Chapter XXVII: Part 2: of Table

--------------------------------+-----------+-----------+----------+
| Assistant | Female | Female |
| Workers. | Printers. | Casters. |
--------------------------------+-----------+-----------+----------+
Tuberculosis | 1.5 | 1.7 | 2.8 |
Diseases of Respiratory Organs | 7.5 | 9.0 | 11.1 |
Disorders, etc., of Digestive „ | 4.0 | 8.5 | 18.0 |
--------------------------------+-----------+-----------+----------+

It is the typist and caster who suffer most from diseases of the respiratory organs, while among the printers and their assistants, the average is just above the normal. So far as diseases of the digestive organs are concerned, the printers suffer less than the others, but there is a preponderating amount of sickness among the females in nearly all branches of the industry. When the amount of general sickness in these trades is examined, it is found that the averages of total sickness are as follows: typists, 44.7; male casters, 41.2; female casters, 91.2; while printers are only 27.9, and assistants 28.5. These remarks are introduced here to emphasise the fact that in the printing trades it is not alone the dust that is injurious, but the lead poisoning which it causes, and they also strengthen an opinion expressed in other parts of this book, viz., that females are more liable to plumbism than males, as the following figures also show. The percentage of plumbism in male casters in Vienna is 8 per cent.; in female casters it is 22.7 per cent.

In Fig. 47, dust developed during _needle-grinding_, the particles of dust are frequently hook-like in appearance and sharp-edged. Lying among these are also observed particles of quartz with edges that are more or less sharp.

Fig. 48 represents dust from _mother-of-pearl grinding_. Hirt regarded this trade as extremely dangerous. He found that 15 to 16 per cent. of the men engaged in this trade died from phthisis. According to Guggenbauer, turners of mother-of-pearl are said to suffer from a peculiar affection of the bones (osteomyelitis) owing to absorption of carbonate of lime from particles of the shell that have been inhaled. It is said that obscure rheumatic-like pains subsequently occur, and that the bones ulcerate. I have visited mother-of-pearl grinding shops in Sheffield and interrogated the workers there, but have been unable to find any evidence to support Guggenbauer’s contention. The grinding in Sheffield is done by the wet process, and none of the men seem to suffer in the manner alluded to.

_Flax dust_, Fig. 50, is injurious to the worker. It contains mineral particles, vegetable cells, and broken stalks--so too does _hemp_, Fig. 51. In the teasing and spinning of _cotton_, Fig. 53, there is a considerable amount of dust raised in which fine fibres of cotton are found, _Jute_, Fig. 52, shows vegetable fibres which are often torn and ragged, and therefore with difficulty detached from the bronchial mucous membrane. In the figures representing dust obtained from _felt-making_, _fur-brushing_, and _rag-cleaning_, may be observed various forms of hairs and vegetable structures, with numerous foreign particles adherent to and encircling them. Some of these particles are of animal origin and may carry micro-organisms. The dust obtained during _wheat-cleaning_, Fig. 61, contains pointed vegetable hairs and numerous particles of organic and inorganic material, and would, if inhaled, be particularly irritating to the bronchial mucous membrane.

FIG. 62.--Ordinary Slag. Consett Iron
Works.

FIG. 63.--Basic Slag. North Eastern
Steel Works, Middlesbrough.

FIG. 64.--Ganister. Messrs Grayson,
Lowood & Co., Middlesbrough.

FIG. 65.--Dust from Fork Grinding
on dry stone. Sheffield.

FIG. 66.--Powdered Flint. Earthenware
Works, Stoke-on-Trent.

FIG. 67.--Glaze cleaned off Ware.
Stoke-on-Trent.

Microphotographs of Dusts, high-power. (T. Oliver and R. A.
Bolam).]

It is a well-known fact that some forms of basic slag are more injurious than others. From a microscopical examination of the various dusts sent to me by Commander Hamilton Smith and Mr H. J. Wilson, H.M. Inspectors of Factories, and others (see Microphotographs, Figs. 62–67, by Dr Bolam and myself), I do not find sufficient evidence, judging by its appearance alone, to explain why one kind of basic slag manure is so very much more harmful than another. There may be chemical as well as physical causes at work in the production of pathological changes in the bronchial mucous membrane of those who work in basic slag. Some slags, for example, contain larger quantities of lime than others.

THOMAS OLIVER.