College of Social and Behavioral Science
73 Early Industry and Tenement Housing of Chicago: Health Hazards and Exposures
Madison Barnett
Faculty Mentor: Brett Clark (Environmental & Sustainability Studies, University of Utah)
Introduction
The Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and early 19th centuries marked a turning point for labor and society. Work was progressively mechanized due to the development and incorporation of new inventions within industrial operations. In the late 19th century, Chicago emerged as a hub for industry, notably after the introduction of a railway system that helped establish the city as a central node in regional production and trade. Largest amongst the city’s industries were printing, paint, rubber, garments, meat, and textiles. The adopted use of heavy machinery meant higher production rates and large-scale factory operations. Many in need of work looked to Chicago as a city that offered ample opportunity for employment.
Industrial working conditions within the city had little oversight and regulation, which meant long workdays for the men, women, and children working to support the family unit on the front lines of manufacturing and production. Factory work was a common trade for those of lower socioeconomic status; it provided a meager wage regardless of the daily production of a worker. The largest class of workers earned from $5-$10 a week as a family, with some earning more and many others earning far less (Holbrook, 1895, p. 22). Workers, such as those making textiles, often needed to take materials home to finish, in order to ensure they could earn sufficient income. With the expansion of industry and subsequent labor came a need for cost-effective and proximal housing. Tenements became a quick solution that provided sufficient shelter for low-income workers and their families. This new era of industry and working conditions fostered an environment that prompted increasing concern regarding the health and well-being of industrial workers. The work of both Alice Hamilton and Florence Kelley in providing quantitative data and qualitative analysis of industrial Chicago demonstrates foundational work in what today is known as environmental justice.
The Conditions of Tenements and the Risks of Industrial Work
Tenement housing in the industrial district of East Chicago, though far from desirable, was a financially sound option for many working in the city’s factories. The tenements were multi-level, narrow buildings with each structure packed tightly against the next on the street. The housing had nothing more than small rooms, each consisting of one to two families, with little space for comfort or lounging. They often had poor ventilation, no electricity, and no indoor plumbing. The harsh conditions of tenement housing facilitated the spread of disease and illness, as well as exposure to toxins and hazardous materials (Zeublin, 1895 p. 94). High-risk conditions of industrial work most often in trades dominated by male labor, resulted in high rates of injury. Many children were also subjected to factory work to produce income after a parent had suffered severe injury or death while working. These poorer families would work as much as possible to survive, while injured or sick family members were left to their ailments within the tenements.
The spread of disease and illness through industrial work and tenement housing arose as a consequence of both direct and indirect exposures. Direct exposures would occur through contact or inhalation of toxins found within materials used in factories such as dyes, paints, papers, and rubbers. Lead poisoning arose as a main source of toxin exposure to frontline workers and their families. These poisonings in the east industrial districts of Chicago alone were documented in the thousands, as many workers experienced the severe effects of encephalopathy, paralysis, and even death (Hamilton, 1926, p. 233). Phosphorus inhalation through industrial work associated with metals created gastrointestinal damage, often leaving abscesses in the mouth and throat as well. Various illnesses could also be spread from worker to worker as they spent several hours in proximity and in large groups. Respiratory infections were most notable among communicable illnesses, with poor sanitary conditions of factories and bathroom facilities or lack thereof likely contributing. Alongside lead exposures and respiratory illnesses like tuberculosis, there was also risk of physical injury. This risk was common for industrial workers, with harm done either through accidents or simply through bodily wear due to harsh working conditions and tasks. Laborers would often only last a few months to a couple years of starting a position due to dangers of the trade (Hamilton, 1926, p. 233).
Indirect exposures to disease and illness came as the result of poor conditions of housing within tenements. The lack of ventilation, space, plumbing, and sanitation provided ideal environments for severe cases of harm to human health. Workers faced exposure to toxins and particulate matter at work that would then be carried from their person and clothing into the tenements where cramped conditions lead to further exposure to others (Kelley, 1895). Respiratory illness could easily be spread within the unsanitary, confined spaces of these structures from family to family and thus back to factories and operations. Beyond the spread of infectious disease and lead particulates were also the use of toxic materials in the tenements. Workers within paint and textile industries would even bring excess materials home to be utilized by their family and others, unknowingly further contaminating the home with lead and other toxins.
