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NITED STATES D
ULLETIN OF THE WOMEN'S

I

THE EMPLOYMENT~0
OUS·E


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[PunLic-No. 259-66TH CoNGREss]
(H; R. 13229]

An Act To establish in the Department of Labor a bureau to be known as the
Women's Bureau

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That there shall be
established in the Department of Labor a bureau to be known as
the Women's Bureau.
SEc. 2. That the said bureau shall be in charge of a director, a
woman, to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate, who shall receive an annual compensation
of $5,000. It shall be the duty of said bureau to formulate standards and policies which shall promote the welfare of wage-earning
women, improve their working conditions, increase their efficiency,
and advance their opportunities for profitable employment. The
said bureau shall have authority to investigate and report to the said
department upon all matters pertaining to the welfare of women
in industry. The director of said bureau may from time to time
publish the results of these investigations in such a manner and to
such extent as the Secretary of Labor may prescribe.
SEc. 3. That there shall be in said bureau an assistant director,
to be appointed by the Secretary of Labor, who shall receive an
annual compensation of $3,500 and shall perform such duties as shall
be prescribed by the director and approved by the Secretary of Labor.
SEc. 4. That there is hereby authorized to be employed by said
bureau a chief clerk and such special agents, assistants, clerks, and
other employees at such rates of compensation and in such numbers
as Congress may from time to time provide by appropriations.
SEC. 5. That the Secretary of Labor is hereby directed to furnish
sufficient quarters, office furniture, and equipment for the work of
the bureau.
SEc. 6. That this act shall take effect and be in force from and after
its passage.
Approved, June 5, 1920.


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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
W. N. DOAK, SECRETARY

WOMEN'S BUREAU
MARY ANDERSON, Director

BULLETIN

OF

THE

WOMEN'S

BUREAU,

No. 101

THE EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN
IN VITREOUS ENAMELING
By
ETHEL L. BEST

UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1932

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C.


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Price 10 cents


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CONTENTS
Letter cf transmittaL __________ __ ____ ______ ______ ________________ _
Foreword _____ ___ _______ ____________ ___ _________________________ _
Introduction ____ __ _________ _______ ____ _____ ______________________ _
Purpose and scope of study _____ __________________________ __ ___ _
Plant interviews and inspections _________ _______ ______ _____________ _
Occupations of women ____________ ___________________ _____ __ __ _
Employment policies _______________ _____ ___ _________ _____ ____ _
Methods of hiring ________________ ___ __________ ________ ___ _
Preliminary physical examinations __ ______ ____ _____ ________ _
Age and sex precautions __________ ____________ .. _____ ____ __ _
Need of periodic physical examinations ___ _________ _________ _
Health care ___________________________ ______ ___ ________ _ _
Hours-------------- ---------------------~------- - -____
------Daily hours ________________
___________
___________
___ _
Saturday hours ___________ ___ ______ _____________ _________ _
Weekly hours ____ _______ _________ _______ ________ ____ _____ _
Earnings ______ ______ _____________ ___ ___ ____ ________ ___ ______ _
Workroom conditions ___________ _____________ ______________ ___ _
Local 8afeguards _________________ _____ _ _____________ __ _______ _
In spraying booths ___________ __________ ____ .. ____ ______ __ _ _
Rebound ____________________ ________ __________ _____ _____ _
Cleani~g of spraying booths _______ _______ ________ ____ _____ _
At brushing tables _____ ______ _________ ___ _______ ___ ______ _
Personal protection _______________ _____ _______ ________ ____ _
Sanitary and servicP facilities ______ ___ ___ ____ ____ __ ______ ______ _
Washing facilities ____ ____________ ____ ____ ____ _______ _____ _
Lunch-room provii;,ions __________ ____________ __ _____ ___ ___ . __
Drinking facilities ____________ ___ ____ ____ ________ ______ ___ _
Cloak rooms ______________________ ____ _.. _______ __________ _
Rest rooms __________________________ _______ ___ _______ ___ _
Toilet facilities _______________ __________________ ____ ______ _
Enameling-plant buildings _______ ____ __________________________ _
Type _____________________________ ___ ________ __ ___ ______ _
Heating _______ ________ _____ __ ____ ___ ___ ____ __ _____ ______ _
Lighting _______ __ _______ ___ ___ ____ ___ ________ __ ______ ___ _
General ventilation _____ _____ _________ ·· - ________________ __ _
Interviews with women in the industry _____ _____ ____________________ _
Occupation ____ ________ ____ ______ ____ ___ _______ _________ ___ _
~:r~~fs~~i~~~:~o~~~============= ==== === =============== =====
The presence of symptoms ____ ____ ____ ______ ___ _______ ___ ____ ___ _
Kind of enamel and the metal worked upon __ ___ ___ ________ _ _
Sprayers and brushers ____ ______ ___ ___ ___________________ _ _
Other occupations ________________ ________ ________ ________ _
Types and frequency of symptoms ____ ___ ____ ______ ____ ____ _
Symptoms and length of service ____________ ________ ______ ___ _
Symptoms and age _________ ____________ __ ________________ _
Absences and separations _____ __ ___ __ _______ _______ .. __ ___ ___ ___ _
Separations and length of service _________ __ ________________ _
Separations and age ____ _________ ___ ______ - _- - - - - - - - - - - - - - Separations and marital status _____ ___ ___________________.__ _
Ca use of separation ______ _____ ___________ ______ ___ ___ ____ _
Separations and specified occupations ____ ________________.___ _
Absences __________________________ __ ________ __ ___ _______ _
Appendixes:
A.-General tables _________________________ __ - - - - -- - - _____ ___ _
B.-Sched ule forms __________________ ______ - _ - - - - - ___ - _- _- _- _-

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TEXT TABLES

1. Scheduled hours of work ___ ____________ ___ _________ __ ______ _____ _ _

2. Age, by occupation ________ ________ ___ _______ __ -- -- - _-- ---- -- - - 3. Marital status, by occupation __________________ - -- - - -- ___ - - - -- -- III


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IV

CONTENTS
APPENDIX TABLES

I. Age, by occupation _____ _____ __ _____ ___ ______ ___________ ____ _
II. Number of women reporting symptoms according td whether or
not lead was present in the enamel, by occupation _______ __ ____
III. Number of women reporting symptoms according to metal worked
upon, by occupation ______________________________________ _
IV. Symptoms of women according to whether or not lead was present
in the enamel, by occupation _______________________________ _
V. Syl!lptOJ:?S
of women according
to metal worked upon, by occupa-_
tion _____________________
________________________________

VI. Symptoms of women reporting three or more symptoms according
to whether or not lead was present in the enamel, by occupation __
VII. Length of service in enamel departments as reported by women
having
and women not ____
having
symptoms,
by occupation ____symptoms
___ ____ ________________
________
____________
__ _
VIII. Absences and separations iD past 12 months, by length of service __
IX. Absences and separations in past 12 months, by age ____________ _
X. Cause of separation .from job in past 12 months, by occupation ___ _

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ILLUSTRATIONS

Spraying
booths with exhausts in rear for carrying off th"' spray
_________
___________________________________________________
facing
page___
Hand brushing the excess enamel from small pieces ________ ____ __do_ ___
Spraying flat sheets on a continuous conveyor _________ _______ __ do____
Revolving brush equipped with exhaust ____________________ ____ do____
Dipping pieces for first coat of enameL ________________________ do____
Hand brushing the excess enamel from signs ____________________ do____


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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,
WOMEN'S BUREAU,

Washington, June 16, 1932.
Sm: I have the honor to submit a report on the employment of
women in vitreous enamel.ing, a study of the enameling departments of
about 50 plants, practically all making stoves, and of home interviews
with nearly 700 women employed in these plants at the time or within
the 12 months preceding the interview.
Stove enameling employs considerable numbers of women, and
wherever the enamel used has a lead content of more than a very small
per cent the women are likely to contract lead poisoning, with its
grave effects on the present and the succeeding generation. About 30
per cent of the women interviewed in this survey reported having
symptoms of poisoning, a figure rising to 38 per cent in the case of
the women actually applying the enamel in the process of spraying.
The survey was·made with the cooperation and scientific assistance
of Dr. Alice Hamilton, assistant professor of industrial medicine at
Harvard Medical School and an authority on lead poisoning. Her
book, Industrial Poisons in the United States, has been freely used
in this study. Doctor Hamilton has contributed an important
foreword to the report.
The field work was conducted and the report has been written by
Ethel L. Best, industrial supervisor.
I acknowledge with grateful appreciation the courtesy of plant
officials and of the interviewed women. I am indebted to the Bureau
of Standards for its cooperation in testing for lead certain samples of
enamel supplied by employers for analysis.
Respectfully submitted.
J\ifARY ANDERSON, Director.
Hon. W . N. DoAK,

Secretary of Labor.
V


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FOREWORD

The enameling of stoves is a new industry in this country, introduced with the change in style of gas stoves and increasing rapidly in
importance. It has been known for some time that the application
of lead enamel to metal surfaces has been the cause of lead poisoning
in France, Austria, Germany, and England, and it has also been
known that a similar industry in the United States, the scattering of
dry lead enamel on red-hot iron in the making of porcelain-enameled
sanitary ware, has caused a high rate of lead poisoning among the men
so employed. The enameling of stoves is not nearly so dangerous an
occupation as the latter, since the enamel is wet and the spraying can
be done under a booth with an exhaust to carry the droplets away
from the sprayer. Nevertheless, there are certain reasons why this
industry was one calling for a careful study in the interests of -the
health of the workers, since in the first place these workers are women,
in whom lead poisoning is a more serious danger than it is in men;
second, they are to a great extent youthful workers, which makes
them more susceptible to the action of the poison than are more
mature workers; and, third, the work can be done, and in some places
is done, with a leadless enamel, and therefore it was hoped that if the
lead in the enamel were shown to cause injury to the women who
apply it, those establishments that are now using a lead enamel might
be induced to adopt a leadless enamel and thus do away with the
most obvious danger attendant upon this particular sort of work. 1
The study made by the Women's Bureau should ideally have
included analyses of the air in all the rooms where spraying is carried
on and also a medical examination of the workers, supplemented by
laboratory tests. This was obviously impossible, and therefore the
next best method was adopted, namely, the inspection of a large
number of places by the same intelligent observer, for this insures
reports that are comparable; the determination of the lead content in
the enamel used whenever this was possible; and interviews with a
large number of women in their own homes in order to discover what
effect, if any, the work had had upon their health. This method is,
of course, open to criticism because the statement of the women is
all we have to depend on, but the careful tabulation of the facts
elicited in these interviews, with 686 women in all, brings some verv
significant things to light.
Two groups of women make up the larger number employed in this
enamel work, the sprayers applying an enamel spray which may or
may not contain lead, and the brushers who remove the excess of
enamel after it has dried. The former are exposed to lead much more
than the latter, for much of their work is done on cast iron which is
covered with lead enamel, while the brushers are chiefly employed on
sheet iron for which a leadless enamel generally is used. Thus, of the
1 It might be said that the silica in the enamel is even more injurious than the lead, but there are many
difficulties in the way of determining the harm done by silica. It takes many years' exposure to produce
this effect, and in enameling stoves the labor turnover is unusually large. Moreover, an X-ray examination
of the chest is necessary to prove silicosis.

VII


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VIII

FOREWORD

sprayers 38.9 per cent worked on cast iron, that usually involves a lead
enamel, but only 9.1 per cent of the brushers did so. This made it
possible for the investigators to use the brushers as a group with which
to compare the sprayers, for if it appeared that there was any marked
difference between these two groups of women, drawn from the same
economic class and working in the same establishments, it would be
fair to conclude that the lead was largely responsible.
As to the prevalence of lead poisoning among the women, the
method selected was to elicit from the women themselves a statement
as to certain symptoms which are universally regarded as present in
lead poisoning, and to discover whether these symptoms had arisen
after employment with enamel or had increased in the course of this
employment. The figures are presented for the two groups-those
most exposed to lead, the sprayers, and those least exposed, the
brushers. The contrast is therefore not between a perfectly normal
group and a group exposed to lead but between two groups of varying
degrees of exposure.
The figures presented are certainly significant. Thus, over 50 per
cent more sprayers than brushers complained of a metallic or sweetish
taste, indigestion, constipation, and menstrual disturbance. Other
findings are that illness among the sprayers with symptoms suggestive
of lead poisoning was more prevalent than any other form, although
in general industrial experience the common cold always leads in
frequency. The sprayers had a higher rate of absences due to ill
health than had the brushers, 18.5 per cent of the sprayers who left
work doing so because of illness, while only 8.8 per cent of the
brushers gave illness as the cause. A rather ominous finding is this:
That among the sprayers, those between 16 and 18 years yielded the
highest percentage of illness suggestive of lead poisoning.
These women are on an average younger than the women in mixed
industries in these same States. More than one-fourth, 26.6 per cent,
were under 20 years and 51.8 per cent between 20 and 30 years. We
have evidence from foreign sources pointing to the greater susceptibility of young persons to lead poisoning; and just recently, in a
study made by the New York State Department of Labor, which
covered 381 men engaged in lead work, it was found that those under
20 years of age showed a greater liability to lead poisoning than the
older men.
Over two-fifths of the women, 43.4 per cent, were married. This
unusually large proportion is a serious feature of the report, for it
has been known for more than a century that lead is a race poison
and that a woman suffering from lead poisoning is more likely to
remain sterile after marriage than the woman who is not leaded;
if she conceives, she is more likely to miscarry; if the child is carried
to term it is more likely to be stillborn; and if it is born alive it is
more likely to die in infancy. The data on this point which the
investigators were able to collect correspond with these facts, although
the numbers are too small to be regarded as very significant.
The records of the length of the period of employment before
symptoms of illness developed show clearly the need for medical
supervision in this industry, for it appears that some of the women
had worked only a short time, 10 of them less than one month, before
their health began to suffer. These were oversusceptible individuals
who should never work with lead, and the only way to eliminate


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FOREWORD

IX

them is to have all workers come under the eye of the same physician
at regular intervals ·so that he may detect. the early symptoms of
lead poisoning and order the woman to be shifted to leadless work.
The report of conditions in these establishments shows that they
vary greatly, from poor to excellent, but that in no establishment is
the medical service adequate and in only -a small minority is there
adequate provision for cleanliness. A fact of practical importance
to employers was elicited by the inquiry into the causes for quitting
work. No less than 13.1 per cent of the women who left did so because
of poor working conditions-heat, dust, fear of danger from the dustas against only 3.7 per cent of cotton-mill workers in a Women's
Bureau study who left for that reason.
We have to do here with an industry which has a recognized hazard,
an enamel containing lead soluble in human gastric juice, and therefore capable of producing plumbism in the women who work with it.
In Great Britain such an occupation comes under "special rule,s,"
which prescribe in detail the measure,s that must be used to carry
off the spray so that none escapes and prescribe wet scraping or
wiping instead of dry brushing. No dry enamel may fall on floor or
benches, the finishing being done ove:r pans of water. In addition,
the employers are required to give special care to these workers with
lead -enamel, including the provision of washable working clothes and
head covering, laundered by the management; hot water, soap, towels,
and nail brushes; a clean place for street clothes; a clean lunch room
with provision for heating food and no food ever to be taken into the
workroom. A physician must be employed to examine new employees
and to make subsequent examinations at regular intervals of all
employed. If he finds symptoms suggestive of lead poisoning, that
woman must no longer be employed in work with lead.
In contrast to these regulations, which are only what long experience
has shown the British factory inspection service to be needed for the
protection of workers from lead poisoning, we Americans have, in a
great majority of our States, only general statutes framed for all
rndustrial establishments and quite inadequate when applied to those
in which poisons are used. A few States do deal with the lead trades.
A number of them require physicians to report all cases of lead poisoning that they find in general practice, but this is admittedly a measure
of no practical value. Several States provide for compensation for
industrial lead poisoning, and experience shows that such legislation
in the long run does make for better protection of the workers; but
we can not depend. on this alone, for even the best of employers are
not specialists in factory hygiene and many are utterly ignorant of
the hazard involved in work of this kind and of how to guard against it.
Specific statutory provisions regulating working conditions in the
lead trades have been passed by several of the most important
industrial States, at least two measuring up well with the British
regulations. In addition, most of these provide for periodic medical
examinations. A few States do not specify lead but cover the lead
trades by general regulations, which in the hands of well-trained
.
inspectors work quite as well.
This means then that in comparatively few States is there adequate
legislation for the protection of women who apply lead enamel to
stoves, but he would be a rash person who would dare to say that
even in these States the statutes are always carried out with mtelli-


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FOREWORD

X

gence and vigor. We may as well face the fact that the enameling
of stoves, an industry of rapid growth and with probably a great
future expansion, is one which subjects a large numl:>er of women to
the danger of lead poisoning and that these women are not under
present conditions efficiently protected against the danger. Even
under the best conditions and supervision there will always be some
danger; and therefore the most practical suggestion which can be made
to the men at the head of the industry is that they substitute leadless
enamel for lead enamel, a change which is greatly facilitated by the
change from cast iron to sheet metal, which has already been made
by a number of manufacturers .
ALICE HAMILTON, M. D.
HARV ARD MEDICAL SCHOOL,

Boston, Mass.


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SPRAYING BOOTHS WITH EXHAUSTS IN REAR FOR CARRYING OFF THE SPRAY


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B etter Enameling Pho to

GIRLS AT RIGHT ARE BRUSHING BY HAND THE EXCESS ENAMEL FROM SMALL PIECES .
TABLE HAS EXHAUST THAT DRAWS DUST FROM EDGE OF TABLE AS GIRL BRUSHES


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EACH

THE EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN
VITREOUS ENAMELING
INTRODUCTION
Of great concern to those interested in the welfare of gainfully
employed women are the conditions under which they work. Studies
have been made by the Women's Bureau of the employment of women
in various States and in various industries; the extent and seriousness
of industrial accidents have been touched upon; but until the present
study was undertaken, no investigation had been made of the hazard
of industrial poisoning. Lead poisoning, selected for study in plants
using vitreous enamels, is a subject of grave importance to workersespecially to women workers, since women are more susceptible than
are men.
According to the report of the committee on lead poisoning of the
American Public Health Association, the increase in lead poisoning in
this country is an indication that industrial control is inefficient or not
practiced. In almost any of its forms, lead that enters the system
either through the air passages or the digestive tract may be poisonous
to human beings. Workers in many industries and trades are constantly exposed to lead in one of three forms: As dust or vapor in
the breathing atmosphere; in a dry state; or in a wet, pasty, or spray
form.
Lead poisoning should be eliminated or reduced to a minimum by
preventing lead ingestion and absorption through the control of lead
exposure. To accomplish this, the plan should be to remove lead
from actual or atmospheric contact by the adoption of the following
means:
A. Various industrial means, such as1. The supply of a lead-free atmosphere from outside sources.

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Automatic processes.
Confining cabinets or isolated spaces.
Air conveyances for lead in dry, vapor, or spray forms.
Moist or oily processes.
Substitutes for lead.
High-class factory or work-place hygiene.

B. Various personal means, such as1. Personal hygiene, observing particularly instruction to employees

on how to prevent lead poisoning.
2. Medical supervision with frequent examinations specifically for
lead exposure, lead absorption, and lead poisoning.
3. Regulation of hours of labor involving lead exposure.
4. Limitation of the employment of, youths, women, the delicate or
sickly, and those who have previously suffered lead poisoning.
5. Prohibition of the employment of those showing increasing or
marked evidence of lead absorption, any stage of lead poisoning,
or a history of increased susceptibility, or marked symptoms
in previous attacks. 1
1 Report of Committee on Lead Poisoning, presented to the industrial hygiene section of the American
Public Health Association, October, 1929, New York, 1930, pp. 28, 29-30.

1

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2

EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN VI'.rREOUS EN AMELING

As an indication that these suggestions have not been recognized
and applied to any extent by industry, the following facts are presented: According to a publication of the National Safety Council,
lead poisoning still furnishes a high percentage of the cases of industrial poisoning; of 360 cases of industrial poisoning admitted to the
industrial clinic of the Massachusetts General Hospital during a period
of six months, 217 were the result of exposure to lead. From occupational disease reports for ·Massachusetts and Ohio, in each case
extending over a period of a year that ended in 1927, lead poisoning
was second in frequency, representing 19 per cent of the diseases
reported in Massachusetts and 16 per cent of those in Ohio. Two
reasons were given for this high incidence of lead poisoning. One
was the large number of trades in which lead was used, and the other
was that among both employers and employees the insidious character
of lead poisoning had not been recognized. 2
PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF STUDY

The purpose of the present study was to secure authentic data on
the conditions under which women work who are exposed to lead dust,
with special reference to the protection provided against such dust
and the effect of such conditions on the women employed in vitreous
enamel shops. Lead and silica dust are the two hazards to which
women working in enamel are exposed, but the study was confined to
facts that might throw light on one of these only, that of lead exposure.
The surv~y was mage with the cooperation of Dr. Alice Hamilton,
since 1919 assistant professor of industrial medicine, Harvard Medical
School. The field work was done at two separate times, during seven
months in the fall, winter, and spring of 1929-30 and during three
months in the fall and winter of 1930-31. Enamel departments were
visited in 47 factories, practically all making stoves, in Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin. From all but 2 of
these, from 45 factories employing 1,330 women, information regarding conditions and personnel was secured.
Data were obtained in the individual plants as to the numbers
employed, men and women, and the occupations in which the women
were engaged. Hours of work, absences, separations, and other data
pertinent to specific occupations also were obtained, as were the
women's names, addresses, ages, marital status, and length of service.
A brief inspection was made of working conditions in each plant, with
special reference to sanitary and service facilities and all safeguards
and regulations provided for the health and well-being of the women
.workers.
To secure the most accurate information available as to the percentage of lead present in the _enamels used, statements regarding this
were obtained from the management wherever possible. However,
as a rule such reports were not satisfactory, first, because in most of
the plants many different enamels were used, and the lead content of
all generally was not known; and, second, because many establishments bought their enamel from other concerns, and, although in
some cases they were able to say whether or not the enamel contained
lead, the amount, where lead was present, could not be stated defi2

National Safety Council. Health Practices Pamphlet No. 3, Chicago, 1929, p. 1.


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INTRODUCTION

3

nitely. Where the lead content of the enamels was not known, all
firms willing to cooperate to this extent supplied samples of then
enamels, and these were analyzed by the United States Bureau of
Standards.
With the information from the plant records as a background, 686
women workers from 39 establishments were interviewed in their
homes, and information was secured as to nativity and color, ability
to speak English, age at beginning work, present age and marital
status, maternal history if married, occupation, hours of work, causes
of absences and of separations, illnesses, and complete work history,
with the occupations, dates, and duration of jobs and reasons for
leaving them, conditions of work, with special reference to precautionary measures taken in regard to ventilation, cleaning of room or booth
in which work was carried on, uniform worn, and personal hygiene
precautions.


