B.T. Babbit's factory, covering twenty-three city lots, produced five million pounds of soap a month. The factory extended to the Hudson River piers, whence the soap was shipped all over the world. Spewing out noxious fumes twenty-four hours a day, the factory was prey to frequent explosions when the hot lard would burst into flames, sending ash and soot over the neighborhood. Syrians were not employed at the Soap Works, but suffered its effects.