dismay, that
almost all the
literature on
the subject had been
written by
available
Europeans~
with almost nothing by American authors.
Unconvinced by those who
argued that the superiority
of American living and working
diseases
a
rarity in
the
U.S.,
article on industrial disease
of Charities
conditions made industrial
and the Commons.
Hamilton published
an
in the September 1908 issue
In the
article, entitled
"Industrial Diseases: With Special Reference to the Trades
in Which Women
Are Employed," Hamilton argued that it was
doubtful
American industrialists
t
take
that
measures
to . protect
would voluntarily
workers
25Sicherman, Alice Hamilton, pp. 145, 146.
19
when
European
1ndustrialists had to be forced by legislation.26
~~. ~,~~"c,=o'>'L=''''<:'i<'',~=c1faml'rt.on·;"§-:",art~lc;·(e~
was"iJart
·of·~tne'·earliest
Amer l can",,",·'J7
literature on the sUbject of occupational diseases.
writings marked
the beginnings
of the movement
against industrial diseases in the
few
years,
American
professors,
and
im~rovements
in
working
other
U.S.
settlement
reformers
began
the working and living
class.
They
lobbied for
These
to fight
During the
workers,
to
:"~':~:~';'-'
next
university
push
for
conditions of the
the establishment
of
'\.
minimum wages, shorter working hours, and safer, healthier
working environments.
--
~--~~-
They also worked for the passage of
workmen's
compensation laws
insurance
which
would
and
help
other forms
pay for
the
of
social
medical
care
l'lecessary for i nju l""ed-0r-d-isea~-we-r--k-e-t'"-s--.--2-1----------------As the
movement grew,
state and
federal government
agencies became involved by passing legislation to protect
workers
from
disease
industrial~ygiene
\
1921
that by
and
sponsoring
problem.
studies
of
the
Author George Kober wrote in
1908, 17 states
had passed
laws requiring
26Sicherman, Alice Hamilton, p. 153.
27Ibid., pp. 163, 154~
See also George M. Kober, "History
of Industrial'Hygiene and its Effects on Public Health," in A
Half century of Public Health, ed. Mazyck P.. Ravenel (New York:
American Public Health Association, 1921) pp. 375· - 395; Ludwig
Teleky, History of Factory and Mine Hygiene (Morningside Heights,
NY: Columbia University Press, 1948); and Roy Lubove The Struggle
for Social Security, 1900
1935 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 1968), chapter 3 for· more information on the
early years·of the American industrial hygiene movement.
20
mechanical devices
for the removal of
injurious dust and
1e.g is 1at; on,
The .. K',<ee-ffect ivenessof .. ' thi s
however, is questionable
because enforcement of the
laws
was. often sporadic at best during this period.
Government agencies sponsored research
revealed the extent
In
1908, the
and severity of
governor
This
industrial diseases.
of Illinois,
created the Illinois Commission on
projects that
Charles S.
Deneen,
Occupational Diseases.
commission consisted of a group of etght men and one
woman - Alice
Hamilton.
industrial disease
decided
me~ical
that'an
After an initial
problem
in -
profe~sionals,
in Illinois,
study of
the
depth investigation,
was necessary.
In
the
Commission
conducted by
March of 1910,
Hamilton resigned her post
on the Commission to supervise
the medical investigation.
She also personally conducted
the survey of the lead
As
state,
cause
she
visited
indu~tries.29
various
Hamilton found working
lead poisoning
poisoning
cases.
but
Foremen
factories
conditions she
initially could
and
throughout
knew could
not find
other company
the
any
officials
denied any knowledge of a problem and workers, for fear of
28Kober, "History of Industrial Hygiene," pp. 375, 376. The
list of states that passed this legislation included California,
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania,
Mississippi, South Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin.
-'29Sicherman, Alice Hamilton,
Exploring, p. 3, 11, and chapter 7.
21
pp.
156,
157.
Hamilton,
losing their jobs, also would not provide any information.
Since the factory offlcials
'j,r'.
were not ,legally obligated to
help the researchers., Hamilton
down
leads,
relying
pa.i-n.stakingl~
heavily
on
had to track
hospital
medical
records.30
Hamilton
learned
processes involved
that
in
as much
as
she
m~nufactufing
could about
the
of lead products
so
she could better understand the dangers posed to the
workers
and
make
improvements.
process and
white lead
effective
recommendations
for
She found that two processes, the Old Dutch
the Carter
production.
process, were common
She
in American
also learned about
and litharge roasting, smelting
red lead
of lead ore, and refining
of lead scrap.31
In
the debate
between
importance
of ingestion
tract
absorption
and
importance 'of
'the result
of
through
of the
the
Hamllton based this
reformers over
through the
the
skin
of lead
digestive
versus
She felt
lead poisoning
breathing
the
the
through the lungs,
most outspoken.
that occupational
of
lead
absorption of lead dust
Hamilton was one
strongly
various
very
was primarily
fumes
and
dust.
opinion on the earlier studies of des
Planches and Oliver, and upon her own observations of lead
30Sicherman, Alice Hamilton, pp. 157, 158.
31Hamilton, Exploring, p. 121.
22
industry workers.
belief,
hired
She often met with
especially
doct.ors,
from
industry
and others
..
before
considerations
who
the
opposition to this
officials,
tended
health
compa~y ~
,to put
of the
bus i ness
workers.
