W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1996 Lead Poisoning from the Colonial Period to the Present Elsie Irene Eubanks College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Eubanks, Elsie Irene, "Lead Poisoning from the Colonial Period to the Present" (1996). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539626037. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-3p5y-hz98 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LEAD POISONING FROM THE COLONIAL PERIOD TO THE PRESENT A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Anthropology The College of William and Mary In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Elsie Irene Eubanks 1996 APPROVAL SHEET This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Author Approved, May 1996 <yf/f ' Norman Barka Marley Brown J Theodore Reinhart TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 2 CHAPTER I. ARCHAEOLOGY AND HUMAN LEAD BONE CONTENT ............................................................................ 8 CHAPTER II. A STUDY OF HISTORIC LEAD GLAZED CERAMICS ......................................................................... 16 CHAPTER III. JOSIAH WEDGWOOD - A STUDY OF LEAD AND THE P O T T E R .................................................................... 28 CHAPTER IV. HISTORY OF THE POTWORKS AND FACTORY ACTS ................................................................................... 32 CHAPTER V. DEVELOPMENT OF LEAD POISONING IN THE HUMAN SYSTEM ............................................................. 44 CHAPTER VI. CONCLUSIONS .......................................... 62 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................... 68 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Writer wishes to express her appreciation to Professor Norman Barka, for his guidance throughout this investigation. Also, the computer gift from my father, Henry Eubanks, made graduate school much more manageable. LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Lead Levels in Human Bones at Catocin Furnace ............................... 10 2. Lead Levels in Human Bones at College Landing ............................... 11 3. Lead Levels in Human Bones at Governor's Land .............................. 13 4. Lead Levels in Human Bones at Irene Mound ................................... 14 5. Measurement of Lead in Redware.............................................................. 19 6. Measurement of Lead in Buff Slip Decorated Earthenware (1670/1795)........................................ 19 7. Measurement of Lead in Creamware (1762/1820)........................... 20 8. Measurement of Lead in Pearlware (1780/1820)............................. 21 9. Measurement of Lead in Stoneware, Whiteware, and Porcelain. ... 22 10. Measurement of Lead in White Combed Slipware, Delftware, Salt Glaze, Milkglass, Whieldon Ware, Miscellaneous............................................... 23 11. Relationship of Value and Lead Leaching ................ 26 12. Cause of Death for Pottery Workers in 1875........................................... 38 13. Hospital of La Charite Lead Poisoning Cases, 1831-1839 50 14. 1987 California Lead Blood Levels......................................................... 57 v ABSTRACT Lead has had a destructive effect on human health throughout history and has greatly influenced human behavior. Lead poisoning has affected all socio­ economic classes of people. In the eighteenth century lead poisoning was prevalent in the underclass factory workers and the upperclass artisans such as the Wedgwood family. There was a higher incidence of lead poisoning in the upper class individuals on plantations of the eighteenth and nineteenth century south due to the use of lead glazed ceramics. Females are more prone to suffer acute lead poisoning than males due to their calcium requirements. Lead is removed from the bones into the bloodstream when more calcium is needed by the body. In 1996 the EPA has estimated that 1.7 million children are poisoned by lead in the United States. The study of historic lead use and the examination of established guidelines for lead exposure provides data helpful in addressing current and future regulations for its management. LEAD POISONING FROM THE COLONIAL PERIOD TO THE PRESENT INTRODUCTION Lead has no known functions or health benefits associated with human beings; it is strictly a metabolic poison (Greenley 1991). Lead has poisoned human beings throughout history and continues to be a problem in the twentieth century. The following excerpt by Pound,Contra Naturam, Cantos XLV,reveals a reference to the effects of lead on individuals in society. Usur [a lead poisoning?] slayeth the child in the womb It stayeth the young man’s courting It hath brought palsey to bed, layeth Between the young bride and her bridegroom. A combination of twentieth century medical knowledge about lead poisoning and information gleaned from the archaeological record can assist archaeologists in interpreting past human behavior. This thesis analyzes lead poisoning and its historic effect on individuals and society, and how the archaeological record can be used to provide information about past lead use. Aufderheide (1981 and 1988), Handler (1986), Rathburn (1987), have used the lead content of excavated skeletons to develop theories about past human behavior. The studies of Catocin Furnace, College Landing, Governor’s Land, and Irene Mound undertaken by Aufderheide (1981) were reexamined for this research. These studies concluded that the higher the socio-economic 2 3 standing of an individual in Colonial America, the more likely they were to suffer from lead poisoning. These individuals had greater exposure to high status/lead glazed ceramics and pewter than the less affluent servants and slaves of the eighteenth century. To test the Aufderheide hypothesis further, contemporary cases of lead poisoning due to lead glazed ceramics were examined, and historic ceramic sherds were tested for lead leaching rates. Current cases of lead poisoning due to modern lead glazed ceramics have been documented, as well as those in the eighteenth century. Therefore, lead glazed ceramics of the eighteenth century may have leached lead. The amount of lead ingested by a consumer varies due to the amount of lead in the glaze, the condition of the vessel, and the length of exposure. Ceramics provide a tool to help interpret past activities, therefore, lead glazed ceramics provide a useful tool for the study of lead by archaeologists. Eighteenth century ceramic sherds were tested for leaching lead. Eighteenth century heirloom ceramics would have been preferred, but the experiments may harm the vessels. Therefore, ceramic sherds from an excavated eighteenth century tavern were tested. Lead glazed ceramics had a debilitating effect on potters and consumers of such wares from the seventeenth century to the present. Many undiagnosed diseases recorded in the seventeenth through eighteenth centuries fit into the 4 category of lead related illnesses, and were often attributed to work in the potteries. Some health problems suffered by early British potters, such as the Wedgwood family, are related to lead exposure. Early factory workers were exposed to dangerously high levels, having no safeguards to protect themselves from exposure. When a lead glazed ceramic is observed by museum patrons, few realize the processes involved in its manufacture. Workers toiled in the early British and American potteries during the processes of developing and manufacturing lead glazed ceramics. Pottery development in the region of Staffordshire, England, presented significant health problems for the potters, their helpers, and the consumers of the lead glazed wares. Many potters, dippers, and other pottery workers endured diseases due to their occupation. Early potters such as Wedgwood are well-known today for their creations; however, the names of the glaze dippers and other workers are generally unknown. The pottery workers who gave so much to their craft deserve recognition for their part in the development of pottery admired and sought after today. According to historic documentation, many of these workers knew it was certain death to work in the factories as dippers (glaze dippers) yet still did so, having no alternative. The likelihood of disease or even death was often used as a bargaining tool for higher wages. Efforts to develop a leadfree glaze were economically unsuccessful. 5 Today we have industry guidelines set forth by the government and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to help prevent and/or reduce lead exposure, yet millions of Americans have unacceptable blood levels of lead. Early written records refer to the devastating effect of lead on health. Nicander (second century BC) apparently was the first person to write