Chapter XXX: Copper and Brass

The two substances, the dangers to health attendant on the working of which form the subject of this chapter, present widely different features, both as regards their essential natures, their treatment during the processes of manufacture, and the treatment they subsequently receive. The one being a metal and the other an alloy, the primary processes in the first case are those of mining and of reducing the ore; while in the second, the admixture of metals in such proportions as the particular alloy requires is the first detail of treatment. A similar process of casting into ingots follows with both substances, but the malleable and ductile qualities of copper render its subsequent treatment, in the various processes of manufacture, dissimilar to that of brass and its kindred alloys.

There are, moreover, marked features of dissimilarity in the constituents of brass and of copper ore of especial importance in any consideration of unhealthy conditions attendant upon working in these substances. The form of copper ore which is most largely smelted in England is copper pyrites, an ore which is largely composed of sulphur, while in various ores arsenic is found. Brass and similar alloys, on the other hand, are composed of copper and zinc; and as we shall see later in this chapter, it is to the presence of the latter ingredient that in our opinion may be attributed the illness known as “brassfounders’ ague,” or at all events the abnormal amount of ill health found to exist amongst brass mixers and casters.

Although it might be more natural to discuss the metal in the first place, and the alloy of which it forms a very important part in the second, we will reverse that order, owing to the much greater degree of importance, from a sanitary point of view, which attaches to the working of brass than to that of copper. Prefacing, therefore, our remarks on the dangers attending the working in brass by an outline of the processes involved, it will be sufficient for our purpose to quote from a Report of a Committee of the Home Office appointed in 1894 to inquire into the conditions of labour in the manufacture of brass and of kindred amalgams, and of which we had the honour of being members. It is explained that, in the first instance, an alloy is made at a very high temperature in crucibles which are plunged into sunken furnaces, the principal components of the alloy being copper and zinc (commonly called spelter) mixed in proportions varying in accordance with the quality of brass required. An example of a deposit resulting from the pouring of common or yellow brass taken by the Committee is as follows:--

Moisture 9.64
Organic matter 39.42
Silicious residue 9.14
Oxide of iron 2.78
Copper 1.71
Oxide of zinc 28.82
Other matter 8.49
------
100.00

Other amalgams, such as gun metal, phosphor bronze, and bell metal, yield different proportions, while in some cases it is found that old copper and brass scrap, such as discarded locomotive and marine boiler tubes, are thrown into the mixture. The alloy thus mixed is poured into iron moulds or ingots, to be remelted when required; or it is at once poured into moulds which have been already prepared by patterns to receive the metal, and in which the formation of the castings takes place. Previously to receiving the metal the mould has been dusted over with fine dust either of burnt loam, sand, burnt red brick, charcoal, French chalk, or bean flour, according to the requirements of the work. The moulds are, roughly speaking, iron rims clamped together, and filled with very fine sand in which the patterns have left impressions for the reception of the metal, hence the name of sand-casting possessed by this process. Should the metal be required for sheets, tubes, or wire, it is poured into iron moulds or ingots, to be subsequently rolled or drawn as required, and this process is called sheet or strip casting. Having procured its shape, the brass article or casting is subjected to further processes on its way to completion, such as (1) that of dipping in aqua fortis and in acid solutions of various strengths for the purpose of removing oxidation and impurities; (2) that of burnishing or of polishing at a lathe to acquire a smooth surface; (3) that of finishing or dressing; and finally (4) that of lacquering, which is an application of a solution of shellac and other ingredients to the work (specially heated for its reception on a stove) with a view of securing the colour desired; also (5) a process of bronzing is also undergone when a particular effect is required in the appearance of the article. In either of these processes, which involves the pouring of the molten alloy, the zinc deflagrates during the pouring, and a dense white smoke is formed, which almost instantaneously fills the atmosphere of the casting shop. This smoke is rapidly converted into snow-white flakes and white powder, consisting of the oxide of zinc, which remains for some time diffused through the atmosphere of the shop, and in ill-ventilated casting shops collects upon the rafters and ceiling in the form of a dense white incrustation. The quantity of these fumes depends, firstly, upon the amount of zinc employed; secondly, upon the ventilation of the shop; thirdly, upon the weather--a dull, foggy day preventing their escape. It may be readily imagined that persons exposed to the alternations of heat and cold in the casting shop, to the deflagrated zinc inhaled as well as imbibed with food and drink, and the intense thirst induced by the nature of the work, would suffer in health. That such is the case the evidence submitted to the Home Office Committee was ample and conclusive. It must not, however, be assumed that nothing was previously known upon the subject, or that no steps had been already taken in the endeavour to improve the shops or in other ways to ameliorate the condition of the workers.