The
reason for-thedisagf"'eement-was that-i'f lead--poisoni ng was
the
result
absorbing
of
workers
lead through
was
prevention
eating with
their skin,
primarily
If, however,
workers.
the
Hamilton
money, for
then
dust
In
wrote ..... in 1910 and for
that if a man was
or
lead poisoning
of
and fumes
the
caused
would have to take action,
prevention.
firm (and comforting) belief
hands
responsibility
inhaled
poisoning, then factory owners
and spend
unwashed
her autobiography,
many years after, the
of foremen and employers was
poisoned by lead it was because
he did
,
not
wash his hands and scrub his nails, although a little
intelligent observation would have been Bnough to show its
absurdity."32
/
Hamilton also studied the baffling array" of symptoms
associated with lead poisoning during the Illinois survey.
She found that severe colic was the most common symptom of
poisoning,but that there
disease.
patient
were many manifestations of the
Unfortunately, most doctors would not diagnose a
as
having
lead
poisoning
-
32Ibid., pp. 121, 122.
23
unless
they
were
sUffering
from palsy
or
'survey, Hamilton had documented
in. J
l,ead, poi sonj n9,
By
colic.33
ll,trc,o~i?
.
the end
of
the
578 cases of occupational
by .exami ni ng
workers
and
~
studying hospital records.34
The
when
hard work of the
Illinois and
disease
laws.
survey team paid
five other states
The
Illinois law
provide, safety measures
and
off in-1-911 ,
passed occupational
required employers
monthly
medical exams
to
for
employees who worked with specifjc types of lead, arsenic,
All cases of illness had to be reported
brass, and zinc.
to
the Illinois Department
had the
authority to
however,
did
of Factory
Inspection, which
prosecute violations.
not provide
for
These laws,
compensation of
diseased
workers.35
The
Illinois Survey
poisoning
government,
problem
and
to
the
brought
the
U.S.
r
the occupational
attention
Bureau of
national
problem.
Charles Neill, U.S. Commissioner
met Hamilton
at the
Occupational Accidents
and Diseases in
33Ibid., pp. 122, 123.
34Sicherman, Alice Hamilton, p. 158.
35Ibid., p. 158.
24
Federal
decided
the lead
1910 International
her to perform this study in 1911.
the
Labor
sponsor a
had
investigation of
of
lead
to
poisoning
of Labor, who
Congress on
Brussels, invited
Hamilton was to visit
lead
factories and uncover as much as she could about the
amount of industrial lead poisoning in the U.S.36
Hamilton's
lead
white
study
e
on 23
focus~d
with
factories,
of the
25 existing
investigations
of
fae-ter-ies-thatp roduGed lead ox ides .---As in the
survey,
Hamilton had no way
factories, and often had
powers
to force her
document
- developed
She was able to
358 cases of lead poisoning in the 23 white lead
factories that occurred during
1910 to Apr i 1
written
III i no-is
entry into the
to rely on her well
of persuasion to gain admittance.
nine
30, 1911.
the period from January 1,
She pointed
for the Bureau of Labor
out in her
report
Statistics that the work
~
force
required to run these
that as much as five
of the
factories was 1,600 men, but
times this number passed in and
industry every
year, due
to
the extremely
out
high
labor turnover, which Hamilton attributed to the dangerous
nature
of the work.
the nine oxide plants
The
number of men required to staff
she visited was about 2DO,
and she
documented 30 cases of lead poisoning in those plants that
had occurred
that she
was
over the same
certain
that
poisoning cases than she
labor turnover and lack of
difficult to
period.
Hamilton
there were
many
was able to document.
also noted
more
The high
accurate records made it
obtain a complete
picture of the
36Hamilton, Exploring, pp. 127, 128.
25
lead
very
amount of
lead poisoning.37
Hamilton found many levels
visited the plants.
of
the worst
of factory hygiene as she
Her description of conditi.ons
plants
was
so
vivid
that
it
in one
is
worth
reproduci-ng--;-n-pa rt here:
This is an old factory, crowded; dilapidated,
dark,and poorly ventilated. At the time of the
first inspection of this factory by the writer
dusty processes were carried on in the same room
with clean processes, thus exposing a needlessly
large number of men.
The dry product in all
stages' was wheeled in barrows from building to
building, across the street, and from room to
room.
These
open
barrows
stood
about
everywhere.
There was apparently very little
concern for the health of the men, and it seemed
to be taken for granted that the majority would
quit work after a few months.
As the writer
reached the plant a Negro was seen with a
wheelbarrow of white buckles [corroded lead
plates], which he was pushing across the street.
He stated that he had worked there one year and
had. had lead colic five times, and that this was
no unusual record. A friend of his had died the
week before of lead poisoning, after one year
and nine months' work ... Heaps of dry scrap were
lying allover -the [plant] floor, and were
thrown from one side of the room to the other
and then into the me 1t i ng pot by two men wor.k i ng
with shovels.38
Hamilton outlined the basic requirements of good lead
poisoning
prevention
in
her
report.
These
included
flooring made of impermeable material, separation of dusty
37U.S., Bureau of Labor Statistics, "The White
Lead
Industry in the Un i te~ ~ ~tates, wi th an . Append i.x on the LeadOxide Industry," by ~ce Hamilton, in U.s. Bureau of Labor
Statistics Bulletin no. 95, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government
Printing Office, 1928), p. 189.
.
38Ibid., p. 249.
26
and non - dusty processes, ample lighting, a water
-'
system that
allowed for hosi n~. down
the floors, adequate
efficient dust
collection system.39
ventilation,
and an
dr'
report
Hamilton's
'.
-
also
included
and
necessary
discussed
-
1
detailed
extremely
descF-ipt+ens--of--the-pFoeesses---inv0-l ved in
lead
supply
mak i ng-wh-i-te- .
hygienic
systems
and
operations to prevent lead poisoning.
