In 1923, 24-year-old Amelia 'Mollie' Maggia became the first dial painter to die. Before her death, she had suffered from a haemorrhage from her mouth, falling teeth with weak joints which severely restricted her ability to move. Her jaw had fallen away from her skull. By 1924, 50 women who had worked at the plant were ill, and a dozen had died. At the urging of the companies, worker deaths were attributed by medical professionals to other causes. Syphilis, a notorious sexually transmitted infection at the time, was often cited in attempts to smear the reputations of the women.