The recognition of working in and making brass as causative of disease is due to Dr Headlam Greenhow, who, in 1862, read before the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society a paper on “Brassfounders’ Ague.” This was based on his experience while paying a brief holiday visit to Birmingham in 1858, in connection with his investigation of trades injurious to health. It is curious that he should have selected for his title the name of a disorder which undoubtedly occurs, but which, as we shall endeavour to show, is only an acute expression of a chronic malady, and one which rarely or never comes within the range or experience of practising physicians. In the out-patient department of the Birmingham hospitals one meets with an enormous number of brass-workers complaining of various pulmonary and gastric disorders; but an experience of many years has never yet produced to us a case of this so-called ague, although questions will very frequently elicit the statement of its occurrence. The literature of the subject is very scanty, but Greenhow quotes Thackrah’s essay on the “Effects of Arts, Trades, and Professions on Health and Longevity,” published about 1830, as well as the writings of a few Frenchmen, which have not, however, materially advanced our knowledge of the disease. Thackrah’s observations were clearly inaccurate and imperfect, for he mentions only “ague,” which he speaks of as an intermittent fever, attacking brass-workers from once a month to once a year, and leaving them in a state of great debility. Dr Hogben, Physician to out-patients at the Queen’s Hospital, Birmingham, published a very interesting paper on this subject in the _Birmingham Medical Review_ in May 1887. Dr Greenhow refers only to ague and bronchial disorders, and very cursorily to nervous troubles, as resulting from brass casting; but Dr Hogben mentions also colic, constipation, and dyspeptic troubles which result from this occupation. Dr Greenhow, on the one hand, refers all the symptoms to intoxication by zinc, while Dr Hogben thinks they should be rather referred to chronic copper poisoning. These two metals are the principal ingredients in the making of brass, as already mentioned.

That Thackrah was in error in speaking of brass ague as an intermittent affection, occurring once a month or once a year, is clearly proved by the following positive observation, which is supported by all brass-workers. Ague never occurs among the regular workers, but always affects those who are new to the work, or who resume work after an absence of even a month or a fortnight. If a man resumes work, that is melting or casting, after even so brief an interval, he is sure to have an attack of ague, but he will have only one attack, and remain free until after his next holiday. There is most certainly no kind of regular intermission, and according to brass-workers themselves, they only suffer till they are inured to the poison. The following are the symptoms of this so-called ague. After working a few hours, a man becomes languid, depressed, and feels very cold. He is very pale and almost in a state of collapse, his face is covered with a cold perspiration, he shivers, his teeth chatter, and he is restless and anxious. His head aches, there is much nausea and complaint of muscular pains. As a rule he goes or is led home, where he drinks freely of milk and goes to bed. The symptoms continue until he has vomited, either as the result of taking an emetic or independently of it. Vomiting is usually followed by sleep or recovery, with more or less of debility and lassitude on waking. Drs Greenhow and Hogben speak of a more or less marked hot stage succeeding the cold, while following the hot stage they mention profuse sweating. The hot stage may be absent, but the sweating, according to these writers, invariably occurs. Our own observations, based on inquiry amongst those who have suffered from this ague, have never elicited a statement of these hot and sweating stages. Even direct questions as to their occurrence have always been met with positive negation, though some have spoken of free perspiration in the stage of collapse. How to reconcile these statements we do not know. The cycle of events as recorded by Greenhow is just that of ordinary ague, from which this disease differs, otherwise than in the suggested sequence, in toto. The inquiries we have made do not support such a sequence, and certainly not a relationship to malarial ague. The symptoms are just such as would be caused by the ingestion of a quantity of irritant metal, sufficiently large to cause vomiting, and its attendant depression. Such, indeed, is our opinion of the causation of the symptoms, and therefore the name “ague” should not be continued, as being wrongly suggestive and misleading. It will be remembered that it is only when fresh to the work that brass-workers suffer from “ague,” but, though they do not suffer from acute metallic poisoning, they do suffer from its chronic effects, and it is extremely probable that, as with arsenic and opium eaters, they may become inured to the use of the metals.