Hamilton's central argument in
writings on
occ~pational
serious problem
corrected with
public
~revention
was that it was a
which could be
a combination of legislation and increased
of
to act.
regulations
lead poisoning
in the United" States, one
awareness
employers
this report and other
which
She
the
problem
which
would convince
felt that enforcement of specific
efficient
detailed
poisoning
lead
reduce
the
number of industrial lead poisoning cases in the U.S.
She
. also argued
employers
workers
diseases
procedures
that
significantly
workmen's compensation
to pay
for
and their
would
would
the medical
families
prompt
laws
expenses incurred
for treatment
employers
requiring
to
work
by
of industrial
for
disease
prevention out of self - interest.40
While some
accused
of
a
other reformers, discussed below,
pro -
business
bias,
it
may be
is clear
39Ibid., p. 192.
40Hamilton, Exploring, introduction, chapters 7, 8, 9.
27
that
.
Hamilton was above any such reproach.
often argued that
emp~oyers
their
In her
own gain.
wrote
that
In her writings she
tended to exploit workers for
autobiography, for instance, she
employers
in
dangerous
trades
favored
- -immi-grants-as---l-abore-rs-becatlse-theywere-w-i-l-l-i ng-t<J work _.
with
the poisonous materials without complaining, and for
very
low wages.
blame
the
It was
immigrants
also easy for
suppose~
lack
drinking habits for the poisoning
of
a
typical
confronted, she
"What
Can you
from
included
this quote
Hunkies, Greasers?
took a
shotgun
concerned about
and their
You
a lot
of
company
her
of ignorant
she
narrative:
Dagoes, Wops,
them wash if
Hamilton, who
the plight of American
or
As an example
officials
in
couldn't make
to them."41
cleanliness
problem.
response
do with
the employers to
was
you
deeply
immigrant workers
families, often felt frustrated
with this kind
of ignorance.
It is
important to note, however,
that Hamilton was
very willing to give industry leaders credit when she felt
it
that
was due.
In fact, when she discussed the improvements
had taken place in
autobiography,
she gave
the lead industries
much
of the
argued that, many
in her 1943
credit to
officials~
She
ignorant of
the problem and that once they recognized it,
41Ibid., p. 5.
28
of them
were
company
simply
they were often quite willing to take the necessary
to improve hygiene and prevent
instance,
was
poisoning.
of an officer of the
skeptical
at
of
first
steps
She wrote, for
National Lead Company who
her
arguments
that
lead
poisoning was a problem in his plan't-.---She wrote, however,
tH~t
when
twenty
she showed
cases
of
him
poisoning
listened
carefully
documented
from
to
his
her
improvements, then implemented them
but all the others
evidence of
plant
over
alone,
recommendations
he
for
not only in his plant
in his company, which was
the largest
producer of white lead at the time.42
Perhaps Hamilton
likely
seems
that
conveniently chose
was somewhat naive about
many
factory
to be
owners
ignorant of the
and
this.
It
managers
lead poisoning
problems in their plants so they could avoid being accused
of negligence.
people
facades.
and
She
Hamilton
may have
liked to believe the
been
unable
to
did not, however, allow
best about
see through
the factory owners
to continue in their ignorance whether it was innocent
not, for
hygiene
she confronted them directly
problems and
advised
such
or
with their plant's
them as
to what
remedial
steps had to be taken.
At the
same time that Hamilton
was undertaking this
initial Federal survey, other reformers were also studying
42Ibid., pp. 9 - 11.
29
the industrial lead
Dr. John Andrews
'American
study
wh6
for Labor
phosphorous
resulted
Phosphorous
Match Act,
use of phosphorous in
the problem
industry.
In
1912
in
the American
passage
of
which effectively
match
the
White
prohibited the
American match production, and thus
of phosphorous
poisoning in
1911, Andrews published a
from industrial lead poisoning
and 1910 in
His 1910
Legislation.
poisoning
in -the
conquered
was
was one of the first leaders of the
Association
of
industry
j "
One of them
poisoning problem.
the state of
that
report on deaths
'-~
that were reported in 1909
His research
New York.
found
that lead poisoning was listed as the cause of death in 60
men during that period.
paints, and
most
Of these, 45 men worked with wet
of those
were house
painters.
Other
industries in whtch the victims had been involved included
white lead
manufacture, lead
smelting and
refining, and
conclusion, Andrews emphasized
the necessity
electric batteries.43
In his
of
doing
everything possible
industrial lead poisoning in
European
indu~ries
to
reduce
the U.S.
could be
made
the amount
He argued
safe.,
of
that if
there was
no
reason why American industries should not be safe as well.
43U.S., Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Deaths from Industrial
Lead Poisoning (Actually Reported) in New York state in 1909 and
1910," By John B. Andrews, in u.s. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Bulletin no. 95 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing
Office, 1911), pp. 260, 261.
~
30
He
suggested
that
communication
preventive
measures needed
employees
alike. - Andrews
analysis
of the
number
of
to be
both
dangers
made to
also clearly
of deaths
and
employers and
stated that
from industrial
an
lead
poisonjng could in no way be-considered a complete picture
of the
poisoning problem,
were many
cases of
non -
because for every
death there
fatal poisoning.
