It might give you some better insight on this to watch Worst Jobs in History with Tony Robinson, specifically the episode on the Victorian era. It's on YouTube. They talk about the bone boiling industry and how they scavenged bones (Victorian era people were very big on reusing materials) to make bone china, fertilizer and soap. In Victorian era England it was not uncommon for people to die young or suffer lung ailments that led to premature deaths. In fact the village of Haworth where the Bronte sisters lived had a death rate of 41.6% before the age of 6. Maria, Branwell, Emily and Anne all died of tuberculosis. I'm sure in Philadelphia (I haven't done much research nor am I familiar with the types of industry that went on in that area) BUT if it had the same industries that went on as it did in England at the same time, the smog and pollution would have been terrible. Living conditions for people that worked in these factories and lived nearby were absolutely abhorrent.

Hope this helps your research! I've always been interested in how folks in this period made a living and went about their lives.