[823] Eulenberg, Gewerbe Hygiene, p. 712.
[824] Mohr’s Toxicologie, p. 78.
Lead-poisoning, either in its obscure form (producing uric acid in the blood, and, as a consequence, indigestion and other evils), or in the acute form (as lead colic and various nervous affections), is most frequent among those who are habitually exposed to the influence of the metal in its different preparations, viz., workers of lead, house-painters, artists, gilders, workers of arsenic, workers of gold, calico-printers, colourists, type-founders, type-setters, shot-founders, potters, faience makers, braziers, and many others.[825] In white-lead factories so large a number of the employés suffer from poisoning that it has excited more than once the attention of the Government.[826]
[825] The attention which the use of lead in the arts has always excited is evident from the fact that one of the oldest works on Trade Hygiene (by Stockhausen) is entitled, De lithargyrii fumo noxio, morbifico ejusque metallico frequentiori morbo vulgo dicto hüttenkatze, Gaslar, 1556.
[826] A departmental committee, appointed to inquire into the white lead and allied industries, in a report presented to the Home Secretary stated:—
“8. (a) It is known that if lead (in any form), even in what may be called infinitesimal quantities, gains entrance into the system for a lengthened period, by such channels as the stomach, by swallowing lead dust in the saliva, or through the medium of food and drink; by the respiratory organs, as by the inhalation of dust; or through the skin; there is developed a series of symptoms, the most frequent of which is colic. Nearly all the individuals engaged in factories where lead or its compounds are manipulated look pale, and it is this bloodlessness and the presence of a blue line along the margin of the gums, close to the teeth, that herald the other symptoms of plumbism. (b) A form of paralysis known as wrist-drop or lead-palsy occasionally affects the hands of the operatives. There is, in addition, a form of acute lead-poisoning, most frequently met with in young girls from 18 to 24 years of age, which is suddenly developed and is extremely fatal. In it the first complaint is headache, followed sooner or later by convulsions and unconsciousness. Death often terminates such a case within three days. In some cases of recovery from convulsions total blindness remains.
“9. There has been considerable doubt as to the channels by which the poison enters the system. The committee have taken much evidence on this subject, and have arrived at the conclusion (a) that carbonate of lead may be absorbed through the pores of the skin, and that the chance of this is much increased during perspiration and where there is any friction between the skin and the clothing; (b) that minute portions of lead are carried by the hands, under and round the nails, &c., on to the food, and so into the stomach; (c) but that the most usual manner is by the inhalation of lead dust. Some of this becomes dissolved in the alkaline secretions of the mouth, and is swallowed by the saliva, thus finding its way to the stomach. Other particles of dust are carried to the lungs, where they are rendered soluble and absorbed by the blood.”—Report of Chief Inspector of Factories for 1893.