Mill work and flax growers in Ireland
One of the dirtiest places to work in the mill was the spinning room. Temperatures were hot and humid and workers tended to be barefoot. In a study into the health of mill workers in 1852, it was found that spinning room workers were suffering from ''onychia and other diseases of the great toe nail'' as a result of their feet getting wet with water impregnated with brass and other metals.