24 



ARSENIC IN PAPERS AND FABRICS. 



In 1900 the State legislature of Massachusetts passed a law limiting 

 the amount of arsenic" in papers and woven fabrics other than dress 

 goods to 0.10 grain per square yard, and the amount in dress goods 

 and articles of dress to 0.01 grain per square yard. Leach* has pub- 

 lished the results of his investigations during 1901 carried cut in 

 accordance with the provisions of the law. The following tables 

 summarize the results of his work: 



TABLE III. Arsenic in papers and woven fabrics other than dress goods, 1901 



(Leach). 



TABLE IV. Arsenic in dress goods and articles of dress, 1901 (Leach). 



The above figures for wall paper can not be compared with those 

 obtained ten years earlier by Hills, since some of them were obtained 

 upon wall papers from old stock which had been withdrawn from the 

 market because of their high arsenic content. It can be seen, how- 

 ever, that the percentage of honarsenical papers had increased 

 markedly during ten years. 



On comparing the "glazed and plated" papers of Hills with the 

 "colored papers for box covers" of Leach it will be noted that the 

 nonarsenical papers had increased materially, while the papers con- 

 taining more than 0.10 grain of arsenic per square yard had decreased 

 from 9.1 per cent to nothing. 



By the term " arsenic " is meant metallic arsenic. 

 6 Report of Mass. State Board of Health, 1901, p. 695. 



