Mexborough & Swinton Times – December 11, 1891
Suffocated At The Powder Works At Denaby.
A Dangerous Occupation.
An inquiry was held at the Reresby Arms, Denaby Main, on Friday last, before Mr. D. Wightman, coroner, and the following jury, Messrs. C. T. Meggitt (foreman), S. Hague, A. Parkin, D. Lowe, G. Flanders, H. Beresford, W. Froggat, A. Wilkinson, J. Smithson, J. Pickering, E. Whitehouse, and W. Binchliffe, touching the death of a man named George Walker, who died after working in the mixing shed of the New Flameless Explosive Company’s Work at Denaby Main.
Mr. Clegg, solicitor, of Sheffield, attended on behalf of the Powder Company, and there were also present the managing directorand the manager at the Denaby Main Works.
The first witness called was Dr. Twigg, who said that his assistant was called to attend the deceased on the Tuesday, but the man was dead when he arrived. Witness had since made a post mortem examination of the body, and found the lungs had become greatly discoloured, and the veins in the forehead were filled with discoloured blood. The whole of the appearance of the deceased led him to the conclusion that he had died from asphyxia, brought on by his system having become impregnated with some dangerous chemical
Mike Walker, drayman, Knottingley, said the deceased man was his son, and was 21 years of age last June. He believed he had been a miner for the last eight months, but he did not think he had been in Denaby more than nine weeks. From what witness had heard he only worked five days at the Denaby Main Colliery. His son was a very healthy man, and had not had a day’s illness in his life that the witness was aware of. Before he came to Denaby he was a trimmer at Fryston Colliery. Witness had not seen him for nine weeks, and knew nothing of a colliery or the working of a colliery. He did not know that he had left there and gone to the Powder Works, and could throw no light on the manner of his death.
Joseph ByfieId, miner, at Manners Main, said he came from Staffordshire, but was now in lodgings at Mrs. Burke’s at Denaby. He made the acquaintance of the deceased about nine days before he died, that being the length of time he slept with him. When witness came home from work the landlady told him that she thought deceased was very bad. That was the first he heard of it. He went to bed just before twelve o’clock, and then deceased seemed to be very soundly asleep. Witness woke just before two o’clock in the morning and heard deceased moaning, whereupon be got out of bed and called the landlady, and she and another lodger went in to see him. After they had been in and seen how bad the deceased man was, the landlady and another lodger’s wife went for a doctor; who came about twenty minutes past four, and went straight upstairs to deceased. He believed the deceased was dead when the doctor arrived, but witness never saw him at all.
A juryman tried to elicit from the witness whether the doctor was a long time in coming or not, but could not make him understand the question.
Mary Ann Burke, a landlady said her husband was confined in the Asylum, and she kept a lodging house in Denaby. The deceased came to lodge with her about a fortnight ago, and he then seemed to be in very good health. He started working in the mixing place at the Powder Works on the same day that he died, and witness had told him not to go as she believed it was unhealthy. Deceased came home at 12 o’clock for his dinner, and witness thought be looked very queer, being “black in the face.” He complained of a feeling of dizziness in the head. Witness did not know why he was black in the face, whether it was dirt or not, but he looked very had. He did not cough but fell back in his chair as if he was fainting. He made no noise. When he roused up witness asked him if he felt bad, and be said “Not very.” He also stated that the man with whom be worked in the morning had told him they always felt like that at first. After asking for a handkerchief which he said he wanted to wrap round his mouth and nose, deceased went back to work at one o’clock.
He came back at five, and he then looked so funny that witness could not make anything of him at all. He seemed like a man that was drunk. He sat in a chair after he had taken his things off, and witness asked him what was the matter, and he answered as he did in the morning, “that he was very dizzy.” Witness tried to make him eat but he would not. He went to sleep and snored loudly for a long time, and when he woke up he tried to go outside. As soon as he got to the door be commenced vomiting, and when he had finished he seemed perfectly helpless and would have fallen had not someone helped him up. He then sat in the chair and went to sleep again. When he woke up for the second time she asked him if he was better, and he said he was still dizzy, but would be all right soon. He was still very sleepy when he went to bed just before twelve o’clock, and the next thing she knew was the last witness telling her about his moaning. She then felt uneasy about him and sent for the doctor. It would be just before four she sent. The deceased died about five minutes past four, a short time before the doctor arrived. When the doctor came lie said he did not know what he had died from. It might have been an epileptic fit, or in consequence of the stuff on his stomach.
The Coroner: Have you any witnesses to call, Mr. Clegg? It appears to me that this man has died in consequence of some chemical which he had got on his stomach.
Mr. Clegg said there; was the man who worked with him.
Joseph Hayhoe was then called, and he said he worked at the Powder Works, and had been there since last July. When he first went to the mixing shed it affected him in the same way as it had the deceased, and he was sometimes affected now. His duties were the same as deceased’s in every way. He complained to witness of being dizzy before dinner, but he told him that he felt so at first. and that it would soon wear off. He did not wear a respirator because he thought his pocket handkerchief was the better thing to cover his mouth and nose. They were also provided with gloves, but deceased did not wear them all the time. They had two men over them, but they did not compel them to wear either the respirators or the gloves.
Mr. Clegg said the firm could not compel the men to wear them. They provided them to wear if the men chose, but they could not force them to wear them against their will.
The Coroner asked what the stuff was composed of that they mixed.
Mr. Dobbie said that it was an organic compound of di-nitro-benzine. He had seen the effect the stuff had upon the workers, but it could not be mixed in any other way. It was a new industry, and there was no special plant for it. The works were inspected by either Colonel Majendie or one of his subordinates, and they hail found, no fault with the work. They knew this kind of work was carried on. The works were last inspected in the middle of October, but it was then the dinner hour. The inspector had seen the men at work in the mixing shed, and had never said anything about it.
By Mr. Clegg They had adopted all the recommendations made by the inspector.
By the Coroner: The inspector recommended some alterations the last time he saw them, but they had nothing whatever to do with that part of the works where deceased was.
The Coroner said that all they had to do was to find out the cause of death. The doctor had stated that it was asphyxia. He had no doubt that it was caused by his inhaling the stuff he had been mixing. He did not know that the jury could say anything about that. The work had been sanctioned by the highest authorities, and this could not pretend to dictate to them. Still there was no doubt it was a dangerous work as they could see from it having caused the death of the deceased man. and a witness they had before them said he was affected very often in the same way as the deceased had been. It was a most dangerous occupation.
Mr. Clegg said the management were willing to take into consideration all suggestions and recommendations that were put before them.
The Coroner: I think you ought to try to adopt some scheme by which it would be possible to get this stuff mixed without employing men to do it. You might also in the meantime make it compulsory for the men to wear these gloves and respirators.
Mr. Clegg said that had been done. Any man found without either of them would be instantly discharged.
The Foreman said the respirators should cover both the nose and the mouth.
Dr. Twigg said he had recommended that.
The Foreman: Could you not see what working shorter hours would do?
Mr. Clegg: I submit that is a question only for the management to decide.
The jury returned a verdict that deceased “died from suffocation brought on through being engaged in mixing di-nitro-benzine for seccurite at the Flameless Explosive Company’s Works at Denaby Main.”