Forthcoming: The Lead Papers

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Over the next few weeks, Toxic Docs will unveil 70,000+ documents (or about half a million pages) on the lead industry.

These documents span widely. They date from the start to end of the 20th century. They focus in particular on the dangers of leaded gasoline; household paints; and the smelting process.

A major centerpiece of the Lead Papers are the records of the Lead Industries Association (LIA). This was the major trade association for companies who manufactured lead-based products.

They reveal how the LIA first confronted the potential risks of its products; obfuscated that risk to the general public; and how it responded to increasingly stringent regulation, particularly as a vibrant consumer movement grew around safety.

"The Kehoe Files" comprise another major chunk of the collection. These are the personal papers of Dr. Robert Kehoe, an industry-hired scientist and professor at the University of Cincinnati who played a critical role in downplaying the risks of lead. Kehoe often traveled, on behalf of companies, to local communities affected by lead emergencies so that he could gauge fallout from potential lead catastrophes.

Here is one sample document from the collection, which will continue to expand rapidly over the next few weeks. At a Board of Directors meeting in 1968, LIA is proposing a study of lead workers, stating that the work "will attempt to show that such workers are not heir to any more ills than the general population."

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You can read the full document here.