It is
also
- - ~ -~-~----~~--
important to note that
this article was one of
to
danger of
bring the
1i ght.
extreme
Prior to
this
report,
the
the first
painting,trade
American reformers
to
had
focussed primarily on lead poisoning in factories.44
The
American
founded in
the
Association
1906, began to be
occupational
Association's
journal,
addressed
the American
Labor
Legislation,
increasingly concerned with
poisoning
lead
members
for
problem.
the issue
Labor Legislation
The
through
Review.
its
These
j
articles tended to argue very strongly for the recognition
of
the disease
workers from the
1912,
article
and for
menace of lead
declared
industrial poisons."
industrial uses
as examples,
legislation which
lead
would protect
poisoning.
the
"most
A December,
important
of
The article outlined the dangers and
of lead, provided several
and provided
statistics of
case histories
poisoning cases
and deaths, primarily based upon the work of the Illinois
44Ibid., pp. 260, 261, 266.
31
FIGURE 1
A Comparison of Lead Poisoning
American Factories.
in
European
and
Europe
White lead factory
in Dusseldorf employed
150 men. Factory
physician reported 2
lead poisoning cases
in 1910.
America
White lead factory
employed 142 men.
25 cases sent to doctor
in 1910.
-Erfgl -, sf)- Own ita -and
red lead factory
employed 90 men. No
cases for five
consecutive years.
Wh it-efandred lead
factory employed 85
men. Doctors' records
for-six months indicated
35 men -"1 eaded. "45
English lead works
employs 182 men. No
case for 1911.
White lead factory employs
170 men. 60 cases for 1911.
Government factory
inspection in English
Staffordshire potteries
reports 13 cases of
--po iSDning--amo ng-76i3~--­
dippers.
American local dippers'
union reports that 13 m~n
out of a local of 85
had 16 attacks of lead
-~poisoning. --
(Source: American Association for
Labor Legislation,
"Protection. from
Lead
Poisoning,,"
American
Labor
Legislation Review 2 (December 1912): 538.)
45"Lead was a term used somewhat loosely during this period.
It is unclear in this context whether it means that workers were
·poisoned with lead or were simply testing positive for lead
absorption, which
preceded but did not
always result in
poisoning.
32
Commission,Hamilton's federal survey, and Andrews' study
in New York state.46
The article also provided the
statistics presented in
problem in the
Figure
cases
u.s.
lead
u.s.
1 indicates
identified
poisoning
Figure 1 comparing the
'"
to that in Europe.
that
there
was
prevention in
A comparison of
poisoning in
the
at least
a large
that European
specific
between
Germany and
complete surveys
three countries
better support for the argument.
was
in the
gap
England and
poisoning
lead
in the
of occupational
would have
been
The point of the article
legislation had
significantly reduced
the amount of lead poisoning cases there, and that similar
legislation was necessary in the
u.s.
Two other American Labor Legislation
discussed
a' "Standard
Occupational
Diseases
Poisoning. ".
This
design and
systems,
with
bill
maintenance
washing
Bill
for
the
Special
included
of work
Review articles
Prevention
Reference
to
specific details
rooms,
facilities, employee
dust
of
Lead
on
collection
responsibilities,
medical examinations, and penalties for infringement.
~tates
to adopt,
The
bill was meant to be a
standard for
and
the article noted that
New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania
had already adopted the bill; Missouri had adopted it with
46American Association for Labor Legislation, "Protection
from Lead Poisoning," American Labor
Legislation Review 2
(December 1912): 534 - 540.
33
modifications;
and
some
of
its
main
provisions
were
already part of Illinois .law.47
The body of literature written by reformers concerned
-with
. ---
occupational diseases continued
period.
In 1913,
dealing
with
Alice Hamilton published another report
the
Department of
lead poisoning
Labor Bulletin,
·_ ------ '
----;--·-----·----·~---------------·---T----~_·
and
disease
industry.
problems
main
~_._
associated
agents, and
of
~.
with
period
the
other chemicals as
industry,
Makers
from
house
painting
well as·
of the four
painting,
ship
of lead
carbonate based
in the
sulphate based
their
pai~ts
lead carbonate (white lead)
they were harmless
interesting facts
lead poisoning
were arguing that
toxic than
the
sign painting, and production line painting.
the dangers
industry.
a U.S.
she
discussed
the .. ' hygiene
.. _, ._.. __
....
. ..__..
.
.
.
Hamilton's study uncovered several
about
In
Her study included investigation
branches
pain~ing,
problem.
This article discussed the dangers from various
thinners, drying
from lead.
to grow during this
to use.
were
indeed
paints of
the
so much less
based paints that
Hamilton found
paints were
painting
that lead
more poisonous
than
lead - sulphate based, but that the latter was still toxic
47American Association for Labor Legislation, "Prevention of
Occupational Diseases with Special Reference to Lead Poisoning,"
American Labor Legislation Review 4 (December 1914): 537 - 540
and American Association for Labor Legislation, "Standard Bill
for the Prevention
of Occupational Diseases
with Special
Reference to Lead Poisoning," American Labor Legislation Review 4
(December 1914): 541 - 546.
34
._.
.
_
and
dangerous
produced.48
of the
of
because
She also
the
amount
found that
most-dangerous forms
of.
ship painting
of painting
dust
it
was one
because of
the
lack of ventilation inside the cabins or between the inner
and
outer
Further,
hulls.49
emphasized that dust from
Hamilton
strongly
dry sanding or removal of
based paints was found to be most important
lead
cause of lead
poisoning in the painting industry.
The article also included statistics on the amount of
lead
poisoning in
painters.
Information provided
painters' union, the Brotherhood of
and
painters
replying
lead poisoning.
