In a well-arranged smelting works near Wiesbaden fifty-two and forty-two cases were reported in 1908 and 1909 respectively, among about 400 persons employed. This relatively high number was believed to be closely connected with frequent change in the personnel. Introduction of the Huntingdon-Heberlein method is thought to have exercised an unfavourable influence.
Other smelting works in Germany appear to have a relatively small number of reported cases. Thus in 1909 among 550 workers employed in four smelting works in the Hildesheim district only four cases were reported, and in the district of Potsdam among 600 smelters only five were found affected on medical examination. There is no doubt that many of the cases described as gastric catarrh are attributable to lead. Full information as to the conditions in Austria is contained in the publication of the Imperial Labour Statistical Bureau. In this comprehensive work the conditions in smelting works are described. In the lead smelting works at Przibram the cases had dropped from an average of 38·2 among the 4000-5000 persons employed to twenty-two in 1894 and to six in 1903, but only the severer cases are included. No single case has occurred among the 350-450 persons engaged in mining the ore, as galena (lead sulphide) is practically non-poisonous. It was found, for example, that 50 per cent. of the furnace men had (according to their statement) suffered from lead colic. Of eight employed in the Pattinson process, seven stated they had suffered from colic. The lead smelting works in Gailitz showed marked frequency of lead poisoning—here the appointed surgeon attributed anæmia and gastric and intestinal catarrh to lead:
| Year. | No. Employed. | Lead Colic. | Illness of Saturnine Origin. | Total Lead Sickness. | Total Sickness. | Per Cent. due to Lead. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anæmia. | Gastric Catarrh. | Intestinal Catarrh. | ||||||
| 1899 | 61 | 14 | 2 | 76 | 16 | 108 | 178 | 60·0 |
| 1900 | 57 | 6 | 2 | 16 | 5 | 29 | 80 | 36·2 |
| 1901 | 48 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 1 | 24 | 60 | 40·0 |
| 1902 | 47 | — | — | 24 | 6 | 30 | 56 | 53·5 |
| 1903 | 49 | — | 3 | 11 | 4 | 18 | 57 | 31·6 |
The diminution in the number of cases, especially of colic, is attributable to the efforts of the appointed surgeon.
At Selmeczbanya a diminution from 196 cases in 1899 (50·7 per cent.) to six (2·2 per cent.) in 1905 had taken place. These figures point clearly to the success of the hygienic measures adopted in the last few years.
In the large spelter works of Upper Silesia during the years 1896-1901, among 3780 persons employed, there were eighty-three cases of lead colic and paralysis, that is, about 2·2 per cent. each year. The following tables show the incidence among spelter workers in the works in question from 1902 to 1905:
Illness among Zinc Smelters
| Year. | Lead Colic and Lead Paralysis. | Kidney Disease. | Gastric Catarrh. | Anæmia. | Rheumatism. | No. Employed. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1902 | 29 | 18 | 137 | 18 | 448 | 4417 |
| 1903 | 28 | 21 | 151 | 24 | 470 | 4578 |
| 1904 | 44 | 23 | 181 | 35 | 596 | 4677 |
| 1905 | 50 | 18 | 223 | 40 | 612 | 4789 |
| Average | 0·8% | 0·5% | 3·7% | 0·6% | 11·5% | 4615 |