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PLANT INTERVIEWS AND INSPECTIONS
OCCUPATIONS OF WOMEN

In a study of a single industry-for example, textiles, tobacco, or
confectionery-women are employed in many different occupations
and are found in many workrooms with varying conditions; while in
this study, which is not of an industry but of a process in an industry,
women worked in but few occupations. In most of the establishments
visited all the enamel operations were carried on in one large room, but
in a few the cast-iron room and the sheet-iron room-and it should be
explained that there is lead in most of the enamel used on ca.st iron
but little or none in sheet-iron enamel-were separate. In a number
of the plants in which the enameling of cast iron and of sheet iron was
done in the same room, cast iron was enameled at one end and sheet
iron at the other. Since the room usually was a large one, with a high
ceiling, the result was almost as satisfactory as if separate rooms had
been used.
The two principal occupations in the enamel departments were
spraying and brushing, and these were the two dustiest jobs. The
sprayer worked in a booth inclosed on three sides and sprayed the
piece of metal before her by means of a small air-pressure gun held
in one hand. The piece of metal to be sprayed was placed on a rack
in the booth, or if it was small, such as a handle for an oven door, it
was held in one hand while being sprayed with t he gun. In a few
plants women were spraying pieces that moved slowly past them on
a belt conveyor, but in most cases this type of spraying was considered work too heavy for women, since it required the uninterrupted
holding of the gun.
In brushing, the women stood at tables and brushed the spray off
the parts of the metal not intended to be enameled. In some places
small hand brushes were used; in others the brushing was accomplished by holding the metal surface against a revolving brush
operated by power.
Other less important occupations engaged in by women were dipping
metal parts in to enamel for a ground coat-only one or two were so
employed in a plant; putting the grain into enameled surfaces that
were intended to have that appearance; patching the imperfect places
in the enamel-blisters or small holes; transferring by means of a
stencil the company name or trade-mark to the oven doors of stoves
(called decalcomania and providing work for one or two women in a
plant); hanging the pieces of metal on the conveyor for drying and
later taking them off. There were other occasional occupations at
which a few women were employed, such as inspecting, beading,
wiping, and general work.
Dipping was done by hand. The worker stood in front of a trough
of liquid enamel, usually a grounq. coat, in which she dipped the piece
of metal. After the pieces were dipped they were hung on a rack or
conveyor and passed on to the oven for baking.
4


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B etter Enameling P h oto

SPRAYING FLAT SHEETS ON A CONTINUOUS CONVEYOR


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B etter Ena m eli ng Photo

REVOLVI N G

BRU S H

EQUIPPED WITH EXHA U ST RE M OVES
FRO M EDG ES OF SHE E T

EXC E S S

ENA ME L

B etter E n ameling P h ot o

DIPPING PIECES FOR FIRST COAT OF ENAMEL AND HANGING ON CONVE Y OR
THAT CARRIES THEM TO DRYING ROOM

4--2


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PLANT INTERVIEWS AND INSPECTIONS

5

Putting the grain on the enameled surface required some rubbing,
but was not a dusty job as compared with spraying or brushing.
Transferring (decalcomania) consisted of placing the paper pattern
on the sprayed metal surface, rubbing the contrasting color from the
pattern and removing the paper when the superimposed color was
baked on.
The patching that occurred occasionally on enamel consisted of
scraping off the blisters and recoating with enamel. While patching
was about the same as graining as regards dust, it involved more risk
to the worker, as it was done on cast iron (which as before explained,
usually has lead in the enamel), while graining generally was done on
sheet iron.
EMPLOYMENT POLICIES
Methods of hiring.
Before a person enters upon any work both the employer and
employee should be as certain as it is possible to be that the worker
is physically fit and mentally able to perform the duties that the job
entails. The method of employment among establishments included
in this study varied from plant to plant. Three-fourths of the 45
plants included had centralized systems, all workers being hired by
an employment manager, a foreman, a superintendent, or other
person. This is by far the most desirable method, since one person
can then be held responsible. In the remaining 11 establishments
workers were hired by several different people, a much less satisfactory
method.
Preliminary physical examinations.
In occupations where a poisonous substance or the dust or fumes
from such are involved the careful hiring of all work~rs, irrespective
of sex or age, is of more than ordinary importance. Careful hiring
should include a thorough physical examination that would eliminate
any person with weak lungs, throat, or other organ especially susceptible to such poisons.
In the particular case of susceptibility to lead poisoning, with which
this study is concerned, the greatest care should be taken in hiring
workers. The American Public Health Association states in its
bulletin on lead poisoning that "All workers should be examined
at the time of hiring." 1 It may not be possible through a physical
examination to eliminate those who will later show an oversusceptibility or an idiosyncrasy to lead poisoning, but it will prevent the
hiring of a worker with a physical defect that would cause special
susceptibility. The importance of a physical examination before
hiring was not generally recognized by the plants included in this
study, for in only 4 of the 45 was a physical examination given before
the workers were engaged.
Age and sex precautions.
The risk of lead poisoning to young persons and women, according
to the best authorities on the subject, seems to be greater than to
others. Especial care should be taken in selecting young persons and
women, and a physical examination should be given each worker
1 Report of Committee on Lead Poisoning, presented to the industrial hygiene section of the American
Public Hea.lth Association, October, 1929, New York, 1930, p, 34,


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EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN VITREOUS ENAMELING

before hiring. 2 In efforts to improve conditions among lead workers
the American Public Health Association has set forth the following
standards in regard to age and sex:
1. No worker less than 21 years of age shall be permitted
engage in any occupation where lead is used, that is, subjected
lead exposure.
2. No female under 45 years of age should be permitted
handle any dry substance or dry compound containing lead
any form where the lead content is in excess of 2 per cent. 3

to
to
to
in

Need of periodic physical examinations.
In all studies of industrial poisons ther'e is an unknown factor that
it is impossible to foresee or guard against, and this is individual
susceptibility. If there is more than ordinary danger to younger
workers, or to women, or to workers in poor health, these need not be
hired for jobs where there is exposure to toxic substances, but the
individual's susceptibility is impossible to foresee and evaluate.
Doctor Hamilton illustrates this wide difference in individual susceptibility as follows: In a certain very dusty, white-lead plant she had as
guide a man who had worked there for 32 years, ever since he was 12
years old, who had never been poisoned, although at times he had
been unable to see across the room because the lead dust was so thick:.
Yet in this same plant another man had sickened after two weeks and
had died of acute plumbism at the _e nd of less than six months. 4
In a lecture before the Royal Society of Arts Sir Kenneth Goadby
suggests that the same unequal distribution of susceptibility is true
also of industrial poisoning. The majority of workers exposed to
lead poisoning, for instance, seem to develop a "tolerance" in the
course of the first three months or at any rate the first year of employment, but some apparently do not. 5
In diagnosing 1,217 cases of plumbism Tanquerel des Planches
found 424 who were originally strong and vigorous, 584 of medium
strength, and only 208 of feeble constitution. 4 •
Because of this difference in susceptibility, in addition to physical
examinations before employees are hired for trades in which lead is
used the health of the workers should be checked through periodic
physical examinations, and accurate records should be kept from
which may be ascertained any changes taking place in the worker's
physical condition.
In none of the plants visited were both entrance and periodic
physical examinations given. As has already been noted, only four
firms gave entrance examinations, and six other firms reported physical examinations given either every three months, every month, or at
irregular intervals. Besides the six establishments where women were
examined periodically, there were a few in which the men employees
were examined occasionally because of their greater exposure to lead,
but women were not examined.
H amilton, Alice. Industrial Poisons in the United States. New York, 1925, pp. 8-13.
Report of Committee on Lead Poisoning, presented to the industrial hygiene section of the American
Public Health Association, October, 1929, New York, 1930, p. 30.
4 Hamilton, Alice. Industrial Poisons in the United States.
New York, 1925, p. 14.
6 Florence, P, Sargant, Economics of Fatigue and Umest, London, 1924, p. 342.
2
3


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PLANT INTERVIEWS AND INSPECTIONS

7

Health care.
To prevent illness among their employees and to treat those who
become ill or have minor accidents, many concerns, especially those
employing large numbers, have a medical department. The need of
the services of doctors and nurses in plants where poisonous substances are used constantly is very great. This need varied considerably in the plants included in the study, according to the differing
toxic qualities of the enamel dust to which the workers were exposed.
Of the 43 plants reporting on the subject of medical and nursing
care, 18 made no provision of any kind for such care. Of the 25 others,
13 had only a visiting doctor, 8 had only a plant nurse, and 4 had both
of these. The last named would seem to be a desirable arrangement,
as the nurse can keep in close touch with the workers and give information to the doctor on his periodic visits.
Records of illness and the treatment administered were recorded
in only 3 plants. One other kept records of cases of illness and still
another records of treatments given.
HOURS

In all establishments the length of the working day is of importance
to the workers. Factors such as great heat, excessive dust, or poisonous substances have an especially injurious effect upon the worker
when coupled with long daily hours. Due to the very nature of the
work in enamel rooms one or more of these conditions is always
present there, in some to a less extent than in others.
Doctor Hamilton makes this statement: "* * * it is safe to
assert that long hours of work increase industrial poisoning simply
because they increase the actual dose of poison and also lessen the
chance of completely eliminating one dose before another is taken."
This same authority gives the following facts regarding the number of
cases of T. N. T. poisoning in a shell-loading plant: They numbered
only 23 in June when an 8-hour day was worked; in July and August,
with hot weather and hours. of 10, 11, and 12 a day-even 16 hours
occasionally-the number of cases was more than doubled in July
and trebled in August, while in September, with shorter hours and
cooler weather, the number of cases dropped to 36. 6
The longest hours worked in enamel rooms usually were in the late
spring, the summer, and the early fall. The busy seasons varied
somewhat in different plants but always occurred within this time.
In some establishments the busiest time would last for three months,
or there would be two peaks, one in the spring and one in the early
fall, or a busy time in late summer that might last until November.
As a rule, however, the busiest time was in the hottest months, when
the trying temperatures were made worse in the enamel departments
by the furnaces and drying rooms that in many cases were in the same
inclosure as the sprayers, brushers, and other enamel workers.
Daily hours.
For about one-half of the plants visited and for more than twofifths of the women employees the regular or scheduled hours of
work were 9 and under 10 a day, and in some of these plants considerable overtime was worked in the busy seasons. A little more
6

Hamilton, Alice. Industrial Poisons in the United States. New York, 1925, p. 3.

129091°-32--2

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8

EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN VITREOUS ENAMELING

than one-fourth of the factories and about 16 per cent of the workers
had a scheduled day of 8 pours or less. Much the largest group in
any single classification had hours of over 8 and less than 9 a day .
TABLE

1.-S cheduled hours of work
D AILY HO U R S

Scheduled hours

N umber
of plants

Women in enamel
departments
Number P er cent

TotaL _____________ _____ __ __ _____ ____ ______ -- ____ - -- - -- - -- -- - - -- -- - -

45

1,330

100. 0

7½ and less than 8___________________ ______ _____ ____ ________ __ ___ ___ __ __ __
8------ -less
------- ----------- -- - ---- -- -- ---- - -- - -- -- - -- -- --- --- - - -- --- -_
Over--8- and
than
9 ______ _____________________________________________

3
9
11
16
6

67
145
584
406
128

5. 0
10. 9
43. 9
30'. 5
9.6

TotaL ____ ___ __ ___ ______ __________________ _______ _______ ___ ________ _

45

1,330

100. 0

4 and less t han 4½ 1 ___ _ _____ _ _ _ _______ _ ___ _ _ ___ _ _______ _ ____ _ __ __ _ _ _____ _
4½
and
less
than
5 2--------- ----------------- --- ~---- --------- ---5 and
less
than
6 ___
____ __ __ ____
_____ ____ ________
______
___--_____
___ _____
____
6 and over (including 9) ____ ___ ____ __ ______ _·______ __ _____ ___ _______ ___ __ __

8

16
11
10

430
449
294
157

32.3
33. 8
22.1
11. 8

TotaL ______ _____________ ___________ ___ ______ ____ _____ ____ __ ____ __ __

45

1,330

100. 0

Less than 44 ___ __________ ______________________ __ __ __ ___ ______ _______ ____ _
44 and less t han 48 _____ ___ ____ __ _______________ _______ ___ _____ ___ ____ ___ __

1
12
7
9
7
9

20
275
346
296
239
154

1. 5
20. 7
26. 0
22. 3
18. 0
11.6

9 _ - -- - --- - - - ---- - - - - -- -- - - - - - - -- --- - - -- - ---- -- - - - - - - -- - - - -- - - - - - - - - --- - - - Over 9 an d less than IQ _____ _____ ___ _______ __ ____ ___ _____ ___ __ ______ ___ __ _

SAT U RD AY HOURS

WE E KLY HOU RS

48 _________________ _______ ___ _______ _______ _______ __ __________ ________ __ __
Over 48 and less than 50 _______ ____________________ ____ ________ ______ _____
50_ - -- -- - - -- - - - -- - - -- - - - - - --- ---- - - - - -- - -- - - - -- - -- - - - -- - - -- -- - -- - - - - - - -- - Over 50 and less than 57 _ ------ - --- - - - -- - ------ - --- - ----------------- - - - -1
2

Includes 1 firm , 6 women, wit h a schedule of 3 hours and 55 minutes.
1 firm, 129 women, had a schedule of 4 hours and 55 minut_es.
·

Saturday hours.
In 24 of the plants a day of less than 5 hours was worked on
Saturday, but 10 establishments, employing almost one-eighth of the
women, had Saturdays of from 6 to 9 hours. Such long Saturdays
are especially undesirable in this employment, as they give but little
time for rest and the elimination of the poison that may have accumulated during a long week's work.
Weekly hours.
For 20 establishments, employing almost one-half of the women,
scheduled weekly hours of 48 or less were reported, but as many as
9 plants, with nearly 12 per cent of the women, had weekly hours in
excess of 50.

EARNINGS
Actual weekly earnings were not recorded, but the differences in
earnings of wom'en on the various types of work were inquired into,
as it was thought that higher earnings might result in greater length
of service even in a harder or more disagreeable job. If this was the


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PLANT INTEltvIEWS AND INSPECTIONS

9

case, it was not apparent either in length of service or in the women's
reasons for leaving, although in a majority of establishments the
spraying work was better paid than were any of the other jobs and
the separations were relatively fewer. The lower separation rate
among the sprayers may have been from other causes as well as
higher pay; for example, the greater skill required and the more
careful selection of the workers.
WORKROOM CONDITIONS

The factors in the physical environment or hygiene of any establishment that are most important to the human body are grouped
under six heads by Doctor Florence: 8
1. Air: Temperature and humidity; ventilation and room space;

dust and fumes (exhaust systems); smell.
Light: Volume, concentration, glare.
Noise: Volume, irregularity, vibration.
Accident and fire hazards; safety devices; first aid.
Sanitation and tidiness; cleaning and drinking water; lavatories.
6. Sea ting and rest rooms.

2.
3.
4.
5.

Of these six factors, the most important to the workers with whom
this study is concerned is the condition of the air in which they
work. In Doctor Hamilton's book she writes that "Among European
authorities there has been practical agreement for many years that
the great danger for the lead worker comes from contamination of
the air by lead dust or lead fumes, whiGh are essentially the same."
According to conclusions reached by Legge, based on analyses by
Duckering of the lead content of the air in certain workshops, two
milligrams per day is the lowest dose that when inhaled as dust or
fumes may, in the course of years, set up lead poisoning. "If the
working day is eight hours, * * * this would mean about 5
milligrams of lead to 10 cubic meters of air, for a man breathes about
600 cubic centimeters 16 times a minute, 4,608 liters in eight hours.
If there is no more lead in the air han this, encephalopathies and
palsies will not occur, and colics rarely." 9
Doctor Smyth, of the industrial hygiene department of the University of Pennsylvania, conducted a study in Pennsylvania of
industrial hazards involved in spray painting. He reported as follows:
"With under 1 per cent of lead in the material being spra.yed this
limit [that quoted by Legge] should usually not be exceeded if reasonable care is exercised and reasonable exhaust ventilation provided.
With amounts much in excess of 1 per cent, concentrations much
above the safe limit will frequently be encountered, though not
always. The many uncontrollable variables in commercial spraying
make it impossible always to be sure of safety in this respect." 10
As mentioned in the introduction to this report, information concerning air conditions was obtained by the agent at the time of inspection of the plant and later from interviews ·w ith women workers.
s Florence, P. Sargant. Economics of Fatigue and Unrest. London, 1924. pp. 109, 110.
Hamilton, Alice. Industrial Poisons in the United States. New York, 1925. p. 42, 57.
Smyth, Henry Field. What Are the Health Hazards of the Spray-Coating Industry? Reprinted
by United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1930. p. 5.
9
10


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EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN VITREOUS ENAMELING

LOCAL SAFEGUARDS
In spraying booths.
Since the greatest number of women are employed as sprayers or
brushers, the safeguards installed to protect these workers were
intensively studied.
In all the booths in which women worked on spraying there were
local exhausts to carry off the dust-laden air. The majority of the
exhaust openings wen~ round, and they varied in diameter from 1
to 2 feet, with the greatest number about 18 inches. Other types
of openings were the slat type with an opening of from 1 to 0 6 inches
between the slats, and a plate type with small round holes scattered
over its snrface. Both of these latter types of vents covered the
entire back of the booth. These two types may have given better
suction for all parts of the booth; hut there seemed to be considerable
difficulty in keeping them free from enamel, and when they became
clogged, suction was interfered with.
About one-fourth of the sprayers reporting stated that their exhausts worked unsatisfactorily. Of those who reported the exhaust
as working well, some seven women qualified the statement by adding,
"but it is bad in other booths where I work sometimes." It is easv
to understand the comparatively large number of exhausts that did
not work properly when the lack of attention given to these in many
of the plants is recalled; nothing was done unless an actual breakdown forced some action. From the appearance of the majority
of the sprayers, with face, hair, and clothing covered with enamel
dust, it would seem that many of the exhausts in the plants visited
were ineffective, or that the rebound of the spray from the surface
treated was very great.
Very little appeared to be known in most plants of the actual velocity of the air in the booths, and in most cases even a desirable
standard was not known. According to the report of a special study
made for the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry
"* * * even with large flat surfaces, if properly placed in the booth,
it is perfectly possible to spray so as to expose the sprayer to a minimum cloud of enamel averaging under 1,000,000 quarter-unit particles
per cubic foot, and if air velocities are maintained well over 100 feet
per minute this should always be possible. With velocities over
200 feet per minute this should be even easier to obtain * * * " 11
The velocity in the plants usually was determined by the installing
engineers of the exhaust equipment, and in a few States the efficient
running after installation was checked from time to time by factory
inspectors. Only eight plants reported testing of the velocity by
their own or other engineers or inspectors, and the other plants relied
on a breakdown or marked inefficiency of operating to show when
repairs were necessary.
By holding one's hand in the booth near the article sprayed it was
possible to get some indication of the movement of air toward the
vent. In 6 plants the ventilation appeared excellent as judged by
this index and by the absence or small amount of dust on the sprayer.
11 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Department ot Labor and Industry.
vania. Special Bul. No. 16, 1926, pp. 105-108.


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PLANT INTERVIEWS AND INSPECTIONS

In 7 other plants the exhausts seemed fairly effective, but in 13 they
were unsatisfactory, as shown by the amount of dust on the workers
and the poor pull of air, and in 3 they were so poor as to be almost
negligible in effect.
Ventilation in sprayers' booths

Number
of firms

Total reporting ___________________________ ___ __

45

Firms with women sprayers or sprayers' helpers ___ _
:Rxcellent_ __ ___ __________ __ ____ __ __ ___ _______ ______ _
Good ___ _______ _____ ___ __ ______ __ ___ _______ _____ ____
Poor ____________________ ____________ ___ ___ _____ ____ _
Bad ______________________ __________________ _______ _
Not reported 2________ _ _ ___ _ _______________________ •

37

t
2

6

8
13

I

3
7

Includes 1 in which ventilation was good in part and poor in
part.
Factory partly closed or men spraying at time of visit.

As already noted, there were differences in the size and type of
exhausts in the various booths, and occasionally the location of a
booth was such that a current of air seemed to blow back the spray in
spite of a good exhaust within the booth. This latter condition was
quite marked in five plants.
Rebound.
The extent to which the spray rebounded from the surface varied
considerably. In the different booths in the same plant it varied
with the angle of the piece sprayed, the pressure in the gun and its
distance from the surface, and the position of the sprayer in relation
to her work, but in brief it may be said that the rebound was considerable in 10 plants, noticeable in 14, and almost none in 4. As each
worker sprayed many pieces differing in size and shape, it was impossible from a mere brief inspection to state more exactly the amount of
rebound.
When large flat pieces resting on a horizontal support were being
sprayed, the sprayer frequently leaned over her work and came in
the direct line of spray as it was drawn up toward the vent. If the
metal pieces were placed in an upright or nearly upright position, it
seemed more difficult for the exhaust to draw off the spray, and there
was likely to be considerable rebound. In the study of spray painting in Pennsylvania last referred to, more particles were found in the
air when the piece was placed in an upright or nearly upright position than when it was placed at a different angle. To quote from the
report, "Where the pieces sprayed were laid flat or nearly so, * * *
no counts ran as high as 2,250,000 and 4 out of 6 ran well under 1,000,000. When the stampings were sprayed upright or only slightly
slanting, the lowest of three tests gave over 5,000,000 quarter-unit
particles per cubic foot. " 12
Even in booths with exhausts installed and running effectively
there is likely to be considerable dust or spray thrown back on the
operator if the gun is held too near the work. The women interviewed reported on the distance from the work at which they held the
12

Ibid., p. 105. J


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EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN VITREOUS ENAMELING

gun and whether or not there was a rebound of spray.
follow:

These figures

197 sprayers reporting on rebound of spray
Distance from gun to surface sprayed
Total

Reporting rebound

Reporting no
rebound

- - - -- -- - - - - - - - - -- - -- -1-- - - - - - - Less than l H feet __ __ ____ ____ ___ __ ______ _____ ______ _____________ __ ____ ____
and
less ________
than 2 feet_
_ ---_____
--- ------- -______
-- ----__--_____
- --~ ----------------- --_
1½
2
feet
__ ____
. _______
. ______
___________ _____ -_____
Over 2 and including 3 feet_ _____ _____ __ ______ __ _____ __ ___ ___ ___ ______ ____ _

14
60

111

12

7
29
41
1

7
31

70
11

From these figures, in spite of the small numbers, there appears to
be a distinct relation between the distance of the gun from the surface sprayed and the amount of rebound. Though all but 26 women
held the gun 1 }~ to 2 feet from the surface, there is a definite decrease
in the proportion reporting rebound as the distance of the gun from
the surface sprayed is increased.
In the study by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and In- _
dustry: the fact was brought out that the average sprayer does not
actually spray all the time; he must place in the booth the part to be
sprayed and must remove it after the spraying; must adjust _the rack
to the different-sized articles to be sprayed; frequently must wash
out the gun; and in a good many cases must clean the booth, all during the regular hours of work. From the results of that study it was
felt that a sprayer in a booth was exposed to a hazard for at the most
one-half, varying from one-tenth, of his scheduled hours of work. 13
From observations in the Women's Bureau survey, however, the
statement may be made that the general dust in the workroom is
heavy with enamel dust even when the worker is not actually spraying, and the cleaning of the booths gives an even greater exposure to
enamel dust than does the actual spraying; so the conclusion seems
warranted that if there is lead in the enamel, the worker is exposed
much of the time even when not actually operating the gun.
Cleaning of spraying booths.
The work of cleaning the booths, including the vents and baffles,
usually was accomplished by scraping down the sides with a flat
metal scraper and sweeping the enamel from the floor. Washing the
booth with a wet cloth or hose ordinarily- was done once a week; if
the color of the enamel was changed, additional washings were necessary. The cleaning of the booths was done by men in 20 plants, by
women in 8, and by both men and women in 8. Women were not
employed as sprayers in all the plants, but in some they worked as
sprayers' helpers, in which case they assisted the men in the cleaning
of the booths.
13

Ibid., p. 97.


