Now in 2017, factory work in the 1800's was considered to be very dangerous, one reason for the is the limitation of Health and Safety at work legislation, enforcing employers to take care of their staff. The Health and Safety at Work ect Act 1974 was long after this. Workers were consistently exposed to dangerous situations and chemicals (e.g. Scaffolding didn't have to to secure, Asbestos was not recognized as hazardous)
