Phossy jaw

The disease was extremely painful and disfiguring to the patient, with dying bone tissue rotting away accompanied by a foul-smelling discharge.

Removal of the jaw bone also had serious effects on patients' ability to eat, leading to further health concerns including malnutrition.

[3] In 1844 Lorinser reported 22 cases of phossy jaw and established the toxic effects of white phosphorus in matchsticks.

[12] In 1872, the Grand Duchy of Finland, part of the Russian Empire, was the first country to place an absolute ban on the manufacture, use and sale of white phosphorus in matches; this was followed by Denmark in 1874 and France in 1897.

This treaty was signed by Finland, Denmark, France, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany, in what is considered as the first international attempt to ban an industrial product.

[10][12][13] Phossy jaw was publicized by the American Association for Labor Legislation, whose secretary, John B. Andrews, began investigating the disease in 1909 and found more than 100 cases.

[14] However it was not until the use of white phosphorus was prohibited by the international Berne Convention in 1906 and its provisions were implemented in national laws over the next few years that industrial use ceased.

[15] In phossy jaw patients, the forensic evidence suggested the conversion of yellow phosphorus to potent amino bisphosphonates by natural chemical reactions in the human body.

Yellow phosphorus has a simple chemistry; when combined with H2O and CO2 molecules from respiration and some amino acids such as lysine, bisphosphonates result.