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PLANT INTERVIEWS AND INSPECTIONS

Reporting frequency of cleaning
P ersons by whom cleaning of boot hs was done

- - - - - - - - - - -- - - ------ ----

- - - - ___
,___

T otal number of firms . ......... .. . . ... . ... . .. . .. .. . . . .
Total firms reporting.. . . . ... . . ............ . ............ .. ..
Booths cleaned byMen .. . .... . . . .. . . .. .. . . . . . . ... . . . . ... . . . . . . .. ...... . . . .
Women .... . . . . . ...... .. ... .... .. . . ........... ... . .• ... .
Both men and women ....... . . . . ... . . . ........ . . . .. . . . .
Inapplicable (no women sprayers) ......................... .

I napplica•
Total
ble, or
report• Daily Weekly frequency
not
ing
reported

T otal

45
l= =

35

,

____

34

=~==l====l====F=

36

35

34

20

20

19

8
8

8

7

=

=

1 .. . .. . .. . . .

7 . .......
1
8 .. • • • . •• ··• • •· · ····

9 ............•... · ·· • ·· • ·

In the home interviews, three-fourths of the women working on
cast iron reported that they scraped the enamel from the walls of the
booth or helped othe,rs to do so, and therefore they were exposed to
dust without the safeguard of the exhaust, which was shut off during
the cleaning. A somewhat smaller proportion of women working on
sheet iron cleaned their own booths or assisted others with the cleaning. The work of cleaning, although not consuming a great deal of
time, was commented upon as being especially dusty because of the
turning off of the exhausts.
At brushing tables.
Women sprayers, although more exposed to lead than were the
brushers, did not constitute the largest group of women workers interviewed. Among those visited there were 297 brushers, in contrast to
239 sprayers. In most cases the brushers were exposed to more dust
from the enamel than were the sprayers, for besides the dust from
their own work there was the general dust of the workroom, which in
many cases contained lead from the cast-iron spraying. The brushing itself was done almost entirely on sheet iron, the enamel for which
contained no lead or lead in very small amounts.
According to experts, "The danger done by repeated small doses of
lead is lasting ; that done by one short exposure to heavily contaminated air is probably transient and leaves no permanent d amage." 14
It would appear, therefore, that steady exl?osure to dust containing
only small quantities of lead might result rn injury to the workers.
In the Pennsylvania study it was found by careful testing th at where
the material being sprayed contained less than 1 per cent of lead
amounts recovered in air tests varied from 0.0134 to 0.245 milligrams
per liter. It was found also that in only three of the air t ests where
material containing over one-tenth of 1 per cent of lead was being
sprayed were the tests negative for lead. 15 Therefore, even small
amounts of lead in the air may constitute a menace to the health of
~ewITTk&.
·
Since the process of brushing dry enamel off the edges of metal is
dusty in the extreme and the dust is difficult to control, some precautions should b e taken to lessen the amount. In some plants th e table
tops were of wire mesh instead of solid material, which allowed the
enamel dust to fall through to containers underneath that were
emptied when necessary. In addition to wire-mesh tops, some tables
14 H amilton, Alice. Industrial Poisons in the United States.
N ew York. 1925, p. 1.
1& Commonwealt h of Pennsylvania. D epartment of Labor and Industry.
Spray Painting in Pennsylvania. Special Bul. No. 16, 1926, p . 96.


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14

EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN VITREOUS ENAMELING

were equipped with exhausts under the table and others had narrow
exhausts around the edges of the tables that pulled out the dust.
Of the 63 brushers who reported exhausts under or along the edges
of their tables, all but 7 considered the working of the exhausts satisfactory. The need for more tables equipped with exhausts or at
least with mesh tops was apparent, both from the dust visible at the
time of insp·e ctions of the plants and from the statements of the
women workers. If possible, a different method of removing the
superflous enamel, instead of the brushing process, seems desirable.
In three plants the brushing was done largely by power-driven
revolving brushes, which were equipped with hoods and exhausts to
pull out the dust. Considerable dust escaped, however, and came
back on the worker, because of the large surface brushed and the
small area covered by the hood. A hood with wide flares would be
better, if not too clumsy to work "\\-ith.
The brushers complained of dust everywhere, on clothing, face,
hair, and hands. One girl said, "I blow my nose or cough and what
comes is all green, or blue, or yellow, just like what I spray. It must
be bad to be like that inside of you." Because the brushing was done
almost entirely on sheet metal and the enamel used on this contained
very little lead or none at all, the exposure of the brushers to toxic
conditions was much less than that of the sprayers who sprayed cast
iron, the enamel for which in most cases contained lead. Many of the
plants visited were interested in the problem of eliminating at least
some of the dust from the brushing operation, and were planning to
install dust-removing equipment.
The cleaning problem of the brushers was quite unlike that of the
sprayers. Where the table tops were of wood there was no regular
time or method of cleaning them. As one woman said, "When the
dust gets too thick you brush it off." This brushing off would occasion little if any more dust than the regular brushing work. Where
the table tops were of wire-mesh construction, no cleaning was necessary beyond the emptying of the receptacle under the table. This
was done by men or, in about one-half the cases, by the women themselves. In the plants equipped with automatic brushes the exhaust
hood carried off much of the dust, but the hood needed occasional
cleaning out, and this work usually was done by the operator. None
of the methods used in cleaning the brushing equipment caused an
increase of dust above that ordinarily incurred in the work.
Personal protection.
Respirators.-The protection afforded by wearing a respirator while
working in air containing lead dust is considered by some authorities
an important safeguard for the worker. Sharpe, in his tests with
respirators, found that an efficient one would reduce the lead content
of air frorµ 232 milligrams per 10 cubic meters to between 11 and
12.4 milligrams, and the general findings of the study were "that even
if the respirator usually employed does not give complete protection
against lead in the atmosphere, it does offer some protection. * * *
Therefore we are inclined to feel that whenever material containing
over 1 per cent of lead is being sprayed, the man should wear a respirator unless he is working at a spray booth with very good exhaust
ventilation." 16
10

Ibid., p. 97.


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..........

Detter Enameli ng Photo

HAND BRUSHING THE EXCESS ENAMEL FROM SIGNS . TABLE HAS MESH TOP THAT
ALLOWS D UST TO FALL THROUGH TO CONTAINER BELOW


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l?LANT INTERVIEWS AND INSPECTIONS

15

From the above it would seem that respirators or masks should have
been worn by the sprayers in most of the establishments visited.
However, Doctor Hamilton, in a chapter on the prevention of industrial poisoning, says : "No apparatus, respirator, or Army mask,
through which a man can breathe with entire ease and comfort while
doing heavy work, will serve to hold back all the ~oisonous dust or
vapor in the air. If such a mask is really efficient, 1t will cause some
discomfort and difficulty to the wearer. This means that it is a
device for emergency use, not for use during 8 or 10 hours continuously, day in and day out, * * *." 17
The truth of this statement was confirmed both by the workers
who had worn them and by the managements who had supplied
them. One superintendent had been forced to take women off the
cast-iron spraying because they could not be made to wear their
respirators. The men were better about wearing them, but at tµe
time this plant was visited a number of the men were working with
their respirators around their necks instead of over their mouths and
noses. A very general practice among the women was expressed by
one woman, who said "He [the superintendent] told me to put on my
'muzzle,' but I took it off as soon as his back was turned."
In the light of the extreme difficulty of enforcing the rule it is not
surprising to find that only 5 of the 45 plants required the wearing of
masks or respirators. Only 1 woman in 15 reported the wearing of
respirators, and nearly a third of this group wore them only part of
the time. A larger proportion of women than this could have worn
respirators if they had wished to do so, as a number of plants supplied
them when desired, but as one girl said, "They have respirators for
us, but I feel better when I take mine off," and another reported, "I
could have had one, but didn't want it." In a plant where the enamel
used contained considerable lead the women had been taken off
spraying because, the superintendent said, "You just can't make
them wear respirators and they are always getting sick."
Dress coverings--aprons or coveralls.-There was an apparent need
of protection not only from the air breathed but from the dust that
settled on the face, hair, and clothing of the worker. This need was
realized _so far as covering for the clothe·s was concerned by eight
firms, which required that a,prons or covei;alls be worn by women.
In five of these establishments they' ·were furnished by the management, usually at cost, while in three the girls provided their own.
The other plants reporting as to uniforms 18 had no rules on the subject; it was left to the discretion of the individual worker, who generally was only a little more conscious of the need of protection from
the dust than was the management. Less than two-fifths of the
women interviewed reported wearing aprons or coveralls.
Head coverings.-Covering for the hair was considered necessary in
even fewer firms than was the wearing of uniforms; only 3 of the 45
plants had rules regarding the wearing of caps or head covering.
Notwithstanding this small proportion, one-third of the women interviewed wore some head covering. In both spraying and brushing
the clothes and hair of the workers became coated with dust, so co:vering of some sort was needed, Nevertheless, nearly two-thirds of the
brushers and almost three-fifths ofJ,he sprayers wore no head covering.
Hamilton, Alice. Industrial Poisons in the United States. New York. 1925, p. 538.
1s In 1 plant there was no record as to uniforms.

17


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16

EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN VITREOUS ENAMELING

Hand coverings.-Gloves were required for some operations by six
firms. In most cases they were provided by the management or
were sold at cost to the women. However, the gloves worn were to
protect the hands not from dust, but from the sharp edges of the
metal. Had they been worn as a protection against dust, it is doubtful wliether they would have served as a safeguard against lead poisoning. Absorption through the skin apparently is possible, but "its
practical importance in industry is slight compared with the importance of absorption through the inspired air or even absorption of lead
which is conveyed to the mouth on food or tobacco by handling it
with lead-smeared fingers." 19
On the whole, few precautions were taken to prevent dust from
permeating the skin, clothing, and hair of the worker.
SANITARY AND SERVICE FACILITIES

In any plant where the nature of the work is such that there is
considerable dust it is important that the facilities for drinking water
and for washing should be sufficient in number and satisfactory as to
equipment. When, as in the case of vitreous enameling, much of the
dust contains lead, sanitary drinking and washing facilities are of even
greater importance than in trades where less injurious dust occurs.
In summing up past experiences as to the means by which lead is
absorbed by the system, Doctor Hamilton declares that although the
most important entrance is through the nose and lungs-in other
words, through dust in the air breathed-it can, nevertheless, enter
through the mouth and even through the skin, and after such entrance
the distribution within the body is the same as when it is breathed
through the lungs exc~pt that the action is slower. However, leaded
dust absorbed through the mouth and carried thence to the gastrointestinal tract will have far less effect than will the same amount
entering through the lungs and going from there directly to the general circulation. "In chronic cases following the absorption of lead
by either route the distribution within the body does not differ, and
in both modes of absorption there is an almost complete selective
localization of lead in the bones.' ' This lead may lie stored in the
bones or may get into the blood stream. Through experiments on
animals carried on at Harvard between 1922 and 1924 it was found
that "the toxic effects are due not to deposits of lead at the site of
injury but rather to the 'lead stream'; that is, to the small concentration of soluble lead which is transported in the circulating blood." 20
Washing facilities.
As stated before, the danger of lead poisoning, although greatest
from particles in the air breathed, is present also when the worker
carries lead particles into his body with food or drink. Since this is
true, it is important that no food should be eaten without washing
the hands and that there should be a special room set aside where
meals may be eaten, free from the dust of the workroom. The
American Public Health Association gives the following three rules 21
which all employees exposed to lead should observe before eating:
Hamilton, Alice. Industrial Poisons in the United States. New York, 1925, pp. 4(}-41.
Ibid., pp. 40-41, 50, 51, 47.
a
Report of Committee on Lead Poisoning, presented to the industrial hygiene section of the American
Public Health Association, October, 1929. New York. 1930, p. 33.
19
20
21


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PLANT INTERVIEWS AND INSPECTIONS

17

1. Thoroughly dust or exchange the outer clothing, or place
clothing not subjected to workroom lead exposure over same.
2. Wash the hands and face thoroughly.
3. Clean the finger nails.

To remove dust from the hands thoroughly requires more than cold
water. Hot water, soap, individual towels, and, if possible, nail
brushes should be provided for the safety and comfort of the workers.
All these conveniences were not found in any one plant in the present
study, but 4 plants supplied hot water, soap, and towels, 2 hot water
and soap, 1 hot water and towels, and 8 hot water only. Thus, the
provision of hot water was reported for one-third of the plants. Five
plants supplied soap and towels but no hot water, 5 supplied soap
only, and 5 towels only. In 13 plants none of these facilities were
furnished, and for 2 the reports are incomplete. In many cases the
plant facilities were supplemented by towels and soap brought from
home by the workers.
Lunch-room provisions.
The places where the regular noon meal was eaten varied widely.
In the smaller towns some of the women went home, though in only
one establishment was their number considerable. A regular lunch
room was provided in 4 plants, and in 5 others there was a combination lunch, cloak, and wash room, equipped with tables and chairs.
In 15 plants the cloak room was designated as the place where lunch
usually was eaten, in 7 it was reported that the girls usually ate in
the workroom, while in a few places they ate in the office, the wash
room, or some in one place and some in another. From the women
themselves it was learned that they seldom ate in the workroom if
any other place was available, because it was "so dusty."
A rule prohibiting the eating of lunch in the workroom was found
in 7 enamel departments, although in only 1 plant was much care
taken by the management to enforce this regulation or the rule that
all must have clean hands before eating. In this enamel department
an inspector was appointed whose duty it was to see that the rules
were obeyed. Two plants had rules that lunches must be eaten in
the lunch room. In 8 of the 31 plants where there were no rules, the
girls ate in the lunch room.
It is not surprising, with so many plants failing to supply washing
equipment, that only seven firms were conscious enough of possible
risk to the worker to have rules that washing must be done before
food could be eaten. The women who were interviewed, however,
reported almost without exception that they always washed their
hands before the noon meal, though some of them added that an
apple, candy, or a sandwich frequently was eaten during the morning
while working in the spray booth or at the brushing table.
Drinking facilities.
Drinking facilities in the form of bubblers were provided in 34
of the 45 plants, but in only 2 were the bubblers of the sanitary type,
where the jet of water issues at an angle from the vertical and can
neither fall back nor be forced back on the point of discharge. In 1 of
these 2 plants there was an insanitary bubbler also. In 5 of the 11
factories without bubblers, cups were supplied by the workers;
common cups were used in 4, and in 2 there was no report as to who
furnished the cups,


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18

EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN VITREOUS ENAMELING

Cloak rooms.
The greater need in a dusty trade than in others of lunch rooms and
wash rooms is almost equally true of cloak rooms. It was necessary
in most enamel rooms for the workers to change their dresses and
shoes before beginning work, and to change back again at the end of
the day. Some provision for change of clothing was made in all the
plants visited . In only 4 cases was a separate cloak room supplied;
in the other 41, space wa.s provided in lunch room, wash room, toilet
compartment, or office. In 14 instances the cloak room and lunch
room were combined. This last would appear to be one of the least
satisfactory arrangements, on account of the dust from the work
clothes. As a rule, the women changed to work dresses or coveralls,
or else put on aprons over their dresses. The clothes in which they
worked usually were extremely dusty from the enamel, and closed
lockers in which to keep them were provided in nearly two-thirds of
the plants visited. In the remaining third wall hooks were the usual
provision, but one furnished racks and one made no provision, the
wraps being hung in the workroom. The need for adequate provision
to care for dusty clothes is very apparent in the vitreous-enamel industry, and that this need was realized is clear from the fact that the
great majority of firms supplied lockers and that only one firm made
no provision for wraps. Increased cloak-room facilities are desirable,
however, as in only 4 plants were special rooms provided where
clothes could be chs,nged and wraps could be kept.
Rest rooms.
The work of both spraying and brushing is very steady and is
carried on under conditions of considerable heat, especially during the
summer months. There is, therefore, marked need for a rest room,
or if space does not allow of this there should be at least a cot in a cloak
room where a worker may lie down if necessary. Few plants, only 6
in all, had any such provision, and in only one of these was there a
separate rest room. In the other 5 different provisions were made:
One had a cot in a :first-aid room and the others a cot or sofa in the
cloak room, lunch room, or toilet room. In 39 factories, if a girl fainted
or was taken ill, she was laid on the floor until she felt better or could
be taken home.
Toilet facilities.
In the majority of the plants visited toilet facilities were sufficient
in number and in good condition. Only five were reported in poor
repair. Eight wer e unsatisfactory as to cleanliness, and in 11 plants
the method of cleaning was unsatisfactory, as it was done by the workers themselves instead of by a matron or by a janitor after hours.
On the whole, the provisions for toilet facilities were more adequate ·
and in better condition than were the washing arrangements and
other service facilities.
ENAMELING-PLANT BUILDINGS
Type.
Since the enameling industry is a comparatively new one, many of
the buildings and rooms in which the enamel work was done had been
built or at least remodeled for the needs of the industry. Most of the
departments were in I-story buildings. To assist in ventilation the


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PLANT INTERVIEWS AND INSPECTIONS

19

buildings had high ceilings as a rule, with a skylight of some type
that could be opened so as to allow the heat and dust to escape and to
give free access to light and air. Many of the skylights were of the
monitor type, which gave added height to the ceiling in the center of
the room. Four-fifths of the enamel rooms visited had a high point of
20 feet, according to the estimate of the superintendent of the plant
and the agent of the Women's Bureau, and a low point of probably 15
feet or over. In only four rooms was the ceiling distinctly low,
approximately 12 feet at its lowest point, as judged by a rough
estjmate.
Certain general conditions of equipment and plant housekeeping
affect all workers in a d~partment regardless of their particular occupation, whether spraying, brushing, graining, or hanging on the conveyor
line. No matter what the work, if a woman stands or walks all day,
the material of the floor is important. A floor made of cement,
although satisfactory from the viewpoint of cleanliness and of trucking, is not equally so for the feet of the person standing on it throughout the day. Of the 45 enamel rooms, 31 had cement floors and in only
7 of these were wooden platforms provided for the workers to stand on.
The floors in the majority of the workrooms were in good repair and
clean, considering the dustiness of the work. Cleaning was done
usually by sprinkling damp sawdust on the floor and then sweeping.
This method prevented the flying of the dust, which would have been
bad for the enamel ware and for the workers. Men did the sweeping
that was carried on during working hours.
Heating.
The importance of special heating equipment varies with the locality
of the plant and the type of work performed in it. In a clothing
factory in the South, for example, artificial heat is not so necessary as
in a clothing factory in the North; in a machine sh.op where small
parts are inspected the need of artificial heat is greater than in a laundry, where the industry itself contributes warmth.
As the enamel rooms studied were in the North, there was need of
some artificial heat, though the ovens and drying equipment supplied
considerable warmth to many of the workers. For others the heat
from these was inadequate in winter, as the rooms usually were large,
with high ceilings, and the women working at some distance from the
ovens profited little by their heat. Special heating equipment for
the greater comfor t of the workers was found in 27 enamel rooms, but
in 16 no heat was furnished except that created by the operating of the
industry.
Lighting.
In the majority of cases both natural lighting and artificial lighting
were good. Neither spraying nor brushing requires the close watching essential in machine stitching or fine assembling of small parts,
but sufficient light is necessary to insure the even spread of the enamel
in spraying and care as to the exact line in brushing. The principal
failure in natural lighting was its inadequacy through.out in eight
plants and its insufficiency in parts of seven plants. In the case of
artificial lighting, the amount nearly always was sufficient, but in 15
plants there was glare for some of the workers, especially for those
working in the spray booths.


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20

EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN VI'rREOUS ENAMELING

General ventilation.
The facilities for natural ventilation of the workroom by means of
windows, doors, and skylights were noted, and also any artificial
means, such as electric fans or wall exhausts. In addition to this
information regarding the means of ventilation its adequacy from the
standpoint of the woman who works every day in the plant was
judged by the agent who made the survey. Ventjlation, usually by
means of windows on two or more sides and with a skylight of the
monitor type, appeared to be excellent or good. throughout in 23 of
the enamel departments.
In 18 plants the dust and heat were such as to make the report
"poor" or "bad," and in 1 the conditions were described as fair.
Three plants were not running, so no report of these could be made.
In 4 plants, in addition to the 23 described as satisfactory throughout, conditions were good in some rooms and not in others.
Artificial venWation, usually wall exhausts or exhaust pipes at the
feed and take-off ends of the dryer or continuous ovens, was found in
13 establishments. These exhausts seemed to be effective in 6 departments and partially so in 3 others. In a few plants there were
fans in some parts of the workrooms, but these could not be very near
the workers because of the dust.
In a plant that was visited but not included in the survey because
no women were employed the ventilation on a warm day in summer
was such as to make the temperature comfortable. This room was
eqwpped with an overhead carrier system through which cool air was
forced. The vents were at such an angle that no air blew on the
workers, and in spite of the fact that the ovens and dryers were in
operation the room was cool.