As it is not very common for brass-workers to use tooth brushes, the accumulating tartar is usually found coloured green. Even when an attempt is made to cleanse the teeth, they still show signs of green discoloration. This has been proved to be due to the presence of copper. The white hair of the workmen is often coloured green, and the underclothing is stained green by the perspiration. The gums may be slightly blackened at the edges, but there is nothing distinctive as in the case of the blue line of lead poisoning; nor, indeed, beyond the green colouring of the hair and teeth, do brass-workers present any unequivocal evidence of their calling.

Ague is not a disorder for which brass-workers consult a medical man; they know how to treat it themselves, and also that it is transitory in its effects; but they come to hospitals in large numbers to be treated for bronchitis. As regards this there is nothing special. The men suffer from it in common with all workers in dusty trades, and so far as we can learn from the Secretary of the Brass-workers’ Organisation, they usually die from chronic bronchitis or fibroid phthisis, unless they succumb to some acute malady. The existence of nervous disorders, especially paralysis agitans, has been said to be common among them, but we cannot find that a larger percentage of brass-workers than of the rest of the community suffers from diseases of the nervous system. It is common, however, to meet with complaints of disturbance of the digestive function. Brass-casters suffer from dyspepsia, loss of appetite, gastro-intestinal catarrh, nausea, vomiting, metallic taste, thirst, colic, constipation, and diarrhœa. They are often nervous and hypochondriacal, and complain of headache as well as muscular pains. There is nothing distinctive about any of these disorders, except the obstinacy with which they resist ordinary methods of treatment, and the readiness with which they yield to the administration of iodide of potassium in combination with the other drugs indicated by the various conditions of ill-health. All the symptoms bear a remarkable resemblance to those produced by chronic copper poisoning. In Guy and Ferrier’s _Forensic Medicine_, an outbreak of copper poisoning from the use of copper vessels in cooking is recorded, in which the symptoms were almost identical with those here mentioned. The inmates of a convent suffered severely from obstinate and severe colic, retching, and bilious vomiting, costiveness, and flatulence, burning pain in the pit of the stomach and extremities, and paralytic weakness in the arm. According to Stephenson it is impossible to distinguish between the symptoms produced by zinc and copper poisoning. These are just such as brass-workers suffer from, and it is, therefore, impossible to say which metal--copper or zinc--is most concerned in the production of these symptoms. Dr Greenhow attributes them all to the inhalation of the deflagrating zinc. This forms oxide of zinc, which is only sparingly if at all soluble, and, therefore, is not likely to be freely absorbed into the stomach. Greenhow pays little or no attention to the common and chronic gastric and intestinal troubles to which brass-workers are liable. These affect all who work in the various processes by which, either in vapour or in minute particles, copper and zinc--that is, brass--are distributed in the atmosphere. Dr Hogben, on the other hand, considers copper alone to be the efficient cause of the symptoms, and advances the following arguments:--

1. We have no evidence that the internal administration of zinc ever produces the symptoms of brass ague. Enormous doses of the oxide have been administered without apparently producing the characteristic febrile reaction of brass ague.

2. The malady is observed in individuals whose work is other than casting.

3. The malady is not observed in operatives, such as galvanised iron workers, who work with zinc, and are exposed to its fumes.

4. Zinc is rapidly excreted, and does not, like lead, mercury, or copper, become fixed in the body, and produce chronic affections.

It seems more probable that, accepting Stephenson’s statement of the impossibility of distinguishing between the effects of acute copper or zinc poisoning, the symptoms of ague are due to an admixture of the two metals; whereas, for the chronic complaints, the copper is responsible. How the practice of taking milk during an attack of so-called ague has arisen is not clear; but its wisdom is proved by the fact that in cases of both copper and zinc poisoning milk is one of the best antidotes, since it precipitates both these metals into insoluble albuminates. It is abundantly evident that brass-workers are especially liable to diseases from the use of the metals employed in its manufacture, but these are not new disorders; they are either proofs of chronic poisoning by zinc or copper, or, as in the so-called ague, are due to intoxication by them. If more proof were wanting of the unhealthiness of brass-casters, it would be afforded by the fact that a few years ago, though there were 1200 casters in Birmingham, there were not more than ten over sixty years of age, and in connection with a superannuation fund of the Amalgamated Brass-workers’ Association from which casters could at the age of fifty-five derive benefit, it is an appalling fact that there were only three men--two in Birmingham and one in Sheffield--enjoying this benefit.

That such a condition of affairs should be allowed to remain unremedied, if remedy was possible, was improbable after special power was vested in the Home Secretary by the Factory Act of 1891 to deal with processes which he deemed dangerous or even injurious to health.

