Document 15nBoe95BVB8qgyoDZ3xMxbmZ

union CAsem im c ak bc h coamsATioi 30 East ?orty-second Street Ho t York 17, I* Y. Mar 19, 1953' Mr# Uanfred Bowditch Lead Industries Association 120 Lexington Avenue Ho t York I?, 2<m York My dear Manfred* Yours of Hay sixteenth .received enclosing a copy of tho letter from Brian i'aylor of file Broken dill Associated Editors Proprietary United, This X read with considerable interest# I aunt confess that I am completely at- a loss to understand why the Australian federation of Organizations of the Blind is seeking to prevent the nansifacture of paint with more than $ per cant soluble last! content on tile basis that paint containing s k i re than this percentage of lead could cause total blindness, etc# X followed the lead situation quite closely for some decades and for many years vras actively engaged in joudical vox!: with lead handling inou.3tries# Assuredly, optic neuritis or blindness due to load -oxooruros is very rare. v-hen these conditions do occur it is usually in the cacn of children or women snd involves a massive' espeswre to Y<*ad# Is far as T can recall, such conditions have nevor come up in Connection with tho use of lend paints, excepting possibly in some rare instances where children may have ingested largo quantities of lead containing print# I cannot under stand how lead paint containing more than 5 per cent soluble lead in any of ita usual applications could cause total blindness, unless thin paint wore liberally ingested, which is something 1 do not bdileve would be at all likely to occur# I cannot understand how the suggested prohibition of tho manufac ture of paint with more than 5 per cent of soluble lead content could have any appreciable effect whatsoever in prevention of blindness. Very t ruly yours, /s/ uirard 0ranch A. G. Granch, M# D# rs MEDICAL C0N3ULTAST Kt 0014324