The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1871-12-01
Arsenic in Wall Paper.


|
/ A correspondent of the BritiSi
/ Medical Journal writes: "Hithert,
! it has been generally supposed tina
| papers entirely green, and of a verI
bright shade of green, were arseni
! cal; but the fact is, as proved by thu
| the analysis of eminent chemists
| that every paper which contains any
green in the pattern, no matter how
little, or of what shade, as a genera
rule contains arsenic, and is. there.
| fore, injurious to health. One shade
| of green is no safer than another, fol
/ the very palest green frequently con-
/ tain large quantities of aTsenite OF
! copper, the briIlisnt color of which
is toned down to any degree of pale
ness by the addition of chalk, and
| sometimes of white lead; the result
being that pale green papers often
contain Just as much arsenic as those
of brighter color. The quantities of
arsenic used In green papers appear
almost unlimited, varying from the
fractional part of grain up to the
frightfUl amounts of six, nine, four
teen grains and upwards to the square
foot. have beside me some pale
green papers, the analysis of which
give these amounts, and the illness
produced by those papers proved in
some cases all but fatal. / have also
by me paper with green leaves on
q white ground, containing no less
than eight grains to the square foot,
which caused most serious illness.
"When the atmosphere of dwell
lings all over the kingdom, in town
and country, is thus more or less
poisoned with arsenic, the most vol
atile and the most subtle of all pois-
ons, need we be surprised at the in
ereasing prevalence of various forms
OF disease Investigation of this
subject is earnestly called for.
cannot but regard it as a matter of
great national importance, affecting
masses of our population physically,
mentally, and morally, 10 an extent
little conceived OF at present. There
appears good reason for believing
that a We y large amount of sickness
and mortality among all classes ie
attributable to this cause, aud that 1t
may probably account for many of
the mysterious diseases of the pres
ent day, which so continually bafFle
all medical skill.
"Arsenic being exceedingly vola-
tile, its effects by inhalation, both of
gaseous eminatiOns from the papers,
and of the fine impalpabIe dust
thrown off at all temperatures, are
highly dangerous, producing symp-
toms both chronic and acute, which
stimulate various forms of disease.
[ say stimulate, because [ have seen
cases where the symptoms Of Va
riOus diseases were produced by the
irritation of the entire mucous mem
brane, and consequently of the whole
system, resulting from the occupa-
ton of rooms with aFsenical wall
papers and on the removal Of those
papers the symptoms gradually sub
sided, thus proving that they were
the result of the Irritation, and not
of organic disease. But it would
seem not improbable that prolonged
exposure to the same poisonous in
, fuenee may in time produce those
diseases which are at first only slim
ulated.
Having witnessed the effects of
slow poisoning by arsenical papers
in my own family and household
during a number of years, and ha7-
ing suffered severely myself from the
same cause, I speak from personal
experience. During a period of
twelve years we were rarely free
from illness in some form OF other
No fewer than twelve physicians,
several of eninence, were consulted
in London and elsewhere. They all
agreed as to the diseased conditions
which existed, but not one succeed
ed more than a temporary relief
Children and adults of both sexes,
including several servants, and num-
beFing altogether fourteen, all suffer-
ed. The peculiar ma tuTe and obsti-
macy of the symptoms were such that
l could not but think som metimes
that some hidden cause was at work,
which analysis of the papers ofrooms
occupied during those twelve years
has since proved to be indispuTably
the case. The idea that arsenical
papers were the cause of illness
was suggested by the peFusal of a
little book not long since published,
entitled, "The Green of the Period, !"
which gives much valuable infOrm1-
ton on the subject, and was put into
my hands by a physician who was
attending US. The proof that such
was really the case lies In the fact
that on removing ell the papers con-
tanning green, the symptoms were
greatly relieved"