Reading Comprehension

Acting on the recommendation of a British government committee investigating thehigh incidence in white lead factories of illness among employees, most of whom were women, the Home Secretary proposed in 1895 that Parliament enact legislation that would prohibit women from holding most jobs in white lead factories. Although the Women's Industrial Defence Committee (WIDC), formed in 1892 in response to earlier legislative attempts to restrict women's labor, did not discount the white lead trade's potential health dangers, it opposed the proposal, viewing it as yet another instance of limiting women's work opportunities. Also opposing the proposal was the Society for Promoting the Employment of Women (SPEW), which attempted to challenge it by investigating the causes of illness in white lead factories. SPEW contended, and WIDC concurred, that controllable conditions in such factories were responsible for the development of lead poisoning. SPEW provided convincing evidence that lead poisoning could be avoided if workers were careful and clean and if already extant workplace safety regulations were stringently enforced. However, the Women's Trade Union League (WTUL), which had ceased in the late 1880's to oppose restrictions on women's labor, supported the eventually enacted proposal, in part because safety regulations were generally not being enforced in white lead factories, where there were no unions (and little prospect of any) to pressure employers to comply with safety regulations.
88. Which of the following, if true, would most clearly support the contention attributed to SPEW in highlight text?
A. Those white lead factories that most strongly enforced regulations concerning worker safety and hygiene had the lowest incidences of lead poisoning among employees.
B. The incidence of lead poisoning was much higher among women who worked in white lead factories than among women who worked in other types of factories.
C. There were many household sources of lead that could have contributed to the incidence of lead poisoning among women who also worked outside the home in the late nineteenth century.
D. White lead factories were more stringent than were certain other types of factories in their enforcement of workplace safety regulations.
E. Even brief exposure to the conditions typically found in white lead factories could cause lead poisoning among factory workers.
I am confused about Choice C and E. In choice C, I believe this statement is irrelated to the question, but OG said it wekens the statement. In Choice E, I think this weakens the question because it proves poisoning is so strong rather than controllable conditions should be reponsible. However, Og said this statement neither support nor weaken.
Thanks in advance!

Crystal W wrote:I am confused about Choice C and E. In choice C, I believe this statement is irrelated to the question, but OG said it wekens the statement. In Choice E, I think this weakens the question because it proves poisoning is so strong rather than controllable conditions should be reponsible. However, Og said this statement neither support nor weaken.

Question: Which of the following, if true, would most clearly support the contention attributed to SPEW in highlight text?

Statement By SPEW: SPEW contended, and WIDC concurred, that controllable conditions in such factories were responsible for the development of lead poisoning.

(C) There were many household sources of lead that could have contributed to the incidence of lead poisoning among women who also worked outside the home in the late nineteenth century.

While I tend to agree that this does not do much to weaken the statement by SPEW, I guess that conceivably one could argue that the fact that there were many household sources of lead that could have contributed to the the high incidence of lead poisoning undermines the argument that the lead poisoning is caused by controllable conditions in factories, as the household sources rather than the conditions in the factories could be the cause.

(E) Even brief exposure to the conditions typically found in white lead factories could cause lead poisoning among factory workers.

The fact that a brief exposure to the conditions found in the factories could cause lead poisoning does not mean that those conditions cannot be changed, maybe even easily changed.

In other words, the effect of the conditions is not an indication of how difficult changing the conditions is.

Consider this example. A person in small closed garage with a running car - A person in those conditions would quickly get sick, but changing the conditions is easy. Just turn off the car and open the door for a minute, or run the car outdoors, or if you have a reason for running the car indoors attach to the exhaust pipe a hose that leads outdoors.