Catalogue description Lucifer Match Arbitration (about the use of yellow phosphorus), under the Factory and...

Lucifer Match Arbitration (about the use of yellow phosphorus), under the Factory and Workshops Acts 1878-1895.

Bryant and May and others v. H.M. Chief Inspector of Factories.

Medical opinion stated that those working with yellow phosphorus in the manufacture of matches [such as those involved in the Match Girls' Strike] were liable to contract necrosis of the jaw ('phossy jaw') and deterioration of the bone structure of the body.

New rules proposed included efficient ventilation and exhaust processes, provision of adequate air space and lighting, impervious floors and other safety precautions. Workers were to wear overalls, to have proper washing facilities etc. and to have regular medical and dental inspections. Plans for any part of a factory using the phosphorus process were to be approved in writing by the Chief Inspector of Factories.

Some of these rules were agreed to, and some opposed by the match manufacturers. Bryant and May wrote to the Home Office stating that they proposed abandoning the use of yellow phosphorus altogether.