100
to questionnaires,
Hamilton also did her
painters from
found that 27
poisoning:
headaches
several
included
delirium.
one of
days.
the locals
gave a medical
abdominal
with
Painters, Decorators,
of America, indicated that
Paperhang~rs
or
pain,
Some
neuromuscular
185
out of 1,009
"
suffered from
own examination of
of that
union and
history indicative of
constipation,
without
by a
vomiting
of these
which
severe
lasted
for
symptoms
had
unconsciousness,
and
painters'
problems,
and
lead
Another 27 had medical histories that indicated
48U.S., Department of Labor, "Hygiene of the Painters'
Trade," by Alic~ Hamilton, in U.S. Department of Labor BUlletin
no. 120, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, .
1913.), pp. 19 - 21.
49Ibid., p. 40
35
they may have had lead poisoning, but the indications were
not as clear as with the first group.50
Hamilton stood out in favor of legislation to protect
painters from lead poisoning, and considered
industry the most dangerous
poisoning.
it
She felt
could not
in the U.S. in terms
that no paint was so
be used safely
These rules
followed.
the painting
if a few
of lead
dangerous that
simple rules were
included the prohibition
of lead
paint use in interior work (prohibition of lead paints was
not considered necessary for outdoor work), prohibition of
----
dry sanding
or chipping of
lead paint, provision
employer of
washing facilities, eating
by the
area and clothing
storage space for street clothes, and requirement that all
paints be
labelled according
to the dangers
they posed.
The best way, in Hamilton's view, to ensure that the rules
were followed was if they became law.51
Another
study
interesting point brought
was the
high
number of
lead
out in Hamilton's
poisoning cases
in
factories making sulphate of lead for lead sulphate paint.
In these two factories, the fine and coarse dust particles
of lead sulphate were separated.
into
bags, which had to
This very
dusty
The fine
particles went
be emptied by . being shaken out.
process was
50Ibid., pp. 50, 51.
51Ibid., pp. 32, 46, 47, 66.
36
a cause
of many
poisoning
cases.
this
In one
of the factories, 11 of the 16 men who did
work had
"lead rines"52
and five
had evidence
of
poisoning.53
This
investigation
another example of how
Hamilton
far behind Europe the U.S.
preventing occupational lead
house
provided
also
poisoning.
In
with
was in
talking with
painters who were Scandinavian immigrants, Hamilton
found that they were
by the
fact that lead paints were
claimed
until
surprised when the came to
they never
used
they moved to the
demonstrated the
still used here.
lead paints
U.S.
the U.S.
To
for interior
They
work
Hamilton, this clearly
superiority of the
European approach to
industrial diseases.54
By
the 1920's
poisoning had
the concern
about
occupational lead
spread beyond the original
small number of
/
reformers .. Stuqies of lead poisoning problems in specific
industries
journals,
began
to be
pUblished
especially the
Journal of
Researchers were' constantly
regularly
in medical
Industrial Hygiene.
looking for industries
where
lead poisoning was a problem.
For
example, in
1922, Canadian
pharmacologist N.C.
52"Lead line" was a term for a discoloration of the gums
which indicated that the body was absorbing large amounts of
lead.
53Ibid., p. 20.
54Ibid., p. 38.
37
Sharpe
reported on
his investigation
spray painting with lead paints.
physiology
were
the
of
lead poisoning,
also
indeed
a
painting
according
danger of
to pai~t
machine
well -
found
comfortable
masks
that
to the
tests, there
when using
walls.
booth was
The
enough
thin
not provide
tests
painting
paints
was
He also
to
permit
enough protection
This study made it clear
lead
a spray
safe.
for spray painters.
with
was
painting of small objects in
were
breathing did
Sharpe
were working.
interior
ventilated painting
that
tests that.
in the air in and around
lead absorption
indicated, however, that the
a
then detailed
spray painters
reported that,
dangers of
He briefly discussed the
run on the amounts of lead
area in which
of the
among
that spray
dangerous
the
occupations.55
In
another
investigated
reports
automobile plants
auto
an
of
caused
From
bodies.
physician
study,
working
for
Detroit
hospitals for
a
lead poisoning
by sanding
May 1921
unnamed
Archibald
to
February 1924,
poisoning.
were
Dean
epidemic
of freshly
car company
lead
S.
painted
67 men
admitted
A total
in
to
of 108
victims entered the hospitals during the period from April
55N.C. Sharpe, "Report on an Investigation to Determine the
Hazard to the Health of Operators Using the Spraying Machine for
Painting: The Risk of Lead Poisoning," Journal of Industrial
Hygiene 3 (April 1922): 378 - 385.
38
1917
1922.
One of
this study
the more interesting points brought
was the
and
August
7, 1922,
African-American.
in the U.S.
racial and ethnic
Of 38 $anders
these patients.
1921
cas~s occu~red
Most of these
to February 1924.
out in
characteristics of
admitted between May
13
were
in
white
14,
and 25
were
Of the white workers, one had been born
These figures provide a clear indication that
immigrants and
racial minorities tended to
be stuck with
the dangerous jobs, at least in this particular plant.
As the
interest in the lead
poisoning problem grew,
Alice Hamilton published her first
industrial
diseases
Industrial Poisons
~
physiological
caustics,
in
United
of
rubber, mine
forms
of
Hamilton
gases, and
lead
from
some
poisoning.
lead,
many more
In one of the
made
the
acids,
industrial
chapter~
interesting
She
entitled
book,
states, discussed
poiso~ing
chemicals and processes.
poisoning,
The
1925.
in the
aspects
book on the subject of
on lead
comments on
distinguished
between
chronic and acute lead poisoning,' noting, as Oliver had in
1891, that
chronic poisoning,
doses of lead, was,
acute
poisoning.
attack could
caused
by repeated
in the long run, more
Hamilton
argued that
be extremely dangerous and
small
dangerous than
while an
acute
sometimes fatal,
the lasting damage to a victim who survived the attack was
usually
minimal.
