Document 1QqxKRkagpYm0jqRRrbpDDRea

A p p i! 2,1927 Crai@iead, Cowden and Smith, 714 rhyton Savings and Trust 31dg., Baytdii, Ohio. ' Gentlemen: I have records covering my examinations of the four men whoa you mention in your letter of March 29 th, and I shall ho. very glad to give you the informa tion v;hieh I posses;. ` ' V H H H H f l H H i began work in the blend ing room at the Genersoiaotop^PIant, April 17,1924 and continued thus for seven weeks. lie became ill, was laid off for four weeks, after which time he was very much im proved and was then transferred into the shipping depart ment. He was working in this department at the time of iny arrival at Dayton. The above statement as to his employ ment ,and illness was obtained from him, and is part of my record. He describe,s his,- illness as being a matter of sleeplessness, frequent disturbing dreams, loss of^appe tite, nausea and vomiting. II was examined by mo in Sep tember 19,1924 at which time ho made, the above statement. . On the occasion of his examination, September 19th, he was complaining of some degree of sleeplessness, poor appetite and headache. He also said that he had been losing weight. Physical examination at this time disclosed no apparent illness as a result of handling tetraethyl lead. Since he haqj| been working for some, tine previously in the shipping department, where the exposure to lead compounds was. very slight, I was of the opinion that his symptoms wore not the'result of his present occupation, at this time his weight'was 149, his temperature 97.3, his blood pressure 126/80, and there were no physical signs of illness. Reexamination on December 1Q|,1924 shov/ed that the symptoms of which he was complaining at this time,(prin cipally headache on the right side of the head) were due to a sinus infection following an acute cold. At neither of these times was there any evidence of changes in the red blood cells which are characteristic of lead poisoning. Hr. was seen from time to time by me, and. was quoselonoa^E^uo his condition.' During my en tire observation of him there was no evidence that ho was w i -2 - Craighead, Gotten and Smith, April 2,1927* suffering as a result of his original acute poisoning, nor ^as I ever able to find evidence that he m s continuing to abosrb lead as a result of his work in the shipping depart ment . My knowledge of conditions in the shipping department lead me to believe that the exposure here was very slight in deed, and not of a dangerous type* In fact, the exposure here was so slight that the employees of the shipping department were not examined with the same frequency as men employed else where* At a considerable later date^o^^h^^. unfortunate ly I have no record, I reexamined Mr purpose of this examination being to deteraineisfiether or not his phy sical condition was such as made it inadvisable to release him from the employ of the Ethyl Gasoline Corporation. (There was a standing rule at this time that no one was to be discharged without having had: a physical examination and an 0 ,K* by my- ' self^^^ljl^s my remembrance that the question of discharging Hr* a H H H H l bad arisen'from some,.thing which-was. no concern of mine*. JL^thorefore, passed .upon his physical f1theespand found' no evidence whatever of any Injury or illness which might l>je a deterent to his discharge* C o m m e n t I think it is quite likely that Mr* story of his first Illness is correct in my opinion om tiisrseveral examinations which I made of him there was no residual effect from this injury, and he left the employ of the Ethyl Gasoline Corporation in a condition of physical fitness* I B I I I ' " - examined by me several times* lie stated that he wosSoaono day in the blending room prior to my being in charge of the Blending Plant, medically, that he had'.not been ill as a result of this work, and that he had 'open Immediately transferred to the shipping department* Dur ing my entire stay in Dayton he was employed in the shipping department almost exclusively as a carpenter, crating new equipment which was being shipped* . 4 On my first examination of him in September 1924, lie was suffering from an acute case of herpes on the chest (shingles}.* This followed an acute attack of tonsillitis and . necessitated his being under the care of his family physician for some weeks. Some time after his return to work (December 1924} I reexamined him and found that he was still suffering fifoa some circulatory disturbance, apparently as a result of C ra ig h e a d , CowdesS 'and ``Sm ith* A p ril 2,1927 /,, 5 'rr'ii his former .acute lafeaiilon-; ;I saW'Mmift^ffiigi^ia ^ ;t,iwo later and observed that the work which he was doing was ;Vod much for ~ * him* .He. complained from'tla to time.of heada'ches, ard was-ribt' ' able to sleep well# At the end of.the 'days work, hi#;;foet were swollen and his hands and feet vj qre bluish frois: poor circulation* , Be had a valvular lesion of the heart, and his heart muscle was 'becoming weeker, and for this reason I did not feol justified in allowlng.-him tQ continue the work which he was doing* I was afraid that he would ldeveiop'arUacute heart-failure from the na ture of the work which, he was doings ;and,:&^,rised him, therefore, to seek work olsowhere, suggesting -that he find light out of door work. He wag riven a considerable period of time in which to find work elsewhere* Finally I set. a date some weeks ahead as a time .upon which we would not employ him* S-I should not have felt justified in doing this except) for':t}je-r$aat- that all of the work in the Blending Plant was regarded as hazardous'- to some ex tent, and I did not feol justlfiedJjj^norndttihjg a. man in ho had physical condition as was L ! r - t o contihue in his work, As g.-matter of fact I had no rear or liia being poisoned* 1 had groat fear, however, bM his developing acute heart disease and of this inevitable resuit-being'finally blamed upon-his occupation in the'flanfei .^ I.have'.hot the slightest doubt that at-this- t i m e ' ______ ris;`^: ; - ai ck -Be has a heart condition which in ; all probability liaa.-,pregres8ed, and which is. almost: certainly ^ giving him discoraforb arch, wealaiess* I have