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INTERVIEWS WITH WOMEN IN THE INDUSTRY
In this study of women employed in vitreous enamel workrooms the
personal interviews with the women throw much light on the conditions under which they worked and the effect on their physical wellbeing. A total of 686 women from 39 of the establishments included
in the study were visited in their homes. This is an average of between 17 and 18 women per plant, but the number varied from 1 of
the 5 women employed in one establishment to 53 of the 69 employed
in another. This variation was caused. partly by the number in the
plant and partly by the inability to locate women who had moved,
but the findings of the interviews also were taken into consideration.
Thus, all the women were visited who were employed in plants where
the enamel was known to contain lead, but only a limited number of
visits were made, unless suspicious symptoms were reported by the
women, where no lead was reported by the employing company or
the lead content was not lmown.
Occupation.
As noted previously, the two major woman-employing occupations
in the enamel room are spraying and brushing, and more than threefourths of the women visited were thus employed. Although the
women brushers were the largest group in the 45 plants, the proportion of brushers visited in their homes was not so great as that of
sprayers. This was the case for two reasons: (1) The brushers were
a less skilled group than the sprayers and as a rule received less pay,
so that their turnover was considerably higher and addresses were
less reliable; (2) the brushers worked on sheet metal to a much greater
extent than did the sprayers, and the enamel for this generally contained little or no lead. Since the enamel for cast iron, on which
many of the sprayers were employed, usually was a lead enamel, as
many sprayers as possible were visited.
Women other than sprayers and brushers constituted only 22 per
cent of all who were interviewed. The 686 women were distributed by occupation as follows: Brushers,
297; sprayers, 239; dippers, 44; grainers and patchers, 32; others 72.
Age and occupation.
To quote from Doctor Hamilton: "The younger the patient the
smaller the dose is the rule in medical practice with, of course, some
striking exceptions. Since we know of no such exceptions among the
industrial poisons, it is safe to conclude that boys and girls are more
susceptible to them than are grown people." In some countries certain occupations with seemingly slight exposure, such as sweeping
out the floor of a printing shop (in Norway) or working in the stereotype department (in Denmark), are forbidden to young persons. 1
In the present study the proportion of the 685 women reporting
their age who were under 20 years was a little over one-fourth (26.6
·p er cent). This was about the same per cent as was found in cotton
1 Jfamilton.

Alice. Industrial Poisons in the United States. New York, 1925, p. 12.

21


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EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN VITREOUS ENAMELING

mills in a study made by the Women's Bureau (27 .5 per cent) and a
lower proportion than was shown for women in varied industries as
reported in State studies of Illinois and New Jersey, where the women
under 20 were in each case 32.2 per cent of the total. 2
T A BLE

2.-Age, by occupation
686 vitreous enam el workers
Total reporting age

Occupation

Under 20
years

20 and under
30·years

30 years and
over

N um- P er
ber
cent

Num- P er
ber
cent

Total
Num- P er
ber
cent

---

Number

P er
cent

- -- ---- -- -

- --

TotaL ______________ _____ _____ __

686

685

100.0

182

26. 6

355

51. 8

148

21. 6

Spraying __ ______ _____ __ _____ _-- ____ __

239
297
44
34

239
296
44
34
72

100. 0

60
91

25. 1
30. 7

135
146

56. 5
49. 3

44

18. 4

t~~~~~~~
====patching
====== ===___
====
==== =
====
==
Graining =
and
_____
____
__
_
Other __ ___ ____ ____ __________________ _
1

72

100.0
(')
(')

100. 0

9 - --- - -6

16

22. 2

22

16 --- ---36 50. 0

59
19. 9
13 -- - ---12 - -- - - -20
27.8

Not computed ; base less than 50.

The largest group of women working with vitreous enamel were 20
and less than 30 years of age (51.8 per cent). This is a much higher
per cent than was found in the two State studies, where the per cent
was 40 .8 in one and 39.8 in the other, and an even greater contrast
to that in cotton manufacturing, where only 34. 7 per cent were 20 and
less than 30 years of age.
Two of the groups together include the women who, according t o
Sir Thomas Oliver, are most susceptible to lead poisoning, namely,
those from 18 to 23 years.3 T he proportion of older women, those of
30 years of age or more, was lower in the vitreous enamel industry
than in general industry or in cotton mills, · according to findings in
the surveys above mentioned.
Within the occupational divisions of the enamel industry a larger
proportion of the women employed in brushing than of those in spraying were under 20 years. This would naturally be the case where the
job, as in· brushing, requires but little skill. Among those 30 years
of age or older the proportions spraying and brushing were more nearly
alike, 18.4 per cent and 19.9 per cent, respectively. In the occupations
other than spraying and brushing considerably larger proportions of
the women were at least 30 years of age. (For greater detail see
Table I in the Appendix.)
Marital status.
It is not surprising to find the proportion of married women
unusually large in ·the enamel industry, where more than one-half of
the women were between the ages of 20 and 30 years. Over two-fifths
(43.4 per cent) of the women were married. This is a larger proportion
than · that· found in cotton mills, where the per cent was unusually
high (40), and a much greater proportion than in all industries in the
2 U. S. D epartment of Labor. Women's Bureau. Lost Time and Labor Turnover in Cotton Mills,
Bul. 52, 1926, p. 26; Women in Illinoi~ Ind!lstries, Bul. 51, 1926, p. 9; and Women in New Jersey Industries,
.
.
Bul. 37, 1924, p . 8.
a Oliver, Thomas. Dangerous Trades. London, 1902, p. 296.


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INTERVIEWS WITH WOMEN IN THE INDUSTRY

two State studies referred to, Illinois and New ,Jersey.4 The widowed,
separated, and divorced women were less than 10 per cent (8.6) of
the total, and the single women a little less than one-half (48 per cent).
3.-Marital status, by occupation

T A BLE

686 v itreous enamel workers reporting m arital status
Widowed, separated, or divorced

Married

Single

T otal

Occupation

j

Number
Total ___ ___ ____________
Spraying_____ ___________ ___ __
Brushing ___________ __ ___ _____
Dipping __ ___ ___ __ ________ ____
Graining and patching •. . ....
Other ________________________
1

P er
cent

Number

P er
cent

Number

P er
cent

N umber

Per
cent

I

686

100. 0

329

48. 0

298

43. 4

59

8. 6

239
297
44
34
72

100.0
100. 0

116

48. 5
47. 5

99
136

41.4
45.8

24
20

10.0l
6. 'l

~I)
1)

100. 0

141

19

15
38

--------52. 8

24

14
25

--------34. 7

1
5
9

---------

12. 5,

Not computed; base less than 50.

The largest proportion of married women in any single occupation,
45.8 per cent, was in the brushing group, though spraying, with 41.4
per cent, followed closely. Brushing is the dustiest job, but the,
exposure to dust containing lead is considerably less than in spraying;..
In addition to the injurious effects of lead on the women themselves
the danger to future generations is great. Although the percentage
of married women was high among those included in the st.udy, some
were beyond the child-bearing age and some had been married only a.
few months. Of the 157 women who bad been married either before
or during the time in which they worked in the enamel ·r ooms, who
had worked there for one year or longer, and who had been married
for at least a year, 114 (72.6 per cent) reported no children. Only 41
(26.1 per cent) reported living children born since their first employment in enamel work. In 2 cases mothers reported the birth of
children who lived but a short time. In addition to these 157 ther~
were 7 women, some of whom had worked in enamel less than one'
year, and who had been married less than one year, who rep~ted a
miscarriage. Of the total 164 women whose maternal histories were
reported, three-tenths (30.5 per cent) had become pregnant during ov
subsequent to the time of their employment in enamel work,. 8d'ld of
these pregnancies about 1 in 7 {14 per cent) had resulted fu.. miscarriages.
·
In considering these figures it must be remembered that a,}:though.
the majority of women worked in dust having a lead conten•t ,. the11~
were some who worked in shops or workrooms where a leadless enamel
was used, and therefore the entire group of 164 women may not have
been exposed to the effects of lead. It is probable, however,. that thei
majority of the women had been exposed to some lead cfust, the
amount varying with the kind of enamel and the character of the
work. This statement is based on the fact that all the women: were
'U. S. Department of Labor. Women's Bureau. Lost Time and Labor Turnover fn C ot t orr Mulls,.
Bui. No. 52, p . 148; Women in Illinois Industries, Bui. No. 51, p . 9; and Womeu. in. New. lerooxIndustries, Bul. No. 37, p . 65.

129091°-32--3


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24

EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN VITREOUS ENAMELING

visited who were employed in plants where the enamel was known to
contain lead, but only a limited number of visits were m~de, unless
suspicious symptoms were reported by the women, where no lead was
reported by the employing company or the lead content was not
known.
Of a group of women in England, fact~ concerning whom were
obtained from the reports of 11 factory inspectors, it was found that
from 212 pregnancies among 77 married women lead workers only 61
living children resulted. 5 Figures showing the worse effects on the
offspring of women who worked with lead after marriage as compared
with those working with it before marriage are quoted by Sir Thomas
Oliver. The number of miscarriages and stillbirths among 100 women
were 86 where women worked in lead before marriage and 135.5 where
they worked in lead after marriage, as compared with 43.2 for those
mothers engaged in housework. The deaths of infants under 1 year
were .157 per 1,000 of the infants born to mothers engaged in lead
work before marriage and 271 per 1,000 of the infants born to mothers
engaged in lead work after marriage. 6
Not only is the infant mortality rate very high, but the children of
leaded mothers who do survive are less strong than the children of
mothers free from lead, according to Prendergast (British Medical
Journal, May, 1910), who had a large experience in the English
pottery towns.
Symptoms of lead poisoning are often confused with those of other
diseases, and for this reason progress in combating the condition has
been much delayed. According to Linenthal (Early Diagnosis of
Lead Poisonjng, in Kober and Hanson's Diseases of Occupation and
Vocational Hygiene), "The symptoms of early plumbism are not well
defined, yet there is a group of symptoms which, when not open to
explanation on any other basis, must, when a history of exposure to
contact with lead has been obtained, be taken as evidence of early
lead poison." Doctor Hamilton makes the following statement:
"The diagnosis of lead poisoning can not be based upon any one
clinical finding, nor upon an entirely typical symptom complex, but
rather must depend upon a more or less varying group of subjective
symptoms together with one or more objective signs occurring in a
person whose occupation is known to involve exposure to lead." Dr.
Wade Wright found that many of the symptoms in the early stages
of lead poison were common to other complaints and that subjective
feelings were very important in making a diagnosis. 7 Naegeli says
that too little emphasis has been laid on the variability of lead poisoning, on the fact that many cases are monosymptomatic, and the
diagnosis must depend not on objective findings but on the word of ·
the patient . . (Blutkrankheiten u. Blutdiagnostik, Berlin, 1919.)

THE PRESENCE OF SYMPTOMS
According to Dr. Marvin D. Shie, of the United States Public
Health Service (Industrial Lead Poisoning, Journal of American Medical Society, March, 1921), who has examined more than 900 lead workers,
5

Legge, Thomas M. Industrial Lead Poisoning. In Journal of H ygiene, Cambridge, January, 1901,

p . 104.
6

Oliver, Thomas. A Lecture on Lead Poisoning and the Race. In the British Medical Journal, 1911,

p. 1096.
7

Hamilton, Alice. Industrial Poisons in the United States. New York, 1925, pp. 94, 104.


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INTERVIEWS WITH WOMEN IN THE INDUSTRY

25

symptoms to be looked for in lead workers are pallor, muscular weakness, headaches, general asthenia, anorexia, especially for breakfast,
constipation, rheumatism, muscular tenderness, abdominal pains, and
nervousness. In a report by the Public Health Service of lead poisoning in the pottery trades the preliminary symptoms of lead poisoning
termed "suggestive" coincide with practically all o_f 12 symptoms
given by Doctor Hamilton to the agents of the Women's Bureau for
securing facts regarding symptoms in this study: Indigestion, headache, constipation, loss of morning appetite, loss of weight, metallic or
sweet taste in mouth, nervousness, menstrual disturbance, dizziness,
pains in joints, tremors, and loss of sleep.
Among the women who were visited in their homes and who reported
on symptoms, 3 in IO reported one or more of the foregoing suggestive
symptoms as occurring during the period in which they worked on
enamel. About one-third of these women reported only a single
symptom, but more than one-fourth reported five or more. (See
Table II in the Appendix.) This is a large proportion of women
reporting five or more suggestive symptoms, compared with only 1
of a group of 72 leaded persons reported by Apfelbach as suffering
from six of the cardinal symptoms. These cardinal symptoms as
listed by him are colic, constipation, pallor and anemia, blue line,
stippled cells, and tremor. 8
Kind of enamel and the metal worked upon.
As each plant was visited questions were asked the management
as to the lead content of the principal vitreous enamels used in coating the metal surfaces. In the majority of cases it was not possible
to obtain an answer to this question. Either the enamel was bought
already fritted from another company or it was made at another plant
in their own organization, or if made on the premises the amount of
lead in the frit was known but not the amount of soluble lead after it
was fritted. Samples from many of the plants were sent to the
Women's Bureau for analysis by the United States Bureau of Standards, which gave its service in the making of these tests.
According to the findings of the Bureau of Standards on the soluble lead content for the enamels used, and the statements of the other
firms that lead was used in some of the principal enamels, approximately three-fourths of the women were employed in plants that used
lead enamel. .Twelve plants reported no lead in the enamels on which
women were working and eight reported no lead in the principal
enamels used in their enamel department, whether the work was on
sheet or cast iron. Six of these eight fritted their own enamel and
two bought it from a firm that makes a specialty of a leadless cast-iron
enamel. The absence of lead symptoms reported in the home interviews with the women in these eight plants confirmed in most cases
the statements of the managements.
In the following summary the number of women engaged in plants
in which lead was known to be present, and in plants in which the
report was negative or the presence of lead was not reported, is
correlated with the number of symptoms reported.
s Apfelbach, George L. The Early Diagnosis of Lead Poisoning. In American Journal of the Medical
Sciences, December, 1918, vol. 156, p. 783.


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26

EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN VITREOUS ENAMELING

Presence of lead in enamel

Women with 1 or Women with 5 or
Women
more symptoms
more symptoms
reporting
on
whether
or not
they had Number Per cent Number Per centl
symptoms

Total __________ ____ ___ ___ __ _----- - ---- __ -- ____

670

2

198

29. 6

53

3

7. 9

Lead in enameL ___________ __________ ____ ______ _____
No lead or unknown _______________ _____ ___ _________

490
180

2

154

31. 4
24. 4

43

3

8. 8
5. 6

44

10

1 Per cent based on total reporting on sympt oms.
.
.
2 Includes 4 women who reported symptoms but not specified number-2 less than 5, 2 not reported.
a 2 women not reporting as to 5 or more are excluded from base.

From the foregoing figures it will be seen that of the women who
reported on symptoms in plants using a lead enamel 31 per cent stated
that they had one or more symptoms and nearly 9 per cent that they
had five or more, while in plants reporting negatively or not at all
the proportion was less than 25 per cent with one or more symptoms
and 5.6 per cent with five or more. Although these differences are
not so great as might be expected, they are significant, and probably
would have been greater h ad there been no unknown combined with
the report of no lead in the enamels. (For further details see Table II
in the Appendix.)
T here was considerable variety in the flants visited in the extent
to which parts were made of sheet meta or of cast iron, and there
appeared to be an increasing tendency to make the entire stove of
sheet metal with the exception of the grids. This would result
eventually in the elimination or marked decrease of the exposure to
lead, since sheet-metal enamels contain little or no lead.
The women interviewed generally knew whether they worked on
cast iron, sheet iron, or both cast and sheet iron. It was found that
the proportion of women with one or more symptoms was almost onehalf (48.6 per cent) for the women working on cast iron, much higher
than for those working on sheet metal. As many as 21 per cent of
the women working on cast iron reported five or more symptoms,
compared to less than 5 per cent of the women working on sheet
metal.

Metal worked upon

Cast iron 1_ _ ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ __ _ _ __ __ ___ _ _ _ __ ____
Sheet iron __ __ ____ __ ____ __ __________________________
1

2

Women with 1 or
Women with 5 or
Women
more symptoms
more symptoms
reporting
on
whether
or not
they had Number Per cent Number P er cent
symptoms

--138
532

67
131

48. 6
24.6

29
24

21.0
2

4. 5

Includes those working part of the time on cast iron and part on sheet iron.
2 women not reporting as to 5 or more are excluded from base.

Sprayers and brushers.
The percentage of women reporting that they had symptoms was
considerably higher among the sprayers than among the brushers.
Almost two-fifths (38.2 per cent) of the sprayers reported one or more
symptoms and about one-eighth (13 .7 per cent) reported five or more.


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INTERVIEWS WITH WOMEN IN THE INDUSTRY

The fact that the work of the brushers, although dustier than that of
the sprayers, was less likely to involve use of enamel containing lead,
was shown in the lower proportion of brushers reporting one or more
symptoms. Less than one-fourth (24.7 per cent) of the brushers
reported one or more symptoms, and only about one-twentieth (5.5
per cent) reported five or more. "When the number of women reporting symptoms is divided into the aggregate of all symptomsreported,
it appears that sprayers averaged 4.1 symptoms per woman where
the plant used a lead enamel and 2.9 symptoms per woman where there
was no lead or it was unknown. For the brushers, however, the
~orresponding averages are 3 and 3 .1.
Women with 5 or
Women
Women with 1 or
reporting
more symptoms
more symptoms
on
whether
or not
they had Number P er cent Number P er cent 1
symptoms

Occupational group

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 - - - - - 1 1 -- - - - - - --- - - Sprayers _____ ___ ______ _____ ____ __ __________ ___ ___ __ _
Brushers ____ ___ __ ____ __ __ _____ ______ _____ ____ _____ _
t
2

233
291

89
72

38. 2
24. 7

13. 7
5.5

32
16

2

Per cent based on total number.
2 women not reporting as to 5 or more are excluded from base.

The higher percentage of sprayers th an of brushers reporting
suspicious symptoms was due largely, without doubt, to the difference in the kind of iron worked on. This is clearly shown by the
proportion of the sprayers, nearly two-fifths, and of the brushers, less
than one-tenth, who worked all or part of their time on cast iron.
Furthermore, when the total number of symptoms is averaged among
the women reporting them, it is found that they average 5 symptoms
per sprayer working on cast iron and only 2.7 per sprayer working on
sheet iron, and they average 3.7 symptoms per brusher working on
cast iron and only 2.8 per brusher working on sheet iron.

Occupational group

Women reporting
on whether or
not they had
symptoms

Women with one
or more symptoms

Women with 5
or more symptoms

Number Per cent Number P er cent Number P er cent

--Sprayers _______ ____ ___ __ ________ __ ___ ____ _

233

100.0

89

100.0

32

(1)

Working on cast iron ___ __ _________ ____
Working on sheet iron __ ________ _____ _

91
142

39.1
60. 9

48
41

53.9
46.1

24

8

---- ---------------

Brushers ________ __ __ _____ -- _- _- -_-_______ _

291

100.0

72

100.0

16

(1)

Working on cast iron __ _______ _.__ __ ___ _
Working on sheet iron _______ _____ ___ _

'l:l
264

9. 3
90. 7

13
59

18.1
81. 9

1

4 ---------12 --- ------ -

Not computed; base less than 50.

Other occupations.
The other occupational groups were composed of fewer women.
The summary following shows the number in each group reporting
on symptoms, the number reporting one or more, and the number rep orting five or more.


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28

EMPLOYMEN'l' OF WOMEN I N VITREOUS ENAMELING

Women Women with 1 or Women with 5 or
more symptoms
more symptoms
reporting Oil
whether
or not
they had Number Per cent Number Per cent
sympt oms

Occupational group

D ippers ____ _____ ________________ ------- __ - -_-- -- -- _
Grainers and patchers __ ____ __________ ___ ___ ___ ____ _
Other occupations __________ __ ______________ ________
1
2

41
34
71

10
10

17

(1)
(1)
23. 9

2

2
2

1

(I~
(1
2].

4

P er cent not computed; base less than 50.
Per cent based on total number reporting whether or not they had symptoms.

As will be seen from the foregoing, the proportion reporting one or
more symptoms in this residual group is about one-fourth . This is
about the same proportion as was found for the brushers, and a considerably smaller one than for the sprayers. Only 1 of 71 reported 5
or more symptoms.
Types and frequency of symptoms.
Doctor Hamilton has already been quoted as saying that "the
diagnosis of lead poisoning can not be based upon any one clinical
finding," and Naegeli declares that "too little emphasis _has been laid
on the variability of lead poisoning, on the fact that many cases are
'monosymptomatic ' and the diagnosis must depend not on objective
findings but on the word of the patient." As explained previously,
the findings of the Women's Bureau in this study have been based
on the word of the patient as to her symptoms. Although about
two-thirds of the women reporting number of symptoms had more
than one, the relative frequency of the specific symptoms varied
considerably.
198 women reporting 1 or more

Symptom

symptoms

Number Per cent
---_
Loss of weight.
Headache.
_______--__ __- .-----------------_. _________________
M etallic or sweet taste _____ ____ ___ ______ _
Indigestion ___ ----------------- ------ ---Menstrual
disturbance _______ _____ ______ _
BE1
~~l~~!t==========================
~
;f~ ~j~
Tremors
__ __ts:~======================
_____ _________ _____ _______ ===
__ _
0

Loss of sleep _____ _____ __ _____ ______ ---- --

87
82
79
70

49. 5
43.9
41.4
39.9
35.4

65
55
43

21. 7

98

32. 8
27. 8

28

14.1

23

11.6

19
18

9.6
9. 1

The foregoing summary gives some idea of the frequency of the
various symptoms among the 198 women who reported one or more.
Loss of weight, headache, metallic or sweet taste, indigestion, loss of
appetite, and constipation were reported in one-third to one-half of
the cases, while the three symptoms reported least often, in about 10
per cent of the cases, were pains in joints, tremors, and loss of sleep .
Constipation, although sixth in rank in the list, shows less than its
real prevalence because of the fact that often this trouble had occurred before as well as during the enamel period, and in such cases


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INTERVIEWS WITH WOMEN IN THE INDUSTRY

29

it was not listed as a symptom occurring during the enamel period of
employment. (For details see Tables IV and Vin the Appendix.)
In no case was the percentage reporting any single symptom as
high as was found by Naegeli, who in 200 cases of lead poisoning found
constipation present in 90 per cent and colic in 89.5 per cent. These
percentages showing constipation were higher than that found by
Apfelbach in his series of 72 cases, where constipation was the most
frequent symptom, occurring in 81.9 per cent of the cases. Both
these examples, however, were among established cases of poisoning,
while the women in the present study were given no physical examination, and the symptoms here recorded are those reported by the
women themselves that would be classed under the United States Public
Health Service term "suspicious symptoms" when combined with
exposure to lead.
In this study no one symptom was reported by the women so frequently as in the studies of Naegeli and Apfelbach, quoted above,
but the number of women reporting three or more symptoms was high.
Of the women reporting number of symptoms, a little more than onehalf had three or more; and of these cases, loss ·of weight, indigestion,and metallic or sweet taste were the three occurring most.frequently.