This
was because
39
acute attacks
were
generally the result of a single large dose of lead, which
the
body
could
reta i ned.
to
I n sma 11 ,
be absorbed
victim
before
elimirate
was
permanently
repeated doses, however, lead tended
more readily,
occurred over a
permanent damage
it
and the
long period
poisoning
of time,
This form of
or death.
of the
often with
lead poisoning
was much more common than the acute form.56
---------------
----------------------------
The implication of this for workers and employers was
that reauction of
was
not a
the number of acute
solution
to
employers or others that
in their
the
cases of poisoning
Any
problem.
claims
by
lead poisoning had been defeated
plant or industry· because the
number of
acute
cases had been drastically reduced were simply inaccurate.
To make such claims was
often in the employers'
because reducing lead exposure
would cause
interest
to levels below that which
acute attacks was simpler,
and cheaper, than
the constant hygienic work necessary to reduce exposure to
levels that would not cause chronic poisoning.
Another authority
was Dr. Joseph
Harvard.
Aub, who
on the subject
was a professor
With three other authors,
entitled
Lead
devoted
to lead
of lead
Poisoning in
1926.
poisoning in
of medicine
at
Aub published a book
This
book
the general
56AliceHamilton, Industrial Poisons in
(New York: The MacMillan Company, 1925), p. 1
40
poisoning
was more
populace than
the United
States
.'"
industrial poisoning,
but early
in the work
the authors
,
discussed the
'v
answer to
that
industrial poisoning
the arguments of
lead
should
be
especially paints,
precautions
were
problem briefly.
some reformers of
abolished
from
the period
industrial
the authors suggested
taken, poisoning
In
of
that if
uses,
proper
workers could
be.
'-----
avoi ded ~~~ ~_=~~_ w_c:~~_~ ~o~__ ~~~: __ ~~__~~~~~~c~~~~_~~ !~_~~
industrial use.57
The book also includ~J a chapter by
__
Hamilton
on industrial
lead poisoning,
but most
of her
data came from her earlier pre - war studies which we have
already discussed.
Compared to Hamilton's approach to the problem, Aub's
views on industrial lead
employers'
point of
eighteenth
annual
Canada in
physiology
for
lead
In
view.
convention
Governmental Officials
and
poisoning leaned more toward the
speech given
of
and diagnosis
of the
outlined
of, and
His
at
Association
the
in Industry
1931, Aub
poisoning58.
a
the
of
United States
his positions
on the
financial compensation
views
57Joseph C. Aub et al., Lead Poisoning
Williams & Wilkins Company, 1926), p. 6.
on
lead
poisoning
(Baltimore, MD: The
58By the 1930's, industrial. diseases such as lead poisoning
were finally being generally accepted as worthy of workmen's
compensation.
Prior to these years, most compensation laws
almost exclusively dealt with industrial accidents. In the mid 1920's, only 10 states compensated for industrial diseases.
See
Lubove, Struggle chapter 3 and Mayers, "Lead Absorption," pp. 124
138 for more info~mation on compensation for industrial
diseases in general and lead poisoning in particular.
41
_
physiology were
in agreement
with Hamilton, but
some of
his comments on diagnosis and compensation illustrated his
differences with her.
t
For
example,
in
. poisoning diagnosis,
poisoning
similar
~-~ ~~.~-- ~-~~~
is very
cases.
discussing
Aub said
apt to
The true
~~~~---------- -----~------~~~-~~
---------
of
malingering."59
problems of
"In industry, one
precipitate the
examples of
---~ ---
then be differentiated from
the
lead
case of
appearance of
intoxication must
~ ~ -~
--~_._-~-~ ~--~----
-
-
--~--
-
--- - -
the examples of suggestion or
Aub also
discussed the
possibility
of a connection between neuroses often found in recovering
lead poisoning victims and the method of compensa lon t ey
received.
He said:
It is extremely difficult to know whether these
neuroses are due to lead poisoning or whether
they are prolonged by the weekly compensation
which
the
patients
receive ... In
my
experience, ... these neuroses arise in people who
have not been adequately treated or in patients
suffering from very severe lead poisoning.
I
have not seen them in patients who have received
thorough, early treatment.
They
are also
accentuated, just as are traumatic neuroses, by
the weekly evidence of their compensation check.
As long as they receive evidence each week that
they are still sick they will remain sick ... When
the patient feels well, get him a job quickly,
and if he deserves further compensation continue
to give it to him even though he is at work ... 1
am thinking of the patient's happiness, for it
is no kindness to prolong a neurosis.60
59U.S., Department of Labor, "The Relationship of Lead
Poisoning to Industry," speech given by Joseph C. Aub, in U.S.
Department of Labor Bulletin.no. 563, (Washington, D.C.: U.S.
Government Printing Office, 1932), p. 148.
60Ibid., p. 150.'
42
~ - - - -~----
Aub
was
indeed concerned
workers and was working
their sake, but
for
the
welfare of
the
for lead poisoning prevention for
beyond a little nineteenth century
~as no~
paternalism in his attitude toward them.
Another authority
Hoffman, not
on" lead poisoning,
only shared
Aub's
Frederick
concerns about
L.
worker's
integrity and industry, but also presented the position of
the insurance companies.
and close
A noted actuary and statistician
friend of Sir Thomas
Oliver, Hoffman performed
several statistical studies of the lead poisoning problem.
