The Australian Workers Union and Occupational Arsenic in the 1930s

Abstract

During the 1920s and 1930s arsenical jetting, dipping and spraying solutions were widely used to curb blowfly strike in sheep. Queensland shearers wbo worked ill direct contact with arsenic-impregnated fleece subsequently suffered health problems ranging from dermatitis to systemic arsenic poisoning. Their calls for its prohibition were rejected by the officials of the Australian Workers Union, who were reluctant to abandon the wool industry's cheapest and most effictive method of protecting stock. Instead, the officials lobbied for governmental control over its use. Formal inquiries were held in 1925 and in 1935—by which time a number of medical journals carried articles warning of the dangers of arsenic exposure. Both inquiries, however, found arsenic to be 'safe', providing that employers followed certain guidelines. Although regulations were gazetted in 1926 and 1936, they lacked adequate monitoring and enforcement mechanisms, leaving workers exposed to high levels of a known occupa tional toxin.