List of munition workers who died of TNT poisoning explained

These are munition workers who died of TNT poisoning during the manufacture of ammunition for the front lines of World War I. Working with TNT caused many health issues, commonly called TNT poisoning, the most serious of which was a liver disease called toxic jaundice. According to historian Anne Spurgeon, during the First World War, there were 400 cases of the disease of which about 100 were fatal. Munition workers were sometimes called Canary Girls, British women who worked in munitions manufacturing trinitrotoluene (TNT) shells during the First World War1 (1914–1918). The nickname arose because exposure to TNT is toxic, and repeated exposure can turn the skin an orange-yellow colour reminiscent of the plumage of a canary.

Effects of working with TNT

Shells were filled with a mixture of TNT (the explosive) and cordite (the propellant), and even though these ingredients were known to be hazardous to health, they were mixed by hand so came into direct contact with the workers' skin. The chemicals in the TNT reacted with melanin in the skin to cause a yellow pigmentation, staining the skin of the munitions workers. Although unpleasant, this specific side effect was not dangerous and the discolouration eventually faded over time with no long-term health effects.

A more serious consequence of working with TNT powder was liver toxicity, which led to anaemia and jaundice. This condition, known as "toxic jaundice", gave the skin a different type of yellow hue.

A medical investigation was carried out by the government in 1916, to closely study the effects of TNT on the munitions workers. The investigators were able to gather their data by acting as female medical officers posted inside the factories. They found that the effects of the TNT could be roughly split into two areas: irritative symptoms, mainly affecting the skin, respiratory tract, and digestive system; and toxic symptoms, including nausea, jaundice, constipation, dizziness, etc. It is possible that the irritative symptoms were also partly caused by the cordite in the shell mixture, although this was not established until years later.

Partial list of those killed by TNT poisoning

Name	Date of death	Photo	Notes	References
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Bibliography

NotesReferences

• Web site: 12 August 1916. The Effects of Tri-Nitro-Toluene on Women Workers . PUB. July 11, 2021. The Lancet. 188. 4850. 261–310. PDF. Agnes. Livingstone-Learmonth. Barbara Martin. Cunningham.
• Web site: Potts. Lauren . Rimmer. Monica . 20 May 2017. he Canary Girls: The workers the war turned yellow. BBC. July 11, 2021 .
• Book: Rosser, Sue Vilhauer . Women, Science, and Myth: Gender Beliefs from Antiquity to the Present. 2008. ABC-Clio. 9781598840957. - Total pages: 502
• J. S.. Weiner. M. L.. Thomson. October 1947. Observations on the Toxic Effects of Cordite. British Journal of Industrial Medicine. 4. 205. 205–215. BMJ Group . 0007-1072. 99103194. 41236398. 18919033. 1035964. 10.1136/oem.4.4.205.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Annie Holmes - IWM WWC M33. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
2. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Gladys Pritchard- IWM WWC M27. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
3. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Florrie Chandler - IWM WWC M36. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
4. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Mrs Florence Portman - IWM WWC Z-9. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
5. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Dorothy Willis- IWM WWC M47. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
6. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Elsie Oates- IWM WWC M3. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
7. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Kate Hill- IWM WWC M2. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
8. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Mary Anne Kelly - IWM WWC M19. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
9. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Lottie Meade - IWM WWC M15. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
10. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Helen Garvine- IWM WWC M51. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
11. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Margaret Silcock- IWM WWC M5. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
12. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Alice Williams- IWM WWC M49. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
13. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Mary I Turner- IWM WWC M7. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
14. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Maria Haverly- IWM WWC M39. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
15. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Louisa Preston- IWM WWC M32. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
16. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Agnes Deane- IWM WWC M44. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
17. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Annie Bell- IWM WWC M6. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
18. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Lizzie Jones- IWM WWC M74. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
19. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Mrs Elizabeth Walsh- IWM WWC M19. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
20. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Miss Marion Constance Lotinga- IWM WWC M38. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
21. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Mrs Abbot - IWM WWC M42. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
22. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Lily Maud Leaver- IWM WWC M1. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
23. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Margaret Roscoe- IWM WWC M17. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
24. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Annie Evelyn Baron- IWM WWC M13. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
25. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Annie Flynn- IWM WWC M18. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
26. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Edith Perkins- IWM WWC M22. IWM. July 10, 2021 .
27. Web site: Imperial War Museum. Imperial War Museum. 2021. Alice Post- IWM WWC M11. IWM. July 10, 2021 .