New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-06-18
Fume Sickness in
Munition Plants
Kills So In Year
Dr.. Alice Hamilton Finds
2,5O7 Poison Cases in
Is Factories
rs Women Made Ill
Larger Percentage of Trouble
Is Caused by Nitrogen
Oxides and Nitric Acid
rs Women Made III
lFrn ne r-huns Ruresul

Washington. June lT.-An investiga-
tion of the working conditions sur
rounding 10000 employees in forty-one
Eastern munitions factories, made pub
lie to-day by the Bureau OF Labor sta
tistics. shows that nearly one-third Of
this number are exposed in their work
20 the dangers of industrial poisoning.
The study was made by DR.. Alice Ham
ilton during the last year in munitions
plants in New York, New Jersey, Penn
sylyania, Connecticut, Rhode Island,
Massachusetts,. Delaware. Maryland and
Virginia.
II was impossible TO obtain accurate
figures as TO the amount Of sickness
and death caused by work i'm this indus
try since the war broke out, said Or
Hamilton. Many cases were never rec
ognized; others were noted by COM
pany physicians or insurance physi-
clans. who were unwilling to give any
information concerning them; in some
factories there was either no medical
care or it was inadequate; in other fac
tories records were so incomplete as to
render the data somewhat misleading.
Based, however. upon physicians re-
ports only, although information as to
other cases was obtained. 10 was found
that m twenty-eight plants in the space
OF about one year there were 2,50I
cases of industrial poisoning. of which
seventy-fve were women. OF the to-
tai number Of cases tifty-three were
fatal two Of these being women.
Causes of Many Cases
About 55 per cent Of the total cases
and % per cent of the fatal cases were
caused by nitrogen oxides and nitric
acid. while IS per cent of all cases and
% per cent OF the fatal cases were due
TO trnitrotoluol, or INT. which is man
ufactured and made into charges for
high explosive shells.
The explosives manufactured in these
factories are nitrocellulose, or nitro
cotton. including pyroxylin and mill
tary guncOttOn; smokeless powder,
picric acid and ammonium picrate,
nitroglvcerine and dynamite. trinitro-
toluol, or TINT, or triton: illuminate OF
mercury, tetranltranllIne, or INA;
Observation-Disclosures, or tetryl: nitro
naphthaiones and ammonium nitrate.
Their production involves the use of
nitric acid, sulphuric acid, benzol and
toloul. anilin oil, chlorbenzol and dini-
trochlorbenzol, phenol or carbolic acid,
sulphuric ether, mercuric nitrate and
amyl acetate, while IN the course of
manufacture certain poisOns are
evolved as the result OF chemical Tesc-
tons, these being oxides Of nitrogen
or nitrous fumes, sulphur dloXide,
chlorine gas and ethyl nitrate.
The reason nitrogen oxide poisoning,
or "fumc Sickness is most frequent
is that all Of these explosives are
produced through processes of mira
tion In which a mixed acid is used,
one OF the ingredients being sulphuric
acid and the other nitric acid 100 per
cent strong. The higher the nitration
the greater the danger from fumes.
Danger in Filling Shells
. The 1900 90 ! 400 men who suffered
from these fumes were employed in
making nitrocellulose, picric acid, the
nitrobenzOls, nitronaph-
thalenes, nitroglycerin and the nitric
acid needed for these processes.
Another extremely dangerous pro-
cess is the filling of shells with trini-
trotoluol Unit, either by pressing,
which is very dust productive, or by
holding. which involves fumes
The character Of the work required
leads 10 a very high labor turnover. in
stanced by the fact that in one plant 10
n 1
men during thirteen months to keep up
n force of 200. On the whole, wages
are high and living conditions poor.
In most Of the plants the men work
three shifts Of eight hours each.