The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1879-09-17

other chemist found 10 grains OF
arsenic in single artificial flower. A child
in Troy, N. Y, some time since died in con-
vulsions by taking arsenic from a veil thrown
over its crib to keep off flies.
A case has been recently brought to my
knowledge of a Boston gentleman so severe
ly poisoned by wearing poisonous undercloth-
ing that for several days he could hardly
see. Possibly the largest use of arsenic is in
the preparation of our wall papers. The
Massachusetts, State board of health, in their
report for 1872, gave rs pages to this subject.
These poisonous papers are of great variety
of colors-gresn, blue, red yellow, pearl and
other colors. Some are cheap, some costly,
some figured, some plain, some glazed, some
unglazed. There is but one way of surely
detecting them, and that is by chemical an
alysis. 1t has been estimated that full three
quarters Of all our wall papers now manu-
factured contain arsenic The Michigan
State board of health has recently published
a book containg IS representative specimens
of these papers, and by order of that board it
has been put into every important public
library of Michigan, as warning to the peo-
pie of that State. 1t bears the very appro-
pirate title of Shadows from the Walls of
Death" This book states that these papers
are sold in every city and important village
of that State, and that their use is increasing.
| 1t advises ~ to use no wall paper at all;
| (2) never use wall paper without first having
| it tested for arsenic; and (3), if arsenical
paper is already on the walls, and can not
well be removed, then las some protectionl,
to cover it with a coat of varnish.
There can be no doubt that Thousands of
| people in this country are now suffering,
and many have died, from the effects of
arsenical wall papers. Yet their manufact-
ure and sale are permitted to go on without
| restriction. "When l was in Germany"
said an eminent Boston chemist to me, 81
/ discovered arsenic in two specimens of wall
paper, and the manufacturer was in Jail
| before night. Here / have analysed hum
dreds of specimens in single year, and found
arsenic in large proportion of them, but
nobody was prosecuted"
| POISON BY LEAD.
But great as is the danger from poison by
arsenic, suspect there is coming to be quite
as great from poison by lead. That lead is a
cumulative poison, slowly gathering in the
human system from infnitesimal particles
until it reaches quantities productive of.
paralysis, disease and death, is fact well
known to chemists and physicians, That
country are now suffering from lead poison,
taken from water they drink, is fact that
can not be honestly denied. That no water
which has passed through lead pipes land
galvanized iron are said to be about as bad)
| should ever be used for cooking or drinking,
or given to animals to drink, unless proved
by chemical analysis to be safe, is a fact
which will be some time generally acted
upon; and then we shall not be liable, as
now, to drink almost everywhere away from
our own homes water poisoned by lead.
But lead water-pipes, though bad enough,
| do not seem to me the worst form in which
we are likely to be exposed to lead poison.
L quote the following from the Boston Jour-
nal of Chemistry November, 1878:
attention has recently been called to a
new risk of chronic poisoning by the old en-
envy, lead. What we call tin vessels are in
daily use in every household in the land.
They are cheap, durable and convenient,
and have been considered perfectly safe for
the thousand culinary purposes to
which they are devoted They
are safe if the tin plate is honestly
| made But, unfortunately, this is not always
to be counted upon. Tin is comparatively
cheap, but lead is cheaper, and an alloy OF
the two metals may be used in place
of the dearer one with profit TO the manufac-
| turer.
'.The alloy is readily acted upon by acids,
and salts of lead are thus introduced into
food. The Michigan State board of health
has lately been investigating this subject,
|
physician who found that certain cases OF
what had been taken for corea were really
paralysis agitans, which could be traced tc
this kind of lead poison. Other cases were
brought to light in which children had died
of meningitis, fits and paralytic affections
caused by milk kept in such vessels, the acid
in the fluid having dissolved the lead. Malic
citric and other fruit acids are, of course
quicker and more energetic in their actor
l..
greater because the lead salts are cumulative
poisons. The effect of one or two small dose
may not be perceptble, but infnitesima
doses, continually repeated, will in the enc
prove injurious. if not fatal. Analysis of ,
large number of specimens of tin plate uset
in culinary articles showed the presence o
an alloy with lead in almost every instance
and often in large quantities. 1t is safe tt
assert that large proportion of the tin ware
; in the market are unfit for use on this &C
count" This is what the Boston Journal o
Chemistry says.
The editorial article goes on to say: 1t i
stated by DIR. Kedzie (who is not only presi
dent of the Michigan State board of health
but an eminent chemist), that peculiar kline
! of tin plate, the coating of which is largely
made up of lead, is coming into general us,
for roofing eaves-troughs and conductors
and it is suggested that much of this leat
will eventually be dissolved and find its way
into household cisterns. Susceptible persons
may be poisoned even by washing in this lead
charged water, and all who drink it, ever
. after it is filtered, are in danger of chronic
lead poisoning.
In subsequent issue of the Journal o
Chemistry, January, 1879, appeared the fol
lowing:
"Dr. Emil Querner, of Philadelphia, write
us that since we called attention to the sub
ject he has tested great number of tin YES
. sells from different sources with nitric acit
: and solution of iodide of potassium, ant
, found lead in every case" He odds: "Al
my vessels for cooking, ETC., are now mad,
of sheet iron, and give entire salts
faction" And the Journal of Chemistr,
advises the use of sheet-iron, instead of tn,
tinware which has been found to be subjec
| To r,orsonni1s mani limitation This avidenc