Tag: Donald Hunter
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“Phossy jaw”: an industrial horror story
Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden “The greatest tragedy in the whole story of occupational diseases.”1– Donald Hunter, M.D. (1898–1978) The development of cheap, reliable, and reasonably safe matches became possible with the addition of white phosphorus (P4O10) to the match head mixture. The first factory to use white phosphorus (also called “yellow phosphorus”) in match manufacturing opened…
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The Lord’s Prayer
In his day Dr. Donald Hunter was widely respected and greatly feared. He was respected for his knowledge of occupational medicine and of illnesses caused by noxious agents. He was feared because during membership examinations he was reputed to produce a rock out of his pocket and ask the terrified candidate what it was and…