Symptom

104 women reporting 3 or more
symptoms
Number Per cent

Loss of weight __________________________ _
Indigestion ___ __ ______ _______ ______ ______ _
Metallic or sweet taste __ __ __________ ___ ___
H eadache ___ ______ _______ ______ _______ __ _
Loss of appetite _______ ____ __ ________ ____ _

67
66
61
60
59
58

gy:1~~~t-i~~=============================
Menstrual disturbance __ _______ _____ ____ _

49

~:r:s

24
19
18
18

0

rix;~is:======
=================_
Tremors
______ __ ______===
__________________
Loss of sleep __ _____ ____________ __ _______ _

33

6l 7
64. 7
59. 8
58. 8
57. 8
56. 9
48. 0
32. 4
23. 5
18. 6
17. 6
17. 6

A very marked difference was found between the percentage of
sprayers and the percentage of brushers reporting three or more
symptoms. About one-fourth (24.1 per cent) of the sprayers, in contrast to a little over one-tenth (11.1 per cent) of the brushers, reported
three or more symptoms. These percentages confirm the findings in
the other correlations of symptoms and show the result of the greater
exposure of the sprayers to lead in the enamels with which they work.
There was considerable difference in the relative frequency of
certain symptoms among the sprayers and among the brushers.
The proportions having constipation, indigestion, nervousness,
menstrual disturbance, metallic or sweet taste, and loss of appetite
were much larger among the sprayers than among the brushers.
The only two symptoms more common among brushers than among
sprayers were loss of weight and headache, which greatly outranked
all others among the women engaged in brushing. Among the
sprayers, on the other hand, indigestion, metallic or sweet· taste, and
loss of weight, in the order named, were reported most frequently.


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EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN VITREOUS ENAMELING

(For comparisons of other occupations see Tables IV and V in the
Appendix.)

Symptom

89 sprayers reporting 1 or more
symptoms

72 brushers reporting 1 or more

symptoms

Number Per cent Number Per cent
Loss of weight_ ___ ___ ______ ________________ __ ___ ____ _____ ______ _
Headache _____ ________ _________ ___ __ ______ ____ ____ __ ________ ___
Metallic or sweet taste __ ____________ ____ _____ ____ __ ___ _____ ___ _
Indigestion ___ _____ _______ ____ _____ __________ ____________ _____ __
Loss
of appetite_----------- ----------------------------_____ __
Constipation
______ __________________
______ ______ ________ ______
Dizziness __ ___ _____________ _________ _____________ ____________ ___
Menstrual disturbance _________ ------ --- -- --- _____________ ____ _

43
39

44
47
37

38

27
26
15

0

13
10
10

r:f:s ~j~:ts::= === ============== ======== ============= == ======
Tremors _____ ___________ -- -- --- -------- -------- _------ ---_-- __ _
Loss of sleep ____ _________ __ -- __ -- __ ---- -- __ -- -- _--- -- -- _--- __ --

48.3
43. 8
49.4
52. 8
41. 6
42. 7
30. 3
29. 2
16. 9
14. 6
11. 2
11. 2

36
35

23
22
25
17
19
13
8
8
5
5

50.0

48. 6

31.9
30. 6

34. 7
23. 6
26. 4
18. 1
11. 1
11. 1

6. 9
6. 9

As indicated previously, the percentage of women reporting symp, toms was much higher among cast-iron than among sheet-iron workers. The 'difference is equally striking when specific symptoms are
considered.
67

Symptom

cast-iron workers reporting 1 or
more symptoms

131 sheet-iron workers reporting 1 or

more symptoms

Number Per cent Number Per cent
Indigestion ___ ____ ____ __ _____ ______________ _____ __ _____________ _
Metallic or sweet taste __ ______ ____ _____ _____ __ _____ ___________ _
Constipation ________ ________ ___ _________ ________ __ ____________ _