Born in
May of 1865
in Varel, Germany,
school until he was 15.
the
U.S.
In
1887
Hoffman attended
A few years later he emigrated to
he was
hired
as an
agent
for the
Metropolitan life insurance company and
thereafter worked
at self - education in Boston libraries.
He published his
first
study
in 1892,
American population.
Traits and
1896.
Tendencies of the American
His 1892 article
He
the mortality
was promoted
of his writ'ing.
book Race
Negro published in
had caught the
attention of the
a job in
to Statistician
and
of the Company, and retired in 1934.
Hoffman was concerned for
class, but his pro
the African
Company, which offered him
eventually
Third Vice President
of
This was followed by his
Prudential Insurance
1894.
on
the welfare of the working
- business bias shone through
in most
One of the controversi es- Hoffman became
43
involved in was the
which occurred
during and immediately after
Hoffman vehemently
great
deal
debate over national health insurance
of
oppo~ed
effort
any
World War I.
ex~ended
such plan and
working
against national
a
health
/
In his statistical
insurance.
involving lead poisoning, his
health
of
Americans
better.
His
philanthropy,
companies,
was
and well
Americans
good
and
that
- run
could
constantly
through
take
care of
continued
national health insurance
to repeatedly
emphasize
the
getting
voluntarism,
privately owned
problems without government intervention.
debate over
those
goal was to prove that
was
point
studies, including
insurance
their
Even
health
after the
died down, Hoffman
the
improvements
\
he
perceived in Americans' health.
This attitude
carried over
In
an
industrial
diseases.
Scientific
Monthly
arguing
insurance,
Hoffman
made
seems
incredible
examined
in the
ih this paper.
into Hoffman's
April,
1917
article
compulsory
against
the following
face
views on
of the
health
statement
evidence
in
which
we have
He wrote " ... the proof is fairly
conclusive that occupational diseases are much less common
in
this
country
establishment
[i n
than
in
Europe,
Europe]
44
of
regardless
compulsory
of
the
health
insurance."61
substantiate
To
this
Hoffman
claim,
presented no proof or evidence.
Hoffman's
first study
of industrial
lead poisoning
was included as part of an investigation of the nationwide
lead
poisoning problem published
statistical data
can be
basis for the data in
the
in 1924.
found in
Figure
2.
of his
Hoffman's
Figure 2 was an examination
death certificates he
could find where
death was listed as lead poisoning.
illustrates the
Some
high number
the cause of
Figure 2 dramatically
of painters that
from lead poisoning compared to
of all
other trades.
were dying
In another
table, Hoffman attempted to establish an approximate death
,..
rate of painters
study
based on trade union membership over the
period 1914 - 1924.
death rate per 1,000
to .79
rate
in 1924.
According to
painters declined from 1.09 in
It should
was also .79 in
this table, the
be noted, however,
1918.62
Hoffman
that the
argued that these
statistics were indicative of definite improvement
. number
of lead
poisoning cases,
1914
although it
in the
is unclear
what Hoffman attributed this improvement to.
While this information may
indicate a decline in the
death rate of painters from lead poisoning over the
61Frederick L. Hoffman, "Some Fallacies of Compulsory Health
Insurance," Scientific Monthly (April 1917): 316.
62Ibid., p. 19.
45
FIGURE 2
Occupational Distribution of Deaths from Chronic
Lead Poisoning, United States Registration Area,
1914 to 1924.
---------------------------------------------------------Occupation
:1*
Lead industry workers
Metal Miners
Painters
Paint Mixers
Plumbers
Potters and Tile Workers
-~-~~U5ber WorKers---~~-~----
deaths
% of total
62
35
841
15
25
13
-~-----------3
Storage Battery Workers
Printers
Tin and Coppersmiths
Glass Industry
Metal Workers
Carpenters and Joiners
Laborers
Farmers
Professional
Miscellaneous
Unknown or Retired
Women
Boys under 18
Girls under 18
TOTAL
5
67
9
9
23
18
93
61
29
114
103
48
11
8
1592
4
2
53
0.9
--------- ----
1.5
0.8
-------~-----
--0-~-2-
0.3
4
0.6
0.6
1
1
6
4
2
7
6
3
0.7
0.5
99.1
(Source: U.S:, Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Deaths from
Lead Poisoning"," by F.L. Hoffman, in U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics Bulletin no. 426, (Washington, D.C.: U.S.
Government Printing Office, 1927), p. 15)
46
period, there
First,
heavily
are two
problems with
Hoffman's analysis.
although in this and most of his studies he relied
on. death statistics,
Hoffman asserted
that the
decline in lead poisoning deaths indicated a corresponding
decline
joined
in
lead poisoning.
unions.
painters
missed
minimal,
but
Hoffman
by
Second,
not all
maintained that
only
provided
examining
no
painters
the number
of
union
records
was
to
support
his
evidence
assumption.
In
a
1933
publication
entitled
Lea~d~~P~o~i~s~o~n~i~n=g
Legislation and Statistics, Hoffman argued again that lead
poisoning was declining.
for
By examining death
1930, Hoffman found 101
His study concluded
industrial.
poisoning was decreasing,
assume
that
superficial
an
and
Hoffman also
of the deaths
he wrote that
possibly
number
of
erroneously
made some suggestions
preventative measure was
were non
attempt to indicate
additional
prevention in industry.
by doctors who
deaths in the United States.
that many
In a further
certificates
that lead
it was "safe
diagnoses
arrived
about lead
to
were
at. "63
poisoning
He argued that the most important
periodic examinations of workers
had the authority to suspend employment or
~
have the worker transferred to
work that did not
involve
63Frederick L. Hoffman, Lead Poisoning Legislation and
Statistics (Newark, N.J.: The Prudential Press, 1933), p. 20.
