The evolution of mortality in an industrial town: Le Creusot in the nineteenth century

"The article examines the population of the town of Le Creusot [France]...with respect to the characteristics and evolution of mortality in the second third of the nineteenth century.... The authors analyze mortality statistics of Le Creusot in relation to other towns in the same department (Saone-et-Loire), to the neighboring city of Lyon, to another industrial town, Seraing, and with France as a whole. The effects of industrialization and the influx of labor on the mortality rate of Le Creusot appear to be undeniable. Life expectancy at birth among inhabitants of Le Creusot in 1836 was thus attained again only in 1876, after forty years of worsening living and environmental conditions. Among the causes noted for excess mortality in industrial towns, it is important to distinguish those due to working conditions (accidents, fatigue) and the direct consequences of industrial activity (factory smoke, toxic waste) from those due to living and housing conditions and the state of public and private hygiene in the town."