43
37

~~~sd~~;ee_i~~t_-::=
===
===
======================================
ti!:i~~petite
____
___
__=·=
______________________________________
_

33

Menstrual disturbance ___ ___ ___________ ____________________ __ __
0

r:f:s
:j~ts:========================
================= ===
==~=_
Tremors
___ _________ _________________ ___________________
______
Loss of sleep __ ___ --- _____ -- _-- ________ ------------------ _-___ __

33
33
29
25
17
16
13
11
10

64. 2
55. 2
49.3

36
45
32
65
54
41

37. 3
25. 4

30
26
12
10

49. 3
49. 3
43. 3
23.9

19.4
16.4
14. 9

8
8

27. 5
34. 4
24. 4
49. 6
41. 2
31.3
22. 9
19. 8
9. 2
7. 6
6.1
6.1

For all these symptoms but one the proportion of women affected
is higher in the group working on cast iron than in the group working
on sheet iron, the differences in per cents ranging from 5.6 to 36. 7
points. The one exception is loss of weight, the symptom reported
most frequently by the brushers. The most important symptomsthat is, those occurring most frequently-among women working on
cast-iron enamel were indigestion, metallic or sweet taste, and (third
in rank and of equal importance) constipation, loss of weight, and
headache, followed by loss of appetite. For women working on sheetiron enamel the same 6 symptoms were the most important though
not in the same sequence. All but one of these symptoms-loss of
weight-showed a much lower percentage for sheet-iron than for castiron enamel workers. (For further detail see Table Vin the Appendix.)
According to Walko, who studied 43 cases of acute gastric plumbism in a hospital in Prague (Die Erkrankungen des Magens bei der
chronischen Bleivergiftung, Munchen med. Wehnschr. 1907), the
symptoms first observed are loss of appetite, metallic taste, nausea,


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31

INTERVIEWS WITH WOMEN IN THE INDUSTRY

vomiting, constipation, and pain in the region of the umbilicus. Three
of these symptoms-loss of appetite, constipation, and metallic taste-were reported by two-fifths to well over one-half of the women working on cast iron, but by veJl':Y much less propor tions of the women
working on sheet iron.
Symptoms and length of service.
Owing to the well-attested fact of considerable differences in susceptibility of individuals to lead poison, it is not surprising to find in
the summaries next presented ~de differences that only X, or the unknown quantity of susceptibility, can account for. This varying
degree of individual susceptibility is shown by the very wide differences in the length of service reported by the women with one or more
symptoms. At the two extremes of length of service were approximately the same number of women who reported symptoms, 10
women who had worked less than a month-4 less than two weeksand 9 with from 5 to 10 years' experience. (See Table VII in the
Appendix.)
664 women reporting length of service
and whether or not they had symptoms
Length of service

Total women

Women with
symptoms

Number Per cent Number Per cent
100.0
TotaL _______ ____ _____ --- -- ------- -- ----- -- -- -----------664
196
t - - - t - - - - + -Less than 1 year___ ___ ____________ ___ _________ ______________ ____t - - 345
52.0
99
1 and less than 2 years ____ ________ _____ ___ ____ _____ __ ____ __ __ ___
115
17. 3
39
2 and less than 3 years _____ _______ _____ ___ ____ _____________ ____ _
58
8. 7
13
3 and less than 4 years ____ ___ ___ __________ ______ ___ ____________ _
9.5
63
22
4 and less than 5 years ____ ___ ____ ____ ______ __ ______ ____________ _
5. 3
35
14
5 years and over __________ ___ ____ __ _______ ______------ ----- --- __
48
7.2
9

100.0
--

50.5
19. 9

6.6
11.2
7.1
4.6

Perhaps the most striking fact in the foregoing summary is that onehalf (50.5 per cent) of the women· reporting symptoms had been employed ·in the industry less than a year. T his proportion reporting
symptoms after less than a year's experience is almost equal to the
proportion with less than a year's experience among all the 664 (52
per cent) . It is much higher than was found by Tanqueral in a study
of 112 cases of palsy caused by lead exposure. (Lead Diseases, translated by Samuel L. D ana, 1850.) He found only 19.6 per cent of the
casecs to have had less than a year's experience, but all his cases were
advanced enough to show palsy and not merely suspicious symptoms
that would indicate only the early stages of poisoning.
One in five of the women with symptoms had been 1 and under 2
years in the industry and 1 in 9 had been there 3 and under 4 years.
The smallest proportion in any experience group who reported that ·
they had symptoms is the 9 women so reporting after 5 or more years
. in the industry. T hese comprise less than 1 in 5 (18.8 per cent) of
the total of 48 with such experience. T his comparatively small proportion of women reporting symptoms in the longer-service group is
without doubt due to the elimination of the workers more susceptible
to lead poisoning, so that those remaining would be a picked group
compared with workers in t he shor ter-service periods.


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EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN VITREOUS ENAMELING

In view of the fact that many women gave up the work when they
felt ill, there is more correlation between length of service and the
symptoms reported than might at first appear. It is well to remember in the correlation of symptoms and length of service that the latter
was not necessarily the period in which the symptom was first felt .
One woman might have been suffering for several years before the
interview, while another might only recently have felt the ill effects
she described.
It is clear from the summary next presented that the sprayers had
had more years in the industry than had the brushers. Almost 30
per cent of the sprayers, in contrast t o 17 per cent of the brushers,
had been at least 3 years in the industry.
Of the sprayers and brushers who reported symptoms and the length
of time they had been in the industry, the groups with experience of
less than a year show 42.6 per cent of t he sprayers, in contrast to only
23.3 per cent of the brushers, as having one or more symptoms. Of
those reporting symptoms, a larger proportion of the brushers (56 .9
per cent) than of the sprayers (49.4 per cent) had worked less than a
year, and a much larger proportion of the brushers had worked 1 and
under 2 years. (See Table VII in the Appendix.)
229 sprayers reporting length of
service and whether or not they
had symptoms
Length of serv ice

W omen with
sympt oms

Total

290 brushers reporting length of
service and whether or not they
had symptoms
Women with
symptoms

T otal

P er
P er
Per
P er
Number cent
Number cent
Number cent
cent
---- -- --- ------ --1()(). 0
229
100. 0
100. 0
290
100. 0
72
87

N umber
Total ______ __ ________ -Less than 1 year __ ____________
1 and less than 2 years ______ __
2 and less than 3 years ___ _____
3 and less than 4 years ____ ____
4 and less than 5 years _____ ___
5 years and over ____ ________ __

101
37
25
30
14
22

44.1
16. 2
10. 9
13.1
6. 1
9. 6

43
12
6
17
4
5

49. 4
13. 8
6. 9
19. 5
4. 6
5. 7

176
48
18
24
11

13

60. 7
16. 6
6. 2
8. 3
3.8
4. 5

41
17
4
3
5
2

56. 9
23. 6
5. 6
4. 2
6. 9
2. 8

Symptoms and age.
As noted previously, in the records of expornre to lead and other
poisons young workers have shown themselves more susceptible
than older persons, and several countries, because of such findings,
have prohibited the employment of young persons on processes
involving even slight exposure. The International Labor Bureau
advocates that certain occupations involving the use of lead should
be forbidden to women and to lads under 18 years, and the American
Public Health Association advises against the employing of workers
under 21 years of age in any occupation where lead is used. 9
Little definite information is available as to the relative susceptibility to lead poison of young workers and of older workers. In the
present study the degree of exposure varied greatly with the kind of
enamel and the metal worked upon, and with this in mind the following figures regarding age and number of symptoms are presented.
9 Report of Committee on Lead P oisoning, presented to t he industrial h ygiene section of American
Public Health Association, October, 1929. New York, 1930, p. 30.


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33

INTERVIEWS WITH WOMEN IN THE INDUSTRY

Total women re- W
•th
porting on sympomen w1 symptoms and age
toms

Age

Number Per cent Number . Per cent
Total __ ____ __ ____ _____________ ___________ ___ __ ____ ______ _
U nder 20 years ______ ____ __ _____ ______ __ _____ __ __ ___ _____ ______ _
20 and under 25 years ______ ___ __ _____ __ ____ ___ ______ __________ _
25 and under 30 years __ ------- - ------- ---- - -- -----------------30 and under 40 years __----- ------------- -------------------- __
-40 and under 50 years _________________ __ ______________________ _
.50 years and over ________________________________ ______________ _

669

100.0

197

100.0

182
231
115

27. 2
34. 5
17. 2
14. 3
5. 5
1. 2

46
70
42
30
7
2

23.4
35. 5
21. 3
15. 2
3.6
1.0

96
37
8

Taking all the women, regardless of occupation, the age distribution of those reporting symptoms differs in no striking way from
the distribution of the total 669. The total has a somewhat larger
proportion under 20 years and the group with symptoms a somewhat
larger proportion 25 and under 30 years; 1 in 4 of the women under
20, 1 in 5 of those 40 or more, and about 1 in 3 of those in the age
groups between reported the presence of symptoms.
It is when the sprayers and brushers are distributed according to
age that interesting contrasts appear. Of all the sprayers, 25.8 per
cent were under 20, but of the sprayers with symptoms of poisoning
27 per cent were under 20. As many as 31.4 per cent of all the brushers, but only 25.4 per cent of those with symptoms, were under 20.
The greater hazard for the sprayers is indicated further by these
striking figures:
Of the sprayers under 20 years, 40 per cent had symptoms of
poisoning; of the brushers in this age group, 19.8 per cent had
symptoms.
Of the sprayers 20 and under 25 years old, 38.3 per cent had
symptoms; of the brushers, 23.7 per cent.
Of the sprayers 25 and under 30 years, 40.8 per cent had symptoms;
of the brushers, 37 per cent.
Of the sprayers 30 years or more, 32.6 per cent had symptoms; of
the brushers, 23.2 per cent.
These figures for the sprayers, who composed the occupational
group most exposed to lead, would appear to confirm the belief that
young persons are more susceptible to lead poison than older workers.
Sprayers
Total reporting
on symptoms

Age

Brushers

Women with
symptoms

Total reporting
on symptoms

Women with
symptoms

Number Percent Number Per cent Number Per cent Number Per cent
- -- - -- - -- - - - - - - - -- - - 16
18
20
25
30
-40

Total _________ _________

233

100. 0

89

100.0

290

100. 0

71

100.0

and under 18 years ________
and under 20 years ________
and under 25 years ________
and under 30 years ________
and under 40 years ___ _____
years and over _____ _____ ___

19
41
81
49
31
12

8. 2
17. 6
34.8
21.0
13. 3
5. 2

8
16
31

9.0
18.0
34.8
22. 5
12. 4
3. 4

32
59
97
46
38
18

11.0
20. 3
33. 4
15. 9
13. 1
6.2

6
12
23
17
9
4

8. 5
16. 9
32. 4
23. 9
12. 7
5.6

20
11
3
r


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34

EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN VITREOUS ENAMELING

ABSENCES AND SEPARATIONS

In most studies of absence and labor turnover great emphasis has
been laid on their cost to the employer. · Nevertheless, Professor
Slichter, in his book The Turnover of Factory Labor, 10 shows that
labor turnover is costly both to the workers and to the public. The
workman usually undergoes a period of unemployment and frequently must learn a new job. There is a loss to the public of social
income and an increase of cost due to the greater accident frequency
during the learning period on the new job. If to these is added another
hazard, that of exposure to a poisonous substance, the burden which
they and the management already bear becomes heavier.
Excessive absence has been called incipient turnover, as it is indicative of unrest and dissatisfaction and frequently results in a final
separation. Both turnover and absence may be an indirect result
of the work, but may be affected also by many other factors. Unrelated to cause, therefore, the mere figures for excessive absence
and turnover mean little.
In figures on turnover collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
over a period of years there was found a noticeable decline in voluntary
quitting when the lay-offs increased.11 It is reasonable also that.
voluntary lost time should be less when work is scarce and there is
much unemployment. These facts being true, rates alone of either
separations or absences are of little significance; therefore, figures
are used in this report only in connection with the cause of such
separation or absence.
· The general depression beginning in the fall of 1929 was felt in the
enameling industry and resulted in many lay-offs and much short-time
work in the various plants. It also rendered difficult the obtaining
of work in other industries, thus making voluntary separations
extremely low and lay-offs so high as to overshadow all other causes of
separation. The reasons given for absences also were affected by the
irregularity of work. Short lay-offs were so numerous and so impressed
the workers that again and again their reports read, "I never lost time
last year when there was any work; all my absences were because I was.
laid off." Many of the women who suffered a separation had left
because of lack of work and would have been glad to return to their
enamel work had it been possible.
Records were copied for all absences from work in the year immediately preceding the visit to the plant and the causes of absences or
separations were secured so far as possible from the women at time of
interview.
·
The women for whom data were obtained from pay rolls and who •
were interviewed later in their homes have been classified in three
groups: (1) Women who were reasonably permanent, that is, on the
pay roll at the beginning and end of the year and with no absences of
as much as a month; (2) women who, although still employed by the
company, had worked intermittently and had been absent for a
month or more at a time; and (3) women who had left during the year
and had not returned, that is, who suffered a separation.
10
11

Slichter, Sumner H . The Turnover of Factory Labor. New York, 1919, pp. 5, 6.
See Monthly Labor Review, June 1920, pp, 36-56.


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INTERVIEWS WITH WOMEN IN THE INDUSTRY

35

All women
Employment
Number Per cent
TotaL __ ________ ___ _____ ____ ____ ____

686

100. 0

Continuous __ ___ ___ ____ ________ _____ _____
Intermittent_ ____ _____ __ ____ ________ __ __ _
Terminated __ ___ ___ __________ _______ ____ _

273
68
345

50. 3

39. 8
9. 9

It should be noted that these figures considerably underestimate
the proportion of those leaving to those still at work, because many
of the former had moved away and could not be interviewed. However, from the summary it is clear that more than one-half of the
women interviewed had lost their employment during the year for
which records were taken.
Though in most plants absences of a month or more are termed
separations, the 68 women with such absences in the present study
are not classed as separations but as intermittently employed.
Separations and length of service.
Among the 345 women who had terminated their employment, 342
reported the time worked in the enameling industry. (See Table VIII
in the Appendix.) Of these, 70.8 per cent had worked less than a
year and over one-half (56.7 per cent) had worked less than 6 months.
A high percentage of women leaving with less than a year of service
is not peculiar to this industry. It was found in a study of four
textile mills made by the Wharton School that the employees leaving
with less than a year of service varied from a low of 52.9 per cent in
one mill to a high of 88.4 per cent in another mill. 12 From these
figures it is apparent that the per cent leaving after a short term of
employment in the enameling industry was not unusually great.
However, it would appear when separations are correlated with
cause (see pa~e 37) that many of the women leaving after less than
a year of service were laid off.
In all, 349 women, slightly more than one-half of the number
visited, reported less than a year of service. Of these 349, only 26.4
per cent were still employed at the end of the year, as compared with
about 70 per cent whose employment was terminated and slightly
more than 4 per cent who were intermittently employed. Of the
women one and under three years in the industry, more than onehalf (about 53 per cent) were continuously employed and only about
one-third were separated; while of those five years or more in the
industry, three-fifths were continuously employed and only one-fifth
were separated. (See Table VIII in the Appendix.)
Separations and age.
The influence of age on separations is difficult to ascertain because
so many other factors affect the turnover rate. It is interesting to
compare the youngest and oldest groups in the matter of separations
and long absences.
1 2 Four Years of Labor Mobility, by industrial research department, Wharton School of Finance and
Commerce, University of Pennsylvania, 1925, p. 67.

129091°-32-4


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36

EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN VITREOUS ENAMELING

Per centHaving
had long
absences
Continuwomen
ously
Separated (a month
employed
or more)
but returned

Number
Age

and under 18 years _________ __ _____________________________ _
and under 20 years ___ ------------------------------------and under 25 years __ _________ _______ _____ _______ ______ ___ _
and under 30 years ______ _________________________________ _
30 and under 40 years ______ --- ---------- --- --------- ------- -40 years and over ____________________________________________ _
16
18
20
25

of

56
126
239
116
98
50

35. 7
41. 3
45. 6
31. 0
38.8
34. 0

All women reporting age

60. 7
8

50.
45.
56.
52.
42.

6

9
0
0

3. 6
7. 9
8. 8
12. 1
9. 2
24. 0

Women terminating employment

Age
Number Per cent Number Per cent
TotaL ____ ___ ____________________________ __________ ____ __ _

685

100. 0

345

100.0

Under 20 years __ _______ _____________________________ ____ ___ ___ _
20 and under 25 years _________ __________________ _____________ __
25 and under 30 years ___ _______ ________ ________________________ _
30 and under 40 years __ ________________ -----------------------40 and under 50 years ____ ____________ ___ ________________ ___ ____
50 years and over ___ ___ ____________________ ___ ________________ _

182
239
116
98
41
9

26. 6
34. 9
16. 9
14. 3
6. 0
1. 3

98
109
66
51
20
1

28. 4
31. 6
19. 1
14. 8
5. 8
.3

Somewhat more of the women terminating employment than of
the whole group were under 20 years, but the opposite is true of the
age group next above.
The proportion of separations among the young workers appears
to be rather high when compared with figures recorded by the Wharton
· School. 13 In one cotton mill, according to that study, the separations
among workers under 20 years of age during a 4-year period never exceeded 11.8 per cent, and in a second plant in no year was it above 24
per cent. However, in the mill first mentioned there was a much
smaller proportion of workers in the low-age group than was the case
in the enameling industry.
In the various age groups the highest proportion leaving their employment was 56.9 per cent in the group 25 and under 30 years of age,
and the second highest was the 53.8 per cent in the group under 20
years of age. The proportion of separations is high in each age group
but it is lowest (42 per cent) in the group of women 40 years of age
and over. (For further details see Table IX in the Appendix.)
Separations and marital status.
In a period such as that of the past two years, when there has been
a scarcity of work and an oversupply of workers, figures on separations according to marital condition are influenced by the policy of
the employers regarding lay-offs and by the need of work existing
among the married women that would affect resignations. Whether
the work itself is more harmful to married women and therefore raises
the proportion of turnover in that group is not possible to determine.
As will be seen from the summary following, there were more
married women and fewer single women separated from employment
~han their proportions in the whole group.
1a

Ibid., pp. 124-125,


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37

INTERVIEWS WITH WOMEN IN THE INDUSTRY

Compared from another angle, 60.1 per cent of the married. women,
in contrast to 43.2 per cent of the single women and 40 .7 per cent of
those with broken marital ties, were no longer employed .
Women terminating employment

All women

Marital status

Number Per cent Number Per cent

TctaL ___ -- ____ -- ------ ----- -- ----- ---- ---- -- -- ------ ----

686

100. 0

345

100. 0

Single ________ ___________ - -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - -- - -- -- -- -- - -- -- -- -- --Married ____________________________________ ___________________ _
Widowed, separated, and divorced ________________ ___ _________ _

329
298

48. 0
43. 4

142
179

41. 2
51. 9

59

8. 6

24

7.0

Cause of separation.
In most labor-turnover studies the classification of quits, discharges,
and lay-offs is made according to records obtained from the plant,
the purpose being to show general industrial or plant conditions. In
this study the object was to obtain from the women themselves the
reasons for the separation, whether it was occasioned by the management, by the worker herself, or by general conditions beyond the
direct control of either. Too little work may result in a lay-off or in
voluntary leaving, if a full-time job can be found elsewhere. A
dispute with the foreman may cause voluntary leaving or dismissal.
Thus, voluntary separations may be caused by either plant or personal reasons, and dismissals or lay-offs by relationships between the
management and the worker or by conditions over which neither of
them has any control.
For the purpose of this study the reasons for leaving jobs-that is,
the causes of separations-have been grouped under three general
headings, industrial, personal, and other. (See Table X in the
Appendix.) This classification differs from that in many laborturnover :reports because of the method of collection of the facts and
of the reason for their collection. It must be remembered that all
the information on causes of leaving was obtained from the women
and none from the management, which might give a slight bias, in
that a doubtful case would be termed a lay-off or quit rather than a
discharge. During the period of the study the vitreous-enameling
industry, like many others, found it necessary to lay off workers on
account of the depression.
335vitreous-ename1 944 cotton-mill
workers
workers 1

Cause of separation

Number Per cent Number Per cent
Total. _. ______ ______ ____ ___ _____ ________________________ _

335
100. 0
944
100. 0
Industrial. _______ _____________________________ . __ .. _____ . ___ __ . 1=====1=====1=====1=====
62. 1
242
208
25.6
1----1----1----1----

L ay -off___ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Poor working conditions _________ _____________ _____ ___ ____ _
Other ______________ ____ __ . - -- . - . - -- . --- . - -- - -- -- - --- - --- -- Personal__. __ _________ _______ _________________________________ _

136
44
28
112

40. 6
13.1
8. 4
33. 4

Illness of self ___ ______ _________ ___ ____ __ ___ ________ ___ ___ ___
Pregnancy and confinement __ __ _______ ____________________ _
Home duties _______ ______________________________ __ _____ ___
Other ______ . ____ ___ -- -- - _---- -- -.. - -- -- -- -- - - -- -- -- -- --- -- Other __ _______________ - -- -- ---- -- -- -- -- -- - - -- -- - - -- -- - -- - -- -- --

43
13
32

12.8
3. 9
9.6

24

15

7. 2

4. 5

35
174
667

33

3.5
3. 7
18.4
70. 7

120
70
173
304
35

12. 7
7.4
18. 3
32.2
3. 7

Lost Time and Labor Turnover in Cotton Mills, U. S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau Bul. 52,
~m
.
1


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38

EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN VITREOUS ENAMELING

In this summary the causes of separations are classified as industrial,
reported by almost five-eighths of the women, personal, reported by
about one-third, and other, reported by less than one-twentieth.
The causes as given by the 335 women working on enameling, compared with those given by 944 cotton-mill workers in a previous study,
make an interesting contrast. Most important among the causes
classified as industrial are lay-offs, reported by two-fifths (40.6 per
cent) of the women enamel workers. This is a very large proportion,
even in adverse times, when it is compared with the 3.5 per cent of
women separated from cotton-mill employment for this cause in
normal times.
Not so great a difference, though one very important, is noted when
this proportion is compared with a total of 28,105 terminations of
employment in 33 establishments in varied industries reported by
Professor Slichter, where less than one-tenth (9.5 per cent) of the
separations were due to lay-offs.14 This proportion of lay-offs, Professor Slichter states, "is probably considerably below the normal, in
spite of the fact that the establishments were from varied industries
and the data were for different years." However, they probably give
an indication of the average proportion of lay-offs in miscellaneous
industries, even though they are only one-fourth a~ frequent as in
this vitreous-enameling study.
The next most important cause of separations, also classed as
industrial, is "poor working conditions." These do not include such
factors as low wages or long hours or short time, but chiefly such
reasons as "too much dust," "too hot," "too hard standing all day
on cement floor," and "too dirty." These types of complaints were
given as the cause of leaving by about 1 in every 8 women (13.1 per
cent). In the Women's Bureau study of cotton-mill workers, poor
working conditi9ns were given by only 3.7 per cent of the women as
the reason for quitting, although heat and dust also are present in
that industry. 15
In a good many cases the vitreous-enameling worker appeared to
combine a fear of the work with a criticism of the working conditions.
Some said, "The work is dusty and unhealthy," or "So much dust
to breathe all day isn't good for you," or "The dust gets in your
stomach and makes a hard lump; it isn't healthy." The dust itself
was the cause of the fear in most cases, but a few women mentioned
lead as a danger; these usually were cases where they had been ill
and had had a physician, otherwise they laid all their ill feelings to
the dust.
The proportion who left their jobs because of personal illness,
exclusive of pregnancy and confinement, was about the same in the
present study as among the cotton-mill workers; that is, 1 in every 8
women. This figure is very similar also to that for 182 women in the
dressmaking trades in a Bureau of Labor Statistics study and is
greater than was found among women in a bookbinding survey some
years ago, where 1 in every 11 left because of illness. 16