47
/
exposure to lead.
He noted, however, that transferring
worker to another department
a
was preferable to firing the
worker.64
In
his
studies, Hoffman
repeatedly
emphasized the
improvements he perceived in American public health,
when his
show
evidence was questionable.'
how public
health had
even
Perhaps he wanted to
'-
improyed
without government
-
-~,
- --
-- -- - - - - - - - - - ' , ' - - - -
intervention in the form of health insurance or industrial
,disease legislation.
his trust clearly
faith in
He tended to
was in
the power of
businessmen was evident in
claims that
infants were contracting
flaking ,paint on tneir cribs.
to several
paints
11
on their products.
wrote
that they
no
without
lead
asking if they
little
being used
even discussing
investiga~ion ~f
lead poisoning from
lead paint use,
used very
paint
his
. His
used lead
Of the 12 replies he received,
presented these replies in his
was
capitalism.
and'-~
Hoffman wrote a form letter
crib manufacturers,
were flat denials of
champi on i ndustry
and the twelfth
lead paint.
Hoffman
report as proof that there
on
manufactured
the possibility of
cribs,
deception by
manufacturers.65
Although
Hoffman's statistics
and
~uments
do not
provide conclusive evidence of- improvements, even the more
64Ibid., pp. 30, 31.
65Ibid., pp. 18, 19.
48
cautious Hamilton
believed that
progress had
been made.
In 1929, Hamilton compared lead poisoning in the enameling
industry in 1911
found
that
contained
there
in
and 1912 to that in 1927
She
enamels
used
often contained
no lead,
that
the
that
latter
the
less lead
was less
and 1928.
and
dust
in
furnaces was less physically
period,
the
factories,
taxing and .not as
facilities were routinely
examinations of
there
provided, that medical
the workers were more
was a lower labor turnover.
"
that
deficiencies
occasionally
enamel,
unacceptably
These
percent or
high
dust
frequent, and
sweeping,
levels
occasionally
and
Her main
examinations.
while there was a
included
more) lead
factories, a lack of breaks for workers,
dry
tha~
She also noted several
remained.
high (10
at
hot, that
.~~------------,----=-'.._--~
washing
work
point in
in
an
content of
lead
oxide
universal use of
deficient
medical
the article
was that
significant improvement there was still
a long way to go in lead poisoning prevention.66
CONCLUSION
In discussing
researchers
poisoning
the views and writings
who studied
problem in
opinions and
and fought
America, it
the
of the various
industrial lead
is evident
conclusions did not always
agree.
66Alice Hamilton, "Enameled Sanitary Ware
Journal of Industrial Hygiene 11 (May 1929): 150.
49
that their
Hamilton
Manufacture,"
seemed
to
always
important
than
consider
other
~ny
the
worker's
welfare
She
factor.
felt
more
it
was
government's responsibility to force employers into action
on behalf
She made
of their employees.
it her goal
to
bring the problems of industrial diseases, especially lead
poisoning,
to
the
whatever she could
was
not
attention of
the
public
herself to change
a muckraker,
however,
was
improvements
changes needed to occur
I
had
cooperated.
been
made
She
quick to
decades after her pioneering investigation,
significant
to do
to situation.
and
business leaders credit when they
and
give
In the two
she felt that
but that
many
before the lead poisoning problem
would be finally defeated.
Other researchers,
themselves
i~the
such as
middle
of
Aub, attempted to
the
debate.
place
They
were
genuinely concerned about workers' health and acknowledged
the responsibilities of
both employers
and- employees
in
lead poisoning prevention, but tended to place at least as
much faith in the position of the employers as they did in
that
of the
employees.
regard workers
Indeed,
as children to be
Aub
seemed almost
to
manipulated and watched
over, and perhaps not to be entirely trusted.
Hoffman, as a researcher, was at the other end of the
continuum from
Hamilton.
business and he
did all
His views were definitely pro he could to
50
show that
American
should
businessmen
His
changes.
suffered
responsible
analysis of
any
necessary
seems to
have
But Hoffman must be
give~
His writings displayed a real concern for
workers who
were
"
analysis methods may
poisoning
for
the situation
because of this bias.
credit as well.
these
be
suffering.
F~rther,
be questionable and
while
his
industrial lead
was a much more serious problem than he felt it
was, his data does indicate something of an improvement in
the lead poisoning death rate over the period he examined.
- The issue of industrial lead, poisoning in America was
an
important
one in
the
industrial technology.
somewhat of
relations and
during
this
a better
of reformers in
Members
improvements.
was still much work to be done.
51
of
labor
and
our study has given us
perspective on employee
recognized the problem! worked
made significant
of American
Hopef~lly,
the roles
period.
story
- employer
those relations
these
three
groups
to combat 'the disease, and
But by
the 1930's, there
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56
VITA
Christopher Eldridge was born
Elmira, N.Y.
Murphy.
His parents
He
on January 14, 1968 in
are Ralph Eldridge
received his
B.A. in
History
from Messiah
College in May 1990, graduating cum laude.
at Messiah
included two
pUblished
an
Missionary
to India" in.
article.
Evangelical Visitor.
and Esther'
His education
teaching field experiences.
entitled
"Benjamin
the September 1989
He was
He
Marandi:
issue of The
married to Amy
Schuster in
July of 1992.
His study emphasis at Lehigh University has
been American
technological
history, and
begin work on his doctorate in fall of 1993.
57
he intends
to