Abstract
THE recent omission by a well-known firm of match manufacturers to comply with the regulations relative to notification to the Home Office of cases of phosphorus-necrosis among their employés, and the consequent strictures in the House of Commons on the adequacy of the present methods of factory inspection in the case of dangerous trades, have once more drawn attention to the evils which arise from the employment of “ordinary,” or, as it is frequently called, “yellow” phosphorus in the manufacture of lucifer matches. As was recently pointed out in the course of the debate upon the Home Office vote, the story is really a very old one. “Phossy jaw” has been on more than one occasion the subject of Parliamentary inquiry. Practically nothing in the way of remedy has followed from these inquiries. The public has been shocked, for a time, with the tales of what the “lucifer disease” may mean to the unfortunate wretch who may be smitten with it, and then the matter is forgotten, until such a startling episode as that which occurred the other day once more rouses attention to it. The temper of the House on the occasion of the debate referred to was, however, unmistakable, and faithfully reflected the state of opinion outside. The country has at length made up its mind that some solution must be found. The old excuses that nothing is possible will no longer suffice. There is a growing conviction that a remedy is at hand, and if the manufacturers will not voluntarily adopt it, the Legislature must arm the Home Office with the necessary powers to compel the adoption.
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Phosphorus in Lucifer Matches. Nature 58, 345–346 (1898). https://doi.org/10.1038/058345a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/058345a0