The desirability of observance of certain general principles, such as temperance, cleanliness, and care in the matter of taking food, was obvious not less in the case of brass-workers than of other operatives. These need not be enlarged upon by us, although their importance towards securing health and happiness in a man’s declining years are sadly overlooked among the working classes. But it was felt that there should be some definite rules officially published for the healthy conduct of brass-working.

A series of rules designed to that end were tentatively issued with the approval of the Secretary of State by Mr R. E. Sprague Oram, C.B., then Chief Inspector of Factories in 1894, but although possessing features of stringency which appear not unwarrantable under certain conditions of brass-working, they were generally felt to be unnecessary in the case of working in alloys in which the percentage of zinc was either relatively small, or indeed from which it was entirely absent.

Official attention had, however, been thoroughly aroused to the necessity of action, and in November 1894 a Departmental Committee was appointed by Mr Asquith, Secretary of State, to report upon conditions of work, so far as they affected the health of operatives in the various processes connected with the working of brass, gun metal, bell metal, and other kindred amalgams. Subsequently too at Birmingham, which may be regarded as the home of the brass trade, the Committee held sittings and made inquiries in various parts of London, in Willenhall, Wolverhampton, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Sheffield, and Rotherham, and were assisted by the evidence of a large number of manufacturers, artisans, factory inspectors, physicians, and others, on which their report to the Home Secretary of State was based. The report largely deals with matter already given in this chapter, but drawn as it was immediately after the accumulation of the best evidence on the subject which could be procured, and for the elicitation of which no further opportunity is likely to arise for the present, it is desirable that the conclusions arrived at should be given. Having stated that during the inquiry the Committee had met with ample evidence of the existence of such symptoms as have been described above, the report adds that the attention of the Committee had been, by personal observation and experience, especially drawn to the causes and symptoms of the so-called “ague,” of which the members had no reason to doubt zinc fumes were the efficient cause; that it considered the danger of working in the several alloys was proportionate to the amount of zinc contained; that the danger was increased by the use of such ingredients as discarded locomotive and boiler tubes, and such-like scrap; also that the symptoms were caused by the inhalation of the zinc fumes, and by the introduction of the particles of zinc into the digestive tract with such food as might be eaten in the casting shop. The conclusion arrived at was that, “Although in brass-casting, as in all other occupations, the practice of personal cleanliness may serve to reduce the ill effects incident to the workers’ employment, yet if a brass-caster is constantly exposed to the influence of these fumes, it remains almost an impossibility that he should pass unscathed by them. The most serious efforts, therefore, should be directed by manufacturers and artisans alike towards the minimising of the ill effects which must of necessity be caused in the process of casting by these fumes; and the Committee are convinced, both from personal experience and from evidence which they have acquired from witnesses of all classes, that the direction of these efforts should lie towards securing a proper construction of casting shops, supplemented by a system of ventilation conducted on scientific principles.”

Shops properly constructed, scientifically ventilated, adequately provided with washing arrangements for the casters, and licensed by a competent authority, were the requirements suggested by the Committee as being absolutely necessary for the casters. The compulsory wearing of mouth coverings during the process of pouring the metal was felt, owing to hostile evidence given by the workers themselves, to be impossible for recommendation. Finding that “a great many witnesses considered milk to be a desirable thing to take when ill, but as a rule they preferred to take it at night, finding that it did not agree with them so well when taken in the shop, and in many cases witnesses did not think milk suited them personally,” the Committee did not consider it desirable to recommend the retention of the tentative rule requiring manufacturers to provide a supply of milk or other sanitary drink. The drinking of milk, however, as well as the wearing of a covering to the mouth and nostrils, was recommended for the casters. Further recommendations were, leaving the shop for the purpose of taking food, frequent ablution, care in the avoidance of taking cold, and of a regular and moderate diet.

Apart from the recommendations for optional courses of conduct were suggestions for specific rules. It was a matter of sincere regret to the Committee to learn that these were in some instances--such, for example, as the desired requirement that casting shops should be licensed--beyond the powers of enforcement vested in the Secretary of State. The special rules which were issued subsequently to the report of the Committee underwent a slight modification more recently, and are now as follows:--

Form 271.

FACTORY AND WORKSHOP ACTS, 1878 TO 1895.

MIXING AND CASTING OF BRASS AND OF CERTAIN OTHER ALLOYS.

_SPECIAL RULES._

Under Section 8 of the Factory and Workshop Act, 1891, and