Short-term symptoms of lead exposure often experienced by those working in high-lead trades such as paint manufacturing include headache, nausea, syncope, fatigue, and irritability. While uncomfortable, short-term effects are little in comparison to the impacts of long-term exposure and lead poisoning. These greater impacts include brain and kidney damage alongside aforementioned impacts such as paralysis and death (Hamilton, 1926, p. 233). While information was collected in an attempt to document the amounts of exposure to health hazards, it is unlikely that what was gathered speaks to the full extent of conditions due to scientific and investigative limitations of the time.
Internal Medicine and Environmental Justice Scholarship
While investigations of working conditions were not entirely unknown in the late 1800s to early 1900s, the work of European scholars such as Friederich Engels had not yet been applied to American society and industrialization until Florence Kelley and Alice Hamilton began to conduct such studies in Chicago. Engels documented the industrial and housing conditions of the working population in England, helping establish concepts in early industrial medicine (Engels, 1845, p.35). Hamilton and Kelley built on this work by engaging in extensive studies of occupations and housing within the United States. Hamilton documented the dangers associated with each occupation, which included exposure to poisons and other hazards in production. Kelley revealed the working and housing conditions, offering a critical assessment of the larger industrial context.
The works of Hamilton and Kelley also provide early context for environmental justice beyond what may currently be understood. While the work of Hamilton primarily documents exposure to lead in enameling, smelting, and paint industries, she also documents exposure to concentrations of nitrous and phosphorus in war-related industry (Hamilton, 1943, p.114). The conditions of these various types of factory work greatly affected the quality of life for working-class families, harming the overall health and safety of thousands. By examining the working conditions of industrial labor, Kelley highlights the injustices that took place as they relate to labor and housing disparities. Subjection to poor working conditions such as long working hours, low wages, lack of resources, and high-risk positions are made clear in her reports on industrial Chicago. The low socioeconomic status of working families also established boundaries in which families could not overcome poor housing conditions. Despite being riddled with disease and illness, as well as other poor working conditions, individuals were forced to work in an attempt to meet the basic needs of themselves and their families.
Conclusion: Modern Conditions
Information gathered through the investigations of labor and industry in Chicago served as monumental contributions to the study of occupational health and industrial medicine as we understand them today. The work of Kelley and Hamilton led to the enactment of regulations for the working day and shed light on the health consequences of industrial work and associated tenement housing. Their work not only reflects industry conditions of the time, but draws attention to broader issues of health and justice disparities within marginalized communities as a whole. It also helped contribute to laws against child labor.
This early foundational work on environmental justice, via the investigation of industrial Chicago, helps raise crucial questions regarding how the conditions of housing and work influence environmental inequalities, well-being, and health disparities. While standards and regulations have come a long way, concern for the persistence of these problems within communities lingers. The working and living conditions of communities with lower socioeconomic status must be further examined. Contemporary work in environmental justice often highlights disparities associated with proximity to obvious environmental hazards, but not necessarily the working and living conditions that in themselves facilitate higher rates of illness, disease, and exposure to toxins due to the economic constraints of low-income populations. The investigations of industry and health in Chicago provide key context for further analysis of modern cases as issues have evolved.
Bibliography
Engles, F., (1845). Conditions of the working class. Oxford University Press. (pp. 35).
Hamilton, A., (1926). The Prevalence of Industrial Poisoning in the United States. Medicine Monographs. (Vol. VII) The Williams and Wilkins Company (pp. 223).
Hamilton, A., (1943). Exploring the Dangerous Trades. (pp. 114).
Holbrook, A., (1895). Map Notes and Comments. Hull House Papers and Documents. Thomas Y. Crowell and CO. (pp. 22).
Kelley, F., (1895). The Sweating System. Hull House Papers and Documents. Thomas Y. Crowell and CO.
Zeublin, C., (1895). The Chicago Ghetto. Hull House Papers and Documents. Thomas Y. Crowell and CO. (pp. 94).
About the author
name: Madison Barnett