Facts about Factory Labor Conditions
- 09
Matchstick factory workers in Sweden during the 1800s suffered from severe phosphorus poisoning that caused their bones to glow faintly in darkness, a condition called phossy jaw that destroyed facial structure.
- 08
Textile workers in 1890s New England mills developed "mill fever" from prolonged exposure to cotton dust, causing chronic respiratory inflammation that persisted long after leaving factory employment.
- 07
Steel mill workers in early 1900s Pittsburgh experienced temperatures exceeding 130 degrees Fahrenheit while handling molten metal, suffering severe burn rates that made steelwork one of America's most dangerous occupations.
- 06
Nineteenth-century coal miners worked in depths exceeding 2,000 feet with minimal ventilation, experiencing black lung disease from inhaling coal dust that reduced life expectancy to approximately 40 years.
- 05
Lowell Mills in Massachusetts employed approximately 80,000 young women between 1820 and 1860, housing them in company dormitories while requiring 12-14 hour daily shifts at mechanical looms.
- 04
During the 1920s, phosphorus necrosis caused jawbone deterioration in thousands of workers at American match factories who hand-dipped wooden sticks into luminous paint.
- 03
British textile mills employed over 250,000 child workers in 1833, many suffering respiratory diseases from inhaling cotton dust and lint throughout twelve-hour shifts.
- 02
A 12-hour workday was standard for factory laborers in 1920s America, with children as young as five operating dangerous machinery for mere pennies per day.
- 01
In 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire killed 146 workers, mostly women, exposing deadly factory labor conditions and triggering widespread safety reforms.