Arsenic transport and the limits of handling experience

Arsenic mining exposed people beyond the workforce at the mine itself. Carriers moving arsenic from the mine to the railway station feature prominently in the historical explanation offered here. Experienced mine workers are credited with strict handling routines, whereas some transport workers mishandled the material. A further claimed difference is the supposed tolerance developed by miners through repeated small exposures. That causal explanation is asserted without supporting mortality figures or a medical explanation.