u Slichter, Sumner H. The Turnover of Factory Labor. New York, 1919, pp. 86, 87.
U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau. Lost Time and Labor Turnover in Cotton Mills, Bul.

16

62, p. 194.

16 U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Dressmaking as a Trade for Women in Massachusetts, Bul. 193,
1916, p. 107; Women in the Bookbinding Industry, by Mary van Kleeck, 1913, p. 112.


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39

INTERVIEWS WITH WOMEN IN THE INDUSTRY

Separations and specified occupations.
In considering the two principal occupational groups, a larger percentage of the brushers than of the sprayers reported separations
from their jobs, while women engaged on work other than spraying
or brushing showed the greatest permanency and the lowest per cent
of separations. (See Table X in the Appendix.)
From the summary following, the probable effect of lead exposure
on sprayers and brushers, as shown by those leaving because of
illness exclusive of pregnancy and confinement, is clearly seen.

Occupational group

Total women
reporting
reason for
leaving last
job in enamel
department

Sprayers _______________ ___ -- --- -- _
Brusbers __________________________

Per cent
leaving because of illness other
than pregnancy or
confinement

108

18. 5
8.8

170

This marked difference in the proportion of sprayers and of brushers
leaving because of illness coincides with the previous figures of the
relatively greater number of sprayers than of brushers who reported
suspicious symptoms, and again illustrates the results of working
with enamels containing lead.
Absences.
Of those reporting illnesses and whether or not suspicious symptoms,
caused by exposure to lead, were present, more than one-third (35.8
per cent) reported one or more suspicious symptoms. In describing
their illnesses, women would comment thus: "Awful pains and
vomiting," "Headache and so nervous I just couldn't go to work."
As would be expected, a larger proportion of the sprayers, who
worked much more with an enamel that contained lead than did the
brushers, had lost time due to illness, the figures being 32.9 per cent
and 23.9 per cent, respectively. Furthermore, they reported more illness with lead symptoms, 39.7 per cent as compared to 26.8 per cent.
Sprayers

Brusbers

Number Per cent Number Per cent
Total sprayers and brusbers reporting on absences _______ _

237

100. 0

297

100. 00

1 - - - -1 - -- - 1 - - - -1 - -- -

W omen losing no time due to illness ___ ___ __ ____ ______ ___ ___ ___ _
Women losing time due to illness ____ _______ __ __ __ ___ ______ __ __ _

159
78

67. 1
32. 9

226
71

76. 1
23. 9

100. 0
71
100.0
78
Women losing time ___ ---- ---- --- - --- -- - -- --- --- - ----- ---- - --- 1 - - - -1- - - 1 - - - - 1 - - - Illness due to lead sym ptoms ___ _______ __ ____ ___ ____ ______ __
31
39. 7
19
26.8
Illness not due to lead sympt oms ____ ____ ___ _____ ___ ___ ___ __
48. 7
47
38
66. 2'
Cause of illness not reported __________ ____ __ __ ____ ____ ______
7. 0
9
11. 5
5

D uring the year, the most important-that is, the most frequentcause of absence for personal reasons was illness. T he women
reporting absence for this cause over a year's period were 27 .8 per
cent of the total number who reported on such absences. The
actual number of days lost by women could not be computed because
of the lack of complete data.
·

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APPENDIXES
APPENDIX A-GENERAL TABLES
APPENDIX B-SCHEDULE FORMS


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APPENDIX A-GENERAL TABLES
TABLE

1.-Age, by occupation
686 vitreous-enamel workers
Reporting age

Occupation

Total

All
wornen

Number

Per
cent

16 and
under
18 years
Number

Per
cent

18 and
under
20 years
Number

Per
cent

20 and
under
25 years
Number

Per
cent

25 and
under
30 years
Number

------------ -- -- -

Per
cent

30and
under
40 years
Number

Number

Per
cent

50 and
under
60 years
Number

-

---

All occupations ________

686

685

100. 0

56

8.2

126

18.4

239

34.9

116

16.9

98

14.3

41

Sprayers
----------------Brushers_--_____________________
Dippers __________________ -- __
Gramers and patcbers ________
Other ________________________

239
297

239
296

19

7.9

41

17. 2
19. 9

85

35.6

44
34
72

50
46
7
4
9

20. 9
15.5

44

100.0
100. 0
(1)
(1)
100.0

31
38

13.0
12. 8

9
4
3.8
17
5. 7
3
2 ------1
5 --·----- ------11.1 ------8

1 Not

34
72

computed; base less than 50,


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32

1
1
3

10.8

------------4. 2

59
8

5
13

------------18. l

100

15
•- 12
27

33.8

------------37. 5

-----------12. 5

-

Per
cent

40and
under
50 years

10

7
12

---- - - - -

------------16. 7

6.0

Per
cent

- 8

1.2

60 years
and
over
Number

Not

reporting

Per
cent

-----1

0.1

1

-------1
------------1.0
1
.3
------- ------- ------- ------------- ------- ------- ------------- ------- ------- ------1. 7

TABLE

IL-Number of women reporting symptoms according to whether or not lead was present in the enamel, by occupation
ALL WOMEN
686 vitreous-enamel workers
Reporting on whether or not they had symptoms
Having symptoms

Occupation

All

wom•
en

Total

Having no
-symptoms
Total

Num• Per
ber
cent

Num•
ber

Per
cent

Num•
ber

Per
cent

Having 1

Num•
ber

-------------jl--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --Sprayers................. ......... . {.. 239 •••• 233 .. 100. 0 .... 144 ••• 61. 8.
Brushers ...........•..•........... {..297 . ••• 291 •• 100.0•.•• 219 •.• 75.3.
Dippers....... ....................
44
41
(3)
31
Orainers and patcher .. . . •..... . ..
34
34
(3)
24
Other..............................
72
71 100.0
54
76.1

I

89
89
72
68
10
10
17

Per
cent

Having 2

Num•
ber

Per
cent

- --1-- - J - --

Having 3

Having 4

Having 5
or more

Num• Per
ber
cent

Num• Per
ber
cent

Num• Per
ber
cent

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --

N ot
report•
ing
Not
on
report• symp.
ing
toms
num•
ber of
symp•
toms
--- ---

38. 2 • •••..............•.. ••·•··· ••.••.•••.••••.••••••••.••...••••••••••..• · ·••·••·
6
100. 0
23
25. 8
9
10. 1
8
9. 0
17
19.1
32
36. 0 ·•••··· · •• ••• •••
24. 7 ••• ••.• ....... ..• .... ....... .. ..... .. ..... •••••.. .••..•• ••....• ••..... ••••••..
6
100. 0
27
39. 7
9
13. 2
11
16. 2
5
7. 4
16
23. 5
a 4 •• •• ••••
4
1
1
2
2 ••••••. •...•.. .
3
3
2
2
1
2 .....................••
23. 9
9
3
2
2
1 ••••••• ······--

WOMEN EMPLOYED WHERE LEAD PRESENT IN ENAMEL

Sprayers ... •··-··-··-······--· ····· {..177 •.•. 174 •. 100.0•.••• 98 ... 56.3.
211

207

100. 0

156

75. 4

Brushers .. ·· · ···-·-···-·· · -······· {···-· · .............. ···-··· -··· ···
Dippers .. ····· ········- ·-- ··· ·· ···
33
32
(3)
25
Orainers and patchers. . ...........
27
27
(3)
20
Other.... ••·· ··-··-·········· ······
50
50 100. 0
37
74. O


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

76
76
51
147
7
7
13

43. 7 ··-···· -·-···· ·-····- . ...... ··- -··· --····· -- ····· ··- · ··· ···-· -· .••.••• ···-·· -·
100.0
17
22. 4
8
10. 5
7
9. 2
13
17.1
31
40. 8 ···-····
24. 6 ·····-· ··-···· -····-- ·· ·--·· ·-· · -· · --···-· ··--- ·· --····· ·-····· ····-·· ·-·--·-·
24
(3)
21
I 5
8
3
l()
2
1
1
2
1 ·-·-··· · ···---·
1
2
2
1
1 ···-··· ........
26.0
6
3
2
2 ....... ···---· ··--·-· ·····-··

3
···-·--4
-·---- -1
··- -----·---- --

WOMEN E '.IPLOYED WHERE LEAD
{__ 188 ____ 180__ 100. o____ 136 __ _75. 6_

44
44

Sprayers ___________________ ________ {_ __ 62 ____ _59 __ 100. o_____ 46 ___ 78. o_

13
13
21
21
3
3
4

All occupations

B rush ers ___________________________________________________
{ 86
84 100. 0
63__ __ 75.
0_
____
Dippers_______ ___ ____ ____ __ _______
Grainers and patchers__ ___ _______ _
Other________ _______ ____ __ __ _______
1

11
7
22

9
7
21

Excludes t h ose not reporting number.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

(3)
(3)
(3)

6
4
17
2

OT PRESENT IN E

AMEL OR UNKNOWN

24. 4 - - - ---- - - --- -- - ----- - ------- ----- - - --- ---- - -- ---- - ------ ----- - - ------- -------8
19 -- -- -- 5 -- ----4 --- ---6 - - - ---10 - ------ -------- --------

(3)

22. 0 ----- -- -- -- --- - - ----- - - ----- ---- - -- ----- -- - - - - -- - - -- - --- ------- - - -- -- - - - - - - --3
6 -- - ---1 ------1 -- ----4 --- ---1 ---- --- --- - - - - - --------

(3)

2

25.0

(3)

6
4 - - ----3 - - -- - -2 --- ---2 --- - --- - - ---- - ------- ------- ----- -- - - ---- - ---- -- 2

3

Two had fewer than 5, but exact number was not reported.

3

6 ------- - -- ----- -------1
2

1
1

Not computed; base less than 50.

TABLE

UL-Number of women reporting symptoms according lo metp,l worked upon, by occupation
ALL WOMEN
686 vitreous-enamel workers

Reporting on whether or not they had symptoms

Occupation

All
wom•
en

Total

Num•
ber

Per
cent

Having symptoms
Not
Having no
- 1 report•
symptoms i - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Not
ing
Having 5
Having 1
Having 2
Total
Having 4
Having 3
on
reportor more
symping
toms
numNum- Per Num• Per Num• Per Num• Per Num- Per Num• Per Num- Per
ber of
ber
cent
ber
cent
ber
cent
ber
cent symp•
ber
cent
ber
cent
ber
cent
toms

-------------1--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---1----1--Sprayers ..... . ... . •.. .........• ~ .•. {.. 239 ..•. 233.. 100. O..•• 144... 61. 8.
297

291

100. 0

219

75. 3

{
Brushers ..•. . . . ........••••.•.............•....................•....
Dippers... . . ..... . ......... ..... . .
44
41
(3)
31
Gramers and patchers. ............
34
34
(3)
24
Other....... .. .. . ... . ..............
72
71 100.0
54
76.1

89
89
72
1 68
10
10
17

38. 2 ....... ·· ···· · .. .. ... .. .. .. . . ...... .. .. ... . .... . . . ...... . .... ..
100. 0
23
25. 8
9
10.1
8
9. 0
17
19.1
32
24. 7 ........ .. .................. ·•····· .... • ...•..•......... ·•··· · ·
100. 0
27
39. 7
9
13. 2
11
16. 2
5
7. 4
16
4
1
1
2
2
3
2
2
1
2
23. 9
9
3
2
2
1

.......
36. 0
.......
23. 5
.......
· ···-··
·--·---

.•.•••..
6
........••••••..
. .......
6
2 4 .•......
···----3
--·----- ·---·-·-------·

WOMEN WORKING ON CAST IRON
All occupations
Sprayers.. _..... . . . _........... . .. .
Brushers ... _. ...............•.....
Dippers ..... . . ...... . .......•.....
Grainers and patchers ............ .
Other __.. . ............•... . •..... . .


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

{.. 140.... 138 - . 100. 0. ·- . . 71. ·- 51. 4.
93
27
3
9
8

91
27
3
9
8

100.0
(3)
(3)
(3)
(8)

43
14

47. 3

67
67
48
13

48. 6 ......... . ........... ······· ·•·•··· ······· ................... . ........ ···••·•·
2
100. 0
13
19. 4
4
6. 0
10
14. 9
11
16. 4
29
43. 3 ......•.........
52. 7

5 ..... ..
4 .. . .. . .

2 .......
1 .. . ....

7 .......
3 .......

10 ·· · · · · ·
1 .......

24 ....... . ... . ...
2
4 ............... ········

3 .•••••..••.....••.•••.•••..•..••••..•••... ··•·•·• ·••·•·· ..•.....•••••• . ..•••.•••••••.••••.. ·•·•·••• ••••••.•
6
3 ·•·•·•·
1 ··-····
1 ....... . ...... ······· -· · ···· . . .....
1 . ..................... .

5

3 .....•.

3 ·•····· .............. . ............. . ............. . ...... ······· ·-······ ········

WOMEN WORKING O

71.1
101
142 100, 0
146
Sprayers____ __ __ ____ _______________
77. 7_
100. 0 ____205
264
270
_________
__________
Brushers __ ____ _____ _________________________
{
28
(3)
38
41
Dippers___ _______ _________ ___ ___ __
18
25 (3)
25
Gramers and patchers_____ ______ __
77. 8
49
63 100. O
64
Other _____ ___ _______ ______ ___ ______

!

---'------'-1

Excludes those not reporting number.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

2 Two

41
59
155
10

SHEET IRON

4
8 -- -- --- -------7 ------1 ------7 -- ---- 18 ------28. 9
6
22.3 ------- ------- ------- - -- - - - - ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- - ------2
1~ __:~~~- __ ___ _~ ________
7. 3
14. 5
14. 5
41. 8
100. o

z.:

r

7

1

i

3

1 -- - ---- --- - ---- -------1
2
1
2
14
1 ------- ------- 2
2
3
6
22. 2
---'--- -- - - - '----'----'----;.._---'------'-- - - -- ' -- - ' - - --'---- - - - ' - - - ' - - - -

had fewer than 5, but exact number was not reported.

a Not computed; ba.50 less than 50.

TABLE

All women (198)

Symptom

All occu-

Sprayers

Brushers

....Q

....Q

....Q

s::I
z

Total number of symptoms __
Women reporting symptoms_
Loss of weight _____ __________ ______
Headache _____ __ __----- ____ ____ ___ _
Metallic or sweet taste ___ ______ ____
Indigestion ______ ______________ __ __
Loss of appetite ___ __ ____ __ ____ ____ _
Constipation ___ __________________ __
Dizziness __________________ ____ ____
Menstrual disturbance _______ __ __ __

:j~ts:====================

~:r:s
Tremors ___ __ _____ ___ -- - __ --- ___ -- _
Loss of sleep __ __ ______ ___ ___ _______
1

rci
Q

C

~

~

- -49. 5
43. 9
41.4
39. 9
35. 4
32. 8
27. 8
21. 7
14. 1
11. 6
9. 6
9. 1

Per cent aot computed; base less than 50.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

~
Q

-~

All occu-

i:i

cO

VJ

~

pations

~

~~
i:iell

~

...,
i:i

"O

Sprayers
~
.0

s::I ~ § ~ .&p. ·-~ 0. B.... .0§ ... s::I
z
z p.. A c:!) 0 z
z
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - .0

C

.0

Q

C

Q

C

Q

Q

~

~

667 --- ---- 349 ----- -- 216
72
198 100.0
89 100. 0
98
87
82
79
70
65
55
43
28
23
19
18

154 women employed where lead present in enamel

"C

pations

.0

0

~

IV.-Symptoms of women according to whether or not lead was present in the enamel, by occupation

43
39
44
47
37
3
27
26
15
13.
10
10

48. 3
43. 8
49. 4
52. 8
41. 6
42. 7
30. 3
29. 2
16. 9
14. 6
11. 2
11. 2

36
35
23
22
25
17
19
13
8
5
5

28
37
110 117

535
154

--100.
----0 -

7
7
5
50. 0
5
5
3
48. 6
7
2
31. 9
6
2
5
3
30. 6
2
3
3
34. 7
3
4
23. 6
3
3
26. 4
3
3
2
1
18. 1
1
2
11. 1
3 -----11. 1 ----1
1
6. 9
1 -----3
2
6. 9
1 -- ---

78
66
69
67
55
52
42
38
22
17
14
15

50. 6
42. 9
44. 8
43. 5
35. 7
33. 8
27. 3
24. 7
14. 3
11. 0
9.1
9. 7

------100. 0

37
110

~
Q

....
Q

.0

~
Q

'O
i:i
ell

A

~~
i:i'°

0.
::I
C
C
0

...

VJ

~

Q

...

VJ

~

Q

Q

{l

~

;i

11
13

7
13

VJ

i:I d

~
§ ... .& ·-ell 0. ..c:i~
e 0.0. ·-ell 0. 0..c:i~
p..
0 <1 0. p::i A 5
A 5
z
--- -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - C

....
Q

C

~

47. 4
44. 7
53. 9
56. 6
43. 4
44. 7
31. 6
30. 3
17. 1
15. 8
11. 8
11. 8

I>,

;::l

Q

Cl]

311 ------- 151 ----- -- 26
51 100. 0 17
76 100.0
36
34
41
43
33
34
24
23
13
12
9
9

lead not present in enamel or
unknown

.s

....QCll
~
Q
0.

44 women employed where

Cll

§

Brushers

00

28
22
17
17
17
10
13
11
6
4
2
4

21
26
17 113

5
4
54. 9
4
43.1
3
2
33. 3
5
4
1
33. 3
2
33. 3
1
2
3
19. 6
2
25. 5
1
1
1
21. 6
2 -----11. 8
7. 8 ---1
3. 9
1 -----7. 8
1
1

5
3
4
2
2
3
2
2
1
2

-- ---

132
1 44

38
113

20
21
13
12
15
3
13
5
6
6
5
3

7
5
3
4
4
4
3
3
2
1
1
1

I

65
21

11
4

I

8
2
2
1
2
13
1
2 -----2
6
5
1
1
1
8
1
1
1
7
1 -----1
2
6
1
1
2 ---- ------ ---2
1 -----1
4 ---- -----1
1
3 ---- -----1
1 ------ -- --

----

TABLE

V.-Symptoms of women according to metal worked upon, by occupation
All women (198)

Symptom

All occupations

t

A

~

0

..0

z

<I)

~

~

--

Sprayers
~

..0

~

z

A
8
~

~

67
'O
A

Brushers

....

<I)

..0

~

z

A
8
~

~

~~ ~

~Y~z1~:,t!~~
=======_______________
======== =======
Menstrual disturbance
Nervousness ______ _________ -----------

¥~~o~!~~~~~=

====== =============== ==
Loss of sleep __________________________
1

32. 8
27. 8
21. 7
14. 1
11. 6
9. 6
9.1

38
27
26
15
13
10
10

42. 7
30. 3
29. 2
16. 9
14. 6
11. 2
11. 2

17
19
13
8
8
5
5

23. 6
26. 4
18.1
11.1
11. 1
6. 9
6. 9

;~

....

<I)

A

~

women working on sheet iron

All occupations

"' "'t

~
<I)

131

'O
i::l

Brushers

<'O

~

<I)

~.g

~

A

~
I>,
f
A

~

A

"'....

~~

..0
..0
..0
Ao,
....
~"' ~
8
8
A
~
s;:l ....0 I>,fA ~ .SA
,.c:\
,.c:\
.9 ·-°'
f
~
f
~
~
~
~
0
0
UJ.
0
UJ.
c'S
0 z
~
0
A
~
z ~
z ~
- - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -<I)

A

.9
A

Total number of symptoms ___ __ 667 ------- 349 --- ---- 216 ------- 37
Women reporting symptoms ___ 198 100. 0 89 100. 0 72 )00. 0 110
Loss of weight_ _______________________ 98 49. 5 43 48. 3 36 50.0
7
Headache _____ ----------------- ______ 87 43. 9 39 43. 8 35 48. 6
5
Metallic or sweet taste _______________ 82 41. 4 44 49. 4 23 31. 9
7
2
Indigestion _____ ---------------------_ 79 39. 9 47 52. 8 22 30. 6
Loss of appetite ______________________ 70 35. 4 37 41. 6 25 34. 7
3
65
55
43
28
23
19
18

'O
A

All occupations

"' "'t

"'....

women working on cast iron

ro
·-°'

<I)

<I)~

<I)

<I)

28
110

37
117

5
5
2
5
2
3
3
1

7
3
6
3
3
4
3
2
2
1
3

3
3
1
3 -----1
----1 -----2
1 -----

300 ------- 240
67 100. 0 148
33
33
37
43
29
33
25
17
16
13
11
10

11. 0
11. 0
12. 3
14. 3
9. 7
11. 0
8. 3
5. 7
5. 3
4. 3
3. 7
3. 3

24

25
30
36
25
25
18
16
12
11
9
9

48
113

9
13

3
13

7
1
1
6
1
1
5
1
1
5
2 -- --3
1 ----2 ----6
6
1 - ---l ------ --- -4 ------ ----2 ------ ----2 ------ -- - -1 ---- -- -----

367 ----- -- 109
131 100. 0 141
65

54
45
36
41
32
30
26
12
10
8
8

17. 7
14. 7
12. 3
9. 8
11. 2
8. 7
8. 2
7. l
3. 3
2. 7
2. 2
2. 2

19
14
14
11
12
13
9
10
3
2
1
1

<I)

19
17

34
114

4
7
4
5
1
7
2
3
1
3
1
3
2
3
1
1
3 -----1
----1 -----2
1

6
2
5

168 -- --- - - 37
59 100. 0 110
29
29
18
17
22
11
13
12
4
6
3
4

49. 2
49. 2
30. 5
28. 8
37. 3
18. 6
22.0
20. 3
6. 8
10. 2
5. 1
6. 8

3
3
4
3
2
2
1
3

-----

Per cent not computed; base less than 50.

~

c:.o


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

50

EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN VITREOUS ENAMELING
TABLE

VI.-Symptoms of women reporting 3 or more symptoms according
All women (104)

Symptom

All occupations

~

- - - - -- - -- - --

~

"O

Sprayers

...

IP

,J:;

;;

~

~

...

~

Cll

IP

Cll

~

;~

s::l ~ ::la ~ gi .9' ·;;~ ..Cl~
c'5
~
~
0
z
z
- ------,--- --- --- - - - - - - --- --- - - 8

~

IP
0

..Cl

A

~

Total number of symptoms __ _____ _________ __ 532
302
161
31
16
22
Women repo~ting symptoms __ ___ ___ ____ ___ _ 104 100. 0
15
15
15
57 100. 0 132
1----1---+----+----t----+---t----1----1
Loss of weight_ ______ ___ _____ _____ ____ ______ ____ __ _ 67
20
4
64. 4
37
64. 9
3
3
Headache _____ ____ ____ ______ ______________ __ ____ __ 60
29
50. 9
21
5
3
2
57. 7
Metallic or sweet taste __ ___ __________ ________ ____ __ 61
4
2
58.
7
35
61.
4
17
3
Indigestion __________ __ ______ _________ ______ ______ _ 66
42
2
3
73. 7
3
16
63. 5
Loss of appetite _____________ ___ __ ____ ____ ______ ____ 59
34
3
1
2
19
56. 7
59. 6
4
58
55. 8
35
61. 4
1
3
15
2
49
47.1
25
43. 9
3
1
18
Menstrual disturbance __ __ __ _____ _______ ________ __ 33
12
31. 7
20
35.1
1 - - - - -- -----0
24
23. 1
13
22. 8
3
1
7
19
12
21. 1
18. 3
6
1 - - --- ~j~~ts====================
=================
Tremors
__ __ ______________ ___ ____ ______
____ __ __ ___ _ 18
2
5
17. 3
10
17. 5
Loss of sleep ___ ____ __________ __ ____ ___ ____ __ ____ ___ 18
17. 3
10
17. 5
5
1 --- ---

g~::~tion _____________________________________ _
w:i1:s

, Per cent not computed; base less than 50.
Includes 1 woman reporting 3 or more symptoms but not reporting kind,

1


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

51

APPENDIXES

to whether or not lead was present in the enamel, by occupation
20 women employed where lead not present in enamel or unknown

84 w omen employed where lead present in enamel

All occu pations
~

.0

s::,

z

"i:la;,
<:)

1;J
P-!

"O
A

Sprayers
~

s
::,

~

z

P-!

- --

0.
0.

2

1;J

0

~

- --- - - -

434 ------84 100. 0

272
51

--------

110
1 21

66. 7
57. 1
61. 9
66. 7
57. 1
53. 6
45. 2
34. 5
21. 4
19. 0
15. 5
17. 9

33
26
34
38
30
31
22
18

64. 7
51. 0
66. 7
74. 5
58. 8
60.8
43. 1
35. 3
21. 6
21.6
17. 6
17. 6

15
13
11
12
14
8
12

56
48
52
56
48
45
38
29
18
16

13
15

11

11

9
9

~~

~

.cl

<:)

- - - - - - --

:3ol

~

"i:la;,

.0

~

ol

100. 0

129091 °-32--5


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

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------ -1 -------1
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TABLE

VIL-Length of service in enamel departments as reported by women having symptoms and women not having symptoms, by occupation
686 vitreous-enamel workers
Reporting length of service in enamel departments
Occupation

All
wornen Total

4 and Sand 3 and 6 and 9 and
Less 2and
less less less
less
less
less
than than
than than than
than
than
2
12
12
4
8
6
9
weeks weeks weeks
weeks months months months

1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 5 and 6 and
less less less less less less
than than than than than than
2
4
5
3
6
7
years years years years years years

7 and 8 and
less less
than than
8
9
years years

Notreporting
9 and 10
less years length
of
than and
service
10
years more

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- - - - TotalNumber _____________________
Per cent _____________ _______ __

686

680

------- 1()(). 0

30
4. 4

35
5. 1

49
7. 2

41
6. 0

86
12. 6

59
8. 7

49
7. 2

118
17. 4

-- ---

60
8. 8

65
9. 6

38
5. 6

2. 4

16

11
1. 6

4
0. 6

8
1. 2

6
0. 9

3
1. 5

1

1

0. 5

0. 5

1
1. 1

1
1. 1

5

o. 7

6

------- -

WOMEN HAVING SYMPTOMS

All occupations:

Number____ ___ ______ ______________
198
196
Per cent_ ___ _____ _______ ____ ____ ______ ___ __ 100. 0

SprayersNumber ___ ______________ __ ____
89
Per cent _______ ___ ____ __ __ __ __________ _ 100.870
BrushersNumber__ _________ __ _________ _
72
72
Per cent_ ___ _____ _____ ___ _______ - - --- -- ]00. 0
Dippers_____ ____ ________________ __ _ 1 10
10
Grainers and patchers______________
1 10
10
Other______ ____ ____________________
1 17
17


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

4
2. 0

6
3. 1

91 13
4. 6 6. 6

31
15. 8

22
11. 2

14
7. 1

39
19. 9

13
6. 6

22
11. 2

14
7. 1

4
2. 0

3
3. 4

4
4. 6

2
2.3

10
11. 5

12
13. 8

5
5. 7

12
13. 8

6
6. 9

17
19. 5

4
4. 6

2

1

8. 0

2. 3

1.1

6
8. 3
1

8

8. 3

6
8. 3
1
1

17
23. 6
1
3
6

4
5. 6
1

3
4. 2

5
6. 9
2
1
2

1
1. 4

1
1. 4
1

1
1. 4

------ ---- 1--

7
6

------ ------

1 ------ --- ---

14
19. 4
3
2
2

11. 1

1

2
2 - -----

2

1 - --- -- ------ ------ - - ---- -- ---- - -------

WOMEN NOT HA VI N O SYM P T OMS
All occupations:
Number _____ __ ___ __ _____ __ ________
Per cent _____ ____________________ ___

472

-------

468
100. 0

SprayersNumber ____________________ ___
144
142
Per cent _____________ ___________
------- 100. 0
BrushersN umber ________ _______________
219
218
Per cent_ ________ _______________
100.0
D ippers _____________ _____________ __ ------I 31
31
Gramers and patchers _____ _______ __
I 24
23
OtherNumber ________________ ________
54
54
Per cent. ________________ _______
---- - -- 100. 0

25
5. 3

28
6. 0

39
8. 3

28
6. 0

55
11. 8

37
7. 9

34
7. 3

76
16. 2

45
9. 6

41
8. 8

21
4. 5

11

11

2.4

2.4

5
1.1

5
1. 1

6

5
3. 5

11

5
3. 5

13
9. 2

9
6. 3

9
6. 3

25
17. 6

19

7. 7

13. 4

13
9. 2

10
7. 0

6
4. 2

3
2. 1

3
2.1

3
2.1

23
10. 6
1

17
7. 8
1

28
12. 8
5
3

18
8. 3
3
4

17
7. 8
5
1

14
6. 4
3
1

21
9. 6
3
1

6
2. 8
1
1

3
1. 4
1

4
1. 8
1
2

2
.9

1
.5

2

20
9. 2
1
1

3
5. 6

1
1. 9

6
11. 1

3
5. 6

2
3. 7

8

3
5. 6

3
5. 6

1
1. 9

1
1. 9

4. 2
12
5. 5
2

------ -----4
7. 4

5
9. 3

31
14. 2

3
6
11

20. 4

14. 8

2

o. 4

1
.5

5
1.1

4

2
1.4

2·

-----1
1

------ --- - -- ------

------ ------ -----1
1. 9

1
1. 9

1

--------

-------i

1
1. 9

WOMEN NOT REPORTING AS TO SYMPTOMS
All occupations- Number______________

1

1--

S prayers__________ ___ ______________
Brushers__ ________ _______ _____ ____ _
Dippers___ ______ ___________________
Other--- ---------- ----- - - ------- --1

16
- t-

6
6
3
11
1
1
1

P er cent n ot compu ted; base less than 50.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

16

1 -------- -------- - - ------

- - t - - - + - - - t - - - t --

6 - ----- ------ - ----6
1 - ----3 ------ ------ -----1 ------ - ----1

---+-- ---+--

------ - - ------- --------------

---+-----ll-----+--

2
--+--

-l-----+---+- -l --

-------- -------- --- --- - ----1
2
--- ------ - --- - ------2
1 --- - - - ------ - - --- - ----- - - ------ -------- --- --1 -----1
1 ------ -------------,---- -- -- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ----- - ------

-t--

-+- -i --

--+-- - -

------ -- --------- ------ - - - ---- - ----- ------ - ----- -------- --- - - ------ ------ ------ --------

------ --- - -- - ----- --- - -- --------

TABLE

VIII.-Absences and separations in past 12 months, by length of service
686 vitreous-enamel workers

All women

Had continuous
employment

Had absences of 1 month or lon ger b u t
returned

Left and did not return

t-i
0

L ength of service
T otal

Number

Per
cent

Number

Per
cent

Number

- - - - - - - - - - - ---1-- - ·I-- - Total.· __ -----~---- --- ---------

686

- - - -1- --

-

273

Per
cent

Had no H ad absences of 1 m onth or
absence
longer
ofl
month
or
1 ab2 abTotal
longer
sence
sences

+-- - -1-- - - - - - - 1 - -- + - - -

345

33

68

100. 0

342

100. 0

308

Le.5s than 2 weeks _______________
2 and less than 4 weeks ______ ____
4 and less than 8 weeks __ ________
8 and less than 12 weeks ____ _____

30
35
49
41

4.4
5.1
7. 2
6. 0

1
4
5
5

.4
l. 5
l. 9
l. 9

29

31
44
35

8. 5
9. 1
12. 9
10. 2

31
43
31

3 and less than 6 months ___ ______
6 and less than 9 months _____ ____
9 and less than 12 months ________

86
59
49

12. 6
8. 7
7. 2

31

11. 5
10. 4
6. 7

55
24
24

16. 1
7. 0
7. 0

49
18
22

23. 3
11. 9
11. 9
7. 8
3. 3
3. 0
.7
1. 1
1. 1
l. 9

41
20
21
8
4
3

12. 0
5. 8
6.1
2. 3
1. 2
.9
.3
.6


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

16
11

8
6
4
5

63

32
32
21
9
8
2
3
3
5

-- -

3 or
more
absences

- - - --

59

8

59

8

3

1

2

~
t_zj
z8
0

~

~
0

270

17. 4
8. 8
9. 6
5. 6
2.4
l. 6
l. 2
.9
.6
.7

--- --- --- -

34

100. 0

118
60
65
38

2 absences

Per
cent

68 - - -- - - - --

6

18

ber

33

680

1 and less than 2 years __ _______ __
2 and less than 3 years ________ ___
3 and less than 4 years _____ ___ ___
4 and less than 5 years ___ ________
5 and less than 6 y ears ______ __ ___
6 and less than 7 years _____ ______
7 and less than 8 years _______ ____
8 and less than 9 years ________ ___
9 and less than 10 years __________
10 years .and over ________________

Num-

1 absence

34

Not reporting length of service_

28

Total

311

Total reporting ________ ____ __________

3

t_zj

:s:'"d

100. 0

29 - -------- ----- - - - - - -------- ------- -- -- - -- - ··· - -------- - -------- ---------

38
14
19

1 -- - ----- - ---- - ---- - - - -- - --- - -------- - -------- -- - -----4
1. 5
6
6
2

3

6
2
2
6
4 - - ------3

6 - -- - -- - -- -- -- - - - - - --- ------ --------- - - - ------ ------- - 6
7
10. 3
7 --------- - -------2
7
10. 3
7
3
5
2
2
---- - ---- ---- -- --1 - - ------1 ----- -- --

14
8
12
9
3

20. 6
11. 8
17. 6
13. 2
4. 4

7. 4
l. 5
1. 5

10

4

1
1
2
6
3 --------- ---------

7

11

5 - - ----- - - - --------

1 - - - -- - --- --------1 --------- - - -------

:s:t_zj
z
z
H

-<

B

:q
0

U1
t_zj

z
~t_zj
t-i
H

z

0

TABLE

IX.-Absences and separations in past 12 months, by age
686 vitreous-enamel workers

All women

Had continuous
employment

Had absences of 1 month or longer but
returned

.Left and did not return

Age

Total
Number

Per
cent

Number

Had no
absence

Per
cent

Had absences of 1 month
or longer

Total
1 absence

ofl

Number

Per
cent

month
or
longer

Total

1 absence

2 absences

Number

2 absences

Per
cent

3 or
more
absences

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1---- --- - ---- ---- - -- - - -- - ---- ---- ----1----1----1---- ---- ---- ---Total ___________ --- ------- -- - - - - _

273

686

345 ---------

311

34

33

59

68

8

Not reporting age _______________ _
Total reporting ____ _________________ _

685
100. 0
272
100. 0
345
311
34
8
100. 0
33
100. 0
59
68
1-----+-----1---+----+---+-----1------,1-----1-----1---+----+---+----+---+---8. 2
31
56
7. 4
34
9. 9
20
3
3
2
2. 9
2 --------- --- - ----18.4
52
19. 1
18. 6
59
64
5
5
10
14. 7
10
1~
34. 9
109
40. 1
109
98
11
11
21
17
4
239
31. 6
30. 9

16 and under 18 years ___________ _
18 and under 20 years ___________ _
20 and under 25 years ___________ _
25 and under 30 years ___________ _
30 and under 40 years ___ ________ _
40 and under 50 years ___________ _
50 and under 60 years ___________ _
60 years and over _______________ _

116
98
41
8
1

16. 9
14. 3
6. 0
1. 2
.1

36
38
13
4

13. 2
14. 0
4.8
1. 5

66
51
20
1

19. 1
14. 8
5.8
.3

61
43
18

5
8
2

5
7
2

1 --------- -- ------- ----------------- --------- --------- --------- --- ------ --------- --------- ---------

14
9
8
3
1

20. 6
13. 2
11. 8
4. 4
1. 5

10
8
8

3
1
1 ---------

3
1

01
01


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

56

EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN VITREOUS ENAMELING
TABLE

X.-Cause of separation from job in past 12 months, by occupation
335 vitreous-enamel workers separated from job in past 12 months
and reporting cause 1
Cause

All women
N um ber

Per
cent

- - -- - - - - - - - - - -1- - - - -

Sprayers
Number

Per
cent

Brushers
N u mber

Per
cent

GrainDip- ers and Other
pers patchers

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ·-

-

-

-

All causes reported_ ________ ___ _

335

100. 0

108

100. 0

170

100. 0

20

Industrial______________ __________ ____

208

62.1

61

56. 5

116

68. 2

12

136
6
44
9
4
9

40. 6
1.8
13. 1
2. 7
1. 2
2. 7

36
2
15
4

33. 3
1. 9
13. 9
3. 7

82
1
22
2
4
5

48. 2
3
9
6
1
.6
1
1
2
12. 9
4
1
1. 2
3 ------- - ----- 2. 4 -- - ---- ------- - ---- -2. 9 - ------ -- -- -- - ---- ---

Personal_ ___________ - - ___ ____________ _

112

33. 4

43

39. 8

47

27.6

8

Illness of self__________________ ___ _
Illness of others ___ _______________ _
Home duties _____ __ ____________ __
Better job __________ ____ __ -- __ _--Rest; vacation __ ________________ _
Removed ___ _____________________ _
Other ______ ____ ___ ________ ______ _

56
8
32
5
5
5
1

16. 7
2. 4
9.6
1. 5
1. 5
1. 5
.3

25

1
13
1
2
1

23. 1
.9
12. 0
.9
1. 9
.9

23
3
10
4

3
3
2 ---- --2
2

4
1

13. 5
1.8
5. 9
2. 4
1. 2
2. 4
.6

Other-Dispute ____ ______ __ _____ ____ _

15

4. 5

4

3. 7

7

4.1

Laid off ____ _______ ______________ _
Work slack _____ _______ _________ __
Poor working conditions __ _______ _
Low wages _____ __________ _______ _
Long hours _______ ______ ____ _____ _
Other ______ __________________ ___ _

1

25
14

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --------------3. 7
4

------- -------

10 other women lost employment but did not report cause.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

12

2

5

9
2
2
5

1 --- - --- -- - - ---

2

57

APPENDIXES

APPENDIX B.-SCHEDULE FORMS
SCHEDULE I
[Used for interviews wit_h plant officials and for observations of working conditions]
WOMEN'S BUREAU ,

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Name of firm ____ ___ ___ ____________ _________ _______ __ ______ ______ Address ____ _________ _____ _________ __ _
Product ____ __________ _______ ___ ________ - - -- - - --- - - - ----- - - ---- - - - C ity _______ _______ ______ ___ ___ _____ __
Person interviewed _______ ___ ________ ____ _____ ___ Position _____ __________ __________________________ _____

White

Colored

Total

Number employed:
Men ____ ____ _______ ______ _________ ______ ______ _________ ______ _____ _____ __________ __________________ _
Women _____ ___ ____ ____ _____ ___ ________ ____ ___ ______ _______________ ___ _________ _____ ___ ____ _______ _
Occupations of women __ ____ ___ ___ ___ ______ ___ ___ ___ ______________ _________ ____ _____ ___________ _____ _____

How long has enamel been sprayed? ____ - - - - ---- -- -- -- - - --- -- - -- - - - - - - ---- - --- - -------------- - - - ------ - -How long has enamel been sprayed by women'? -- - - - - - - - - - - ------ --- - ------ -- --- - - - --- - - - - - - - - - ------ -- - Hours:
Begin

Encl

Lunch

Rest

Total

Total weekly;
number of days

Daily _____ __ ____ _____ ___________ ___ ___ __ ___ ________ ___ __ _____________ ______ ______ ___ __ ________ _______ _
Saturday __ ________ ______ __ -- ---- --- - - - ____ ________ - -- -- - - - -- -- ----- - ------ ------- - - - - -- ------- -- -----Seasonal or special hours (overtime) ______ ___ __ ______ ___ ____ _____ _____ __ _______________ ______ ____ ______ _
Wages:
How do wages of sprayers compare with those of other women workers?-- - - ----- - - - - - --- - - - - - - --- - - - - - Method of payment:

Occupations

Time

Piece

Both

Vacation without pay

Vacation with
pay

Employment policy:
Empl. mgr_ __ __________________ _ Other centralized method __ ______ _________ ___ __ _- ______ _____ ____ __
Records kept_ ____ _____ ____ _______ ___ ___ ____ _____________ __ ___________ ____ _____ __ __ ___ __ _____ __ ____ __ _
Physical examination on hiring ____ - - - -- ------- - ----------------------- - - ---- - --- - - -- - - -- -- - -- -- - -- - Physical examination at stated periods ____ ___ _______ ___ ______ ____ ____________ _____ _____ _____ __ ___ ___ _
Nurse in plant__ - - - ----- -- --------______ _____________ ___ __ Visiting nurse ________ ____ ___________ ______ __
Doctor in plant_ __ -------------------------- - -- __ _____ ____ Visiting doctor __ ____ __________ ________ ___ ___
Records of illness kept_ ________________________________________ ______ __ __ _________________ ___ ___ ________ _
Records of treatment kept_ _______ _______________ _____ ____ ___ __ _______ ___ ________ ____ __ _______ ____ __ __ __ _
Uniforms for sprayers _______________________ ___________ __ ___________________ Cleaners ______ _____ _______ __
Furnished __ ________ Required but not furnished ____ ______ Where kept_ ______________ __ __________ _
How often changed ___ _______ Cost of laundry __ _____ __ _ Paid by firm __ __ ______________ ____ _______ _
Are the following required? Describe. How often changed?
Head coverings ______________________________________ ____ _____ ____ __ - - ·-- __.___ __ __ ____ _____ ____ __
Hand coverings _____ _________ __ __________ ___ ___ _____ _________ ___ ___ ___ __ ____ _______ _______ ___ ___ _
Masks or respirators ___ ______________________________ ____ ___ __ -- ______ - - - -- - - ----- --- -- - - - - - - --- _
Rules_ -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- -- ---- -- - -- -- -- - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Is spraying done in booth?__________ In room?-- -- -- - - - ---- --- - -- - ----- - ---- ----- ------- - ------- -- - -- --Pressure in gun ______ ----- --------------- --- ---- ---- _____ ___ ___ __________ _____ ________ ___ __ ____ _____ _____
Exhaust in booth ________________ _________ ___ ________ ____ ___ ___________ ___ ____ __ _______ ____ __ _______ ___ __
Velocity______ ___ ________ ___________ __________________ ___ __ ___ How tested _________ __ ___ __ _________ _____
By whom. _______ _____________ __ __ ___ ____ ______ ___ ___ ______ __ Frequency ____ _______ ____ ___ ___ ____ ____ _
Size of opening ______ _______ ____ ___ _____ _____________ __ __ ____ ___ ______ ________________ ____________ ___ ___ __
Cleaning of booth: Method, fluid used, frequency, during working hours, by whom?- - - ~-- --- - --- --- - - -- --


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

58

EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN VITREOUS ENAMELING

Conditions found, rebound of spray, other workers in same room, working near, etc. Changes in method,
kind, and duties.

Kind of enamel used ___ __ _____ ______ __________ _____ __ __ ____ ________ ___ __ _--- --· - --- -- Number=== ______ _
Manufacturer __- - ------ - ------- -· Lead content______ ____ ______ ____ Change of kind- -- -- - -~--- --- - __ __
Ventilation:
Natural-windows located in reference to spraying in cross draft, et c.
Artificial (ot her than in booth) ____ ___ __ ____ ___ ___ _________________ ________________ ___ __ __ ______ ____ __
Height of ceiling ___ -· -- ______ ____ ______________ ________ ____ __ _______ _________________ ____ __ _________ _
Floors:
Material ___ _______ ____ __ _-- --·--··- ------ --- -- --- Condition ______________________ _____ ____ ________ _
Sweeping-method, frequency, by whom _______ ___ _____ . ___ ________________________ ___ ______ ________ _
Scrubbing ___. _________ __ _____ ________ _______ ______ ________ _________________________ __ ___ ____________ _
DescribeLighting:
N aturaL
_____ _____ . ________ ____ __ _____ ___ ___________________________ ______________ _________________ __
ArtificiaL ______ -·- __ ______________ _____ __ __ ________ __ ____ _____________ _______________ ______ __ _______ _
Seats: Do sprayers sit?_ ______ _ Stand?_ ____ ·-· Sit and stand?_ ______ ___ _______ __ __ ___ ___ ___ __________ _
Heating_.-··- _______ _____ ______ ____________ __ -·- ________ _______ ___.·- _________ _____ ____ _____ __ __________ _
Drinking facilities (sprayers) : Bubbler (angle jet) _. ____ Common CUP-·---· Individual cup __ ________ _
Washing facilities:
• Basin ___ ___ Trough _____ _ Share with women ___ ___ Women and men __ __ _. Other ___ ___ ________ _
Clean __ ____ Hot wat er __ __ ______ Soap__ ____ Brush _________ ____ __ ____ __ ___ _____ ____ __ __________ __
Towels furnished __ __ __ IndividuaL _____ F requency ______ Common ____ ._ Frequency __ ________ _
Rules __ . . ______ ___ _______ ________ -· ______ ___ _____ ____ _____ ___ ____ __ ______ ____ ___ __ _______ ___________ _
Toilets:
Kind _____ -- -- -- - -- -- - -- - ---·- - - -- - _- _- _- -_____ _____ - -- -- ____ _____________ ___ _- -- -- -_-- -- -- -- -- - -- -- - Condition__ ___ _________ __ Cleaned by whom?_ _____ _____ _____ Frequency _· ·- -- -- - -- ---------- ---Number of women using ____ ______ Number of seats--··- -· -·· -··- · -· ---- ·-·- --- -·· - -· -- ----------·- Is cloakroom provided?._ .. ··- -· · -·-·-···- -- ··- __ -·-···--·---· - -·--·-· -········-· -- --·-··-·--·· -- _______ _
Describe-

Lunch room

ComArti- ~i~~Floor bined Clean ficial
with
light r~~

JiJii~ Super

\~\~

Rest room

- ------1-- -1- - - - - - - - - -

Cloak room

Cafe- T a•
vis;d teria bles

Cot

Hot . Hot Cooking
Seats food drink ci:n~:·

Chairs

Comfortable
chairs

Bench

- - ·1---1-- - -- 1- - -- - - t -- - --

L~;t"

Shelves

- - - - ---;--- - - - - -- - -- - - - - - - - - - - -- - - --

Racks

J:ti~

,Seats

- --1------1---

Rules for lunch •.... ·---··- --- ·-- -- · -- ____ --··--- __ ____________ ___ __ __ ___ _----- --· · · ______ -· -·- - --- · -- ---·

Agent_. ______ ____ ____ ____________ __ _____ __ _-·
Date••• -· -· - ____ -· - -· ___ ____ _____ ____ --·- ___ _


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

APPENDIXES

59

SCHEDULE II

[Used for interviews in the plant with women spraying with enamel]
WOMEN'S BUREAU, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Conditions of work

Pressure in gun______ _____________ __ ______________ ___ Weight_ ___ ___________ ---------------------------How near is nozzle of gun to work?__ _____ _____ _______ Rebound of spray _______________________________ _
Ventilation _______ _________________________________________ ___ ________________________ ____ - _____ - -- _- _-- -Does exhaust work well? _______________ ________________________________________________ _________________ _
Draft_ _________________________________ ___ ______________________________________________________________ _
Who cleans gun?_________________________ ___ _________ Frequency _____________________ ________ _______ __ _
Who fills gun? __ _-------------------------------- Frequency ______________________________________ _
Method of cleaning _________________________ __________________________ _______________________________ _
Material used _________ ___________ _____________ _____ _______ ________ __________________________________ _
Who cleans booth?___________________________________ During work hours? _____________________________ _
Frequency _________________________________________________________________ _____ _____ _________ ______ _
Method ____________ _________________________ _____ _______ ______ ______________________________________ _
What fluid used? _____ ___ ____ _____ _____ __________________________________ ______ ___ ___________________ _
Do you
uniform?-----------------------------Supplied
firm?------------- ------------- - -Whowear
paysa for
laundering?_____ __________________ _ How
oftenby
changed?
_______
______________
_______
__

Rules for wearing protective clothing

Is head covering worn?_____________________________________ Comfortable?------------------- ---------Supplied by company?_____________________ Cleaned by company?_________ _ Frequency _________ _
Rules __________ -- - -- --- - - -- -- -- -- --- --- -- - - -- -- - -- -- - -- -- - -- -- - -- -- ----- -- - -- -- -- -- -- -- - - -- -- - - -- -- -Are hand coverings worn?_--------------------------------- Comfortable?-----------------------------Supplied by company?_____________________ Cleaned by company?__________ Frequency _________ _
Rules _____________________________________________________________________________________________ __ _
Are masks or respirators worn?--------- -- ---------- --- ----- Always? ___ _______ Occasionally? _______ __ _
Are they comfortable? ____ _____________ _______ Supplied by company? ____ ________ _________________ _
How often cleaned?_____ __ _____ _______________ How often refilled?__________ ---------------- _______ _
Rules _________ - -- -- - -- -- - -- -- -- -- --- ---- - -- - -- - -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - -- -- -- --- --- -- -- -- -- - -- -- - -- - -- -- -- - -- Is work steady?___________________________________ ____ ________________ ____ ____ Any overtime? _________ _
Do you do other work besides spraying? __________ _____ ______ ______ Kinds _____________________________ _
How much of time on other work? ____________ ________ _________ _____________________ __________________ ___


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

SCHEDULE Ill

[Used for recording, from plant pay rolls, the days worked and not worked by women in the enameling departments over a 12-month period, and taken to the women's homes
for information as to causes of absence, work history, symptoms of lead poisoning, and other personal matters]
[Front]
WOMEN'S BUREAU,

U. S.

t"-1

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

is:

Worker _____________ -------------_________________ Address_____ ___ ___________________________________ City______ _____ ____________ Factory _________________________________ ____
Occupation ______________ ________ ________________ _____ __ Hours: Daily ________ Saturday _______ _ Night ________
Age entering plant_ ____ _

Weekly ________ Time, Piece, Both _____ ___ Age __ _______ _

Age beginning work______

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19 · 20

21

22

- - - - - - - - - - , 1 - -1-- - 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - l- - . . / - - ji - - J - - - l - - l --

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

Possible

~

0

~
t"-1
z1-3

Work days
Month

I'd

Actual

0

~

~

l - - - l - --l - - - - - - - - 1 - - t -- - l - --

January _________ _____ _________ _____________ ___ _____________ _____ ___ ___ ___ _____ ---- ____ ____ . _____ __ ____ _____ ___ _________________ ___ ______ _______ ___

0

is:
t"-1

March _____ __ ___ __________ _____ _________________ __ __________________ __ ______________________ __ _________

==== ==== ==== == ==

==== :::: ___ _ ____ == ==

==~=---- -------- --------

April-------===-- -==--- __ __ ---- ________________________________________________ ==--_____ ___ ________ ____________________________ ______ __ ___ _ _______ _

--

May _______________________________ ________ ________ _____________ ___ ____________ ==-- _____ _____ ______________ ________ ___ _ _________ _____ __________ ---=

-- --

--

z
z

1-1

-<

1-1

1-3

June ______ ___ ______________________________________________________________ __ __ ________ ____ ____ _

~

t"-1

0

July ___________________ --------- -- -------------- --- --- - --- -- -------------- -- ------- ------------------- ----- ------ ---------- . --- - --- ---- ---- ---- ---August _______________ __________ ___ ____ ____________ _____ ___________________________ ___ _____________ __ ____________ _______________ _____ _____________ _
September_-_ -______________ · __ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ __ __ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ __ __ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ___ _ ____ __ __ ____
October _________________________________________________________________________________________ _______ _________ ___ ___ _________ __________ ________ _

q
Ul

-

t"-1

~

November _________________________ _____ ___________ _________ _______ ________________ _____ _______ _____________ _____ __________ _______________________ _

t"-1

December ___ _________ _______ __________________ -. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____ _

z
~

Absences (dates) causes:


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

~

1-1

Work history

Name of plant

Occupation

D uration

[Back]
The worker:
1. Nativity (spec.) ________ ____ 2. Color _________ __ _ 3. Speak English __ ___ ____ ___ 4. S. M . W. S. D , __ ____ _____ _
If married, when ?

Births-Date

Deaths- Date-Cause

--------- ------------- _____________ -- ------------------

Agent_ ________ __ _____ ____ _________ _
Date _______________________ ____ __ __
Miscarriages - Date
- -- - - -- -- - -- --- --- -- - - ---- · - ------- - -- -- --- - - ----- - ---- -

..,

Is worker subject to any special kind of indisposition? (specify)
Always

Cause of change

Recently

Always

Recently

I ndigestion ____ ___________________ _______ ______ ____________ _________________ _________ ___ _ Pains in joints. _______ ___ __________ _______ __ ___ _______ ____ _____________ ________ . ____ __
Headache _____ _______ ___ __ ______________ _____ ____________ ____ ___ __ ____ ______ ___________ _ Constipation ___________ ______ __ __ _____ ________________ ____ __ ___ ____ ___ _______ __ ___ ___ _
Loss of sleep ______ __________ ___________ _____ _. __________ _________ _______ ________________ Menstrual disturbances ________________ ·---- _______________ __ __ ---------- -- --- - · ______ _
Loss of appetite-breakfast ______ ______ ___________ __ ____ __ ______ __________ ___ _____ ____ _
Bad taste
in mouth-sweet
or metallic
----- - ______
-------------------------- --·-------Tremors
____ __________
______ ________
_______
__ _=
. ===
__ ___________
__====
_____________
~r!:~~~ess
___~= ============
== ==== ====
== == ===
========= ==
==== ==== ===_____________
=============_ Loss
of weight
_____________________
_________
_______ ____-·. -_____________
__. __ _. ____
Noon lunch-where eaten . ____________ . __ _._________________ ___________ ______ ___ _________
Lunch between meals-where eaten____ __ ______ ______________ _______________ ___ __________

Wash before eating _____________________________________ ____________________ . __ . _______ _
Physical examination ______ ___ ________ _________ ___ ___ ___ . ______ ____________ ___ ________ _

Comparison of jobs_. ______________ __ __ __ ______ ________ __ ___ __ __________________ ______ _____ ____ _____________ __ _____ ______ __ ________ _____ ________ _______ ___ ______________ _____ ____

~

.......


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

PUBLICATIONS OF THE WOMEN'S BUREAU
[Any of these bulletins still available will be sent free of charge upon request]

*No. 1. Proposed Employment of Women During the War in the Industries of
Niagara Falls, N . Y. 16 pp. 1918.
*No. 2. Labor Laws for Women in Industry in Indiana. 29 pp. 1919.
No. 3. Standards for the Employment of Women in Industry. 8 pp. F ourth
ed., 1928.
No. 4. Wages of Candy Makers in Philadelphia in 1919. 46 pp. 1919.
*No. 5. The Eight-Hour Day in Federal and State Legislation. 19 pp. 1919.
No. 6. The Employment of Women in Hazardous Industries in the United
States. 8 pp. 1921.
No. 7. Night-Work Laws in the United States. (1919) 4 pp. 1920.
*No. 8. Women in the Government Service. 37 pp. 1920.
*No. 9. Home Work in Bridgeport, Conn. 35 pp. 1920.
*No. 10. Hours and Conditions of Work for Women in Industry in Virginia.
32 pp. 1920.
No. 11. Women Street Car Conductors and Ticket Agents. 90 pp. 1921.
*No. 12. The New Position of Women in American Industry. 158 pp. 1920.
*No. 13. Industrial Opportunities and Training for Women and Girls. 48 pp.
1921.
·
*No. 14. A Physiological Basis for the Shorter Working D ay for Women. 20
pp. 1921.
No. 15. Some Effects of Legislation Limiting Hours of Work for Women. 26
pp. 1921.
No. 16. (See Bulletin 98.)
No. 17. Women's Wages in Kansas. 104 pp. 1921.
No. 18. Health Problems of Women in Industry. 6 pp. Revised, 1931. ·
No. 19. Iowa Women in Industry. 73 pp. 1922.
*No. 20. Negro Women in Indust ry . 65 pp. 1922.
No. 21. Women in Rhode I sland Industries. 73 pp. 1922.
*No. 22. Women in Georgia Industries. 89 pp. 1922.
No. 23. The Family Status of Breadwinning Women. 43 pp. 1922.
No. 24. Women in Maryland Indust ries. 96 pp. 1922.
No. 25. Women in the Candy Industry in Chicago and St. Louis. 72 pp.
1923.
No. 26. Women in Arkansas Industries. 86 pp. 1923.
No. 27. The Occupational Progress of Women. 37 pp. 1922.
No. 28. Women's Contributions in the Field of Invention. 51 pp. 1923.
No. 29. Women in Kentucky Indust ries. 114 pp. 1923.
No. 30. The Share of Wage-Earning Women in Family Support. 170 pp. 1923.
No. 31. What Industry Means to Women Workers. 10 pp. 1923.
No. 32. Women in South Carolina Industries. 128 pp. 1923.
No. 33. Proceedings of the Women's Industrial Conference. 190 pp. 1923.
No. 34. Women in Alabama Industries. 86 pp. 1924.
No. 35. Women in Missouri Industries. 127 pp. 1924.
No. 36. Radio Talks on Women in Indust:ry . 34 pp. 1924.
No. 37. Women in New Jersey Industries. 99 pp. 1924.
No . 38. Married Women in Industry. 8 pp. 1924.
No. 39. D omestic Workers and Their Employment Relations. 87 pp. 1924.
No. 40. (See Bulletin 98.)
No. 41. Family Status of Breadwinning Women in Four Selected Cities. 145
pp. 1925.
No . 42. List of References on Minimum Wage for Women in the United States
and Canada. 42 pp. 1925.
No. 43. Standard and Scheduled Hours of Work for Women in Industry. 68
pp. 1925.
No. 44. Women in Ohio Industries. 137 pp. 1925.
No. 45. Home Environment and Employment Opportunities of Women in
Coal-Mine Workers' Families. 61 pp. 1925.
No . 46. Facts About Working Women-A Graphic Presentation Based on
Census Statistics. 64 pp. 1925.
No. 47. Women in the Fruit~Growing and Canning Industries in the State of
Washington. 223 pp. 1926.
62


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

PUBLICNrIONS OF THE WOMEN'S BUREAU

63

*No. 48·. Women in Oklahoma Industries. 118 pp. 1926.
No. 49. Women Workers and Family Support. 10 pp. 1925.
No. 50. Effects of Applied Research Upon the Employment Opportunities of
American Women. 54 pp. 1926.
No. 51. Women in Illinois Industries. 108 pp. 1926.
No. 52. Lost Time and La bor Turnover in Cotton M~lls. 203 pp. 1926.
No. 53. The Status of Women in the Government Service in 1925. 103 pp.
1926.
No. 54. Changing Jobs. 12 pp. 1926.
No. 55. Women in Mississippi Industries. 89 pp. 1926.
No. 56. Women in Tennessee Industries. 120 pp. 1927.
No. 57. Women Workers and Industrial Poisons. 5 pp. 1926.
No. 58. Women in Delaware I ndustries. 156 pp. 1927.
No. 59. Short Talks About Working Women. 24 pp. 1927.
No. 60. Industrial Accidents to Women in New Jersey, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
316 pp. 1927.
No. 61. The Development of Minimum-Wage Laws in the United States, 1912
to 1927. 635 pp. 1928.
No. 62. Women's Employment in Vegetable Canneries in Delaware. 47 pp.
1927.
No. 63. (See Bulletin 98.)
No. 64. The Employment of Women at Night. 86 pp. 1928.
*No. 65. The Effects of Labor Legislati0n on the Employment Opportunities of
Women. 498 pp. 1928.
No. 66-I. History of Labor Legislation for Women in Three States. 133 pp.
1929. (Separated from No. 66-II in reprint, 1932.)
No. 66-II. Chronological Development of Labor Legislation for Women in the
United States. Revised December, 1931. 176 pp. 1932.
No. 67. Women Workers in Flint, Mich. 80 pp. 1929.
No. 68. Summary: The Effects of Labor Legislation on the Employment Opportunities of Women. (Reprint of Chapter II of bulletin 65.) 22
pp. 1928.
No. 69. Causes of Absence for Men and for Women in Four Cotton Mills. 24
.,
pp. 1929.
No. 70. Negro Women in Industry in 15 States. 7 4 pp. 1929.
No. 71. Selected References on the Health of Women in Industry. 8 pp. 1929. ·
No. 72. Conditions of Work in Spin Rooms. 41 pp. 1929.
No. 73. Variations in Employment Trends of Women and Men. 143 pp. 1930.
No. 74. The Immigrant Woman and Her Job. 179 pp. 1930.
No. 75. What the Wage-Earning Woman Contributes to Family Support.
21 pp. 1929.
No. 76. Women in 5-and-10-cent Stores and Limited-Price Chain Department
Stores. 58 pp. 1930.
No. 77. A Study of Two Groups of Denver Married Women Applying for Jobs.
11 pp. 1929.
No. 78. A Survey of Laundries and Their Women Workers in 23 Cities. 166
pp. 1930.
No. 79. Industrial Home Work. 20 pp. 1930.
No. 80. Women in Florida Industries. 115 pp. 1930.
No. 81. Industrial Accidents t o Men and Women. 48 pp. 1930.
No. 82. The Employment of Women in the Pineapple Canneries of Hawaii.
30pp. 1930.
No. 83. Fluctuation of Employment in the Radio Industry. 66 pp. 1931.
No. 84. Fact Finding with the Women's Bureau. 37 pp. 1931.
No. 85. Wages of Women in 13 States. 213 pp. 1931.
No. 86. Activities of the Women's Bureau of the United States. 15 pp. 1931.
No. 87. Sanitary Drinking Facilities, with Special Reference to Drinking
Fountains. 28 pp. 1931.
·
No. 88. The Employment of Women in Slaughtering and Meat Packing. 210
pp. 1932.
No. 89. The Industrial Experience of Women Workers at the Summer Schools,
1928 to 1930. 62 pp. 1931.
No. 90. Oregon Legislation for Women in Industry. 40 pp. 1931.
No. 91. Women in Industry. A Series of Papers to Aid Study Groups. 79 pp.
1931.
No. 92. Wage-Earnin_g Women and the Industrial Depression of 1930--A
Survey of South Bend. 84 pp. 1932.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

•

64

EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN VITREOUS ENAMELING

No. 93. Household Employment in Philadelphia. 88 pp. 1932.
No. 94. State Requirements for Industrial Lighting. A Handbook for the
Protection of Women Workers, Showing Lighting Standards and
Practices. 65 pp. 1932.
No. 95. Bookkeepers, Stenographers, and Office Clerks in Ohio, 1914 to 1929.
34 pp. 1932.
No. 96. Women Office Workers in Philadelphia. 17 pp. 1932.
No. 97. The Employment of Women in the Sewing Trades of ConnecticutPreliminary Report. 13 pp. 1932.
No. 98. Labor Laws for Women in the States and Territories. (Revision of
Bulletin 63.) 71 pp. 1932.
No. 99. The Installation and Maintenance of Toilet Facilities in Places of
Employment. 89 pp. 1932.
No. 100. The Effects on Women of Changing Conditions in the Cigar and
Cigarette Industries. 187 pp. 1932.
No. 101. The Employment of Women in Vitreous Enameling. 64 pp. 1932.
Pamphlet-Women's Place in Industry in 10 Southern States. 14 pp. 1931.
Annual Reports of the Director, 1919*, 1920*, 1921 *, 1922, 1923*, 1924*, 1925,
1926, 1927*, 1928*, 1929*, 1930, * 1931, 1932.
• Supply exhausted.

0


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis