April 24th is National Workers Memorial Day in which the US Department of Labor honors fallen workers. OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is the regulatory agency that oversees the safety and health of all workers in the United States. 

A 1990 document, pictured here, records a variety of accidents at a mill or factory in Lewiston, Maine. The documented workplace injuries range from a hand caught in an elevator door to being bitten by leather fleas. Chemical exposure was a notable hazard, evidenced by one case of injury resulting from the inhalation of diphenyl methane diisocyanate (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate). This chemical is commonly found in industrial spray foam sealants, adhesives, and coatings. Given the history of shoe manufacturing in the area, this exposure may have been connected to adhesives used during production.