![]() The condition is essentially a massive infection of the mandible resulting from cumulative exposure to phosphorus. The researchers note that approximately 11 percent of those exposed to phosphorus fumes developed ‘phossy jaw’ about five years after initial exposure, on average. But an extra, thin layer of bone on the legs and skull points to a second metabolic condition: scurvy, caused by insufficient consumption of vitamin C.Īdditional bony changes in the rib cage suggest the teenager had a pulmonary problem, perhaps triggered by indoor or outdoor pollution, or perhaps it was related to tuberculosis.Ĭlearly, this person suffered from a number of dietary deficiencies and childhood diseases and, as Roberts and her colleagues write, “the skeleton of this person reflects the challenging environment in which he or she lived and worked during their short life.”īut it’s the lower jaw (below) that connects this adolescent to the industry of matchstick making. Abnormally bowed thigh bones suggest a defect in mineralization of the adolescent’s bones, likely caused by rickets children working long hours in factories did not get enough sun to produce the vitamin D necessary for proper bone growth. Roberts and her colleagues found pathological evidence for these conditions throughout the child’s skeleton. The child, whose gender is unclear, died between 12 and 14 years old, and had suffered from scurvy and rickets, and possibly tuberculosis and phossy jaw. ![]() There were a number of matchstick producers in the region at the time, according to historical data. The skeleton of the adolescent was unearthed from a Quaker cemetery in North Shields, in the Northeast of England, dating from the early 18th century to the mid 19th century. The remains of a young teenager who likely suffered the fate of these matchstick workers was recently studied by Durham University anthropologist Charlotte Roberts and her colleagues. Workers went home with clothes that practically glowed in the dark, and those who inhaled too much phosphorus could have fluorescent vomit, bluish breath, and a glow around their mouths. Phosphorus hanging in the air and settling on walls and floors often gave the factory a blue-green glow. Inhalation of phosphorus fumes could cause inflammation of the lungs and other pulmonary problems. People who were exposed in matchstick factories to white phosphorus are known historically to have developed physical ailments. However, too much of it can cause phosphorus poisoning. The element phosphorous is essential for living creatures, especially in the form of calcium phosphate in the skeleton. While working long hours indoors in a cramped, dark factory put these children at risk of contracting tuberculosis and getting rickets, matchstick making held a specific risk: phossy jaw. This work paid poorly, and half of the employees in this industry were kids who hadn’t even reached their teens. Image credit: Wellcome Trust // CC BY 4.0 Three years later, Bryant & May stopped using white phosphorous in matches. Long hours, low pay, and dangerous work conditions-including potential phossy jaw-sparked the Match Girls Strike of 1888. Some of the matches produced by Bryant & May. For 12 to 16 hours a day, workers dipped treated wood into a phosphorus concoction, then dried and cut the sticks into matches. ![]() Matchstick making was incredibly popular in 19th century England, with hundreds of factories spread across the country. They published their findings in the open access journal International Journal of Paleopathology. Recently, anthropologists studying the skeleton of a young teenager discovered that the bones appear to show the physical hallmarks of phosphorus poisoning, among other conditions. And it also contributed to “ phossy jaw,” a disease as gross as it sounds-necrosis of the jaw bone caused by phosphorus poisoning. One particularly dirty job done by women and children actually made them glow in the dark: matchstick making. People looking for work crowded into cities, which then became cesspools of disease and pollution. ![]() Image credit: Public domainĮveryone knows the beginning of the age of industrialization in England was not pleasant. Women working in a match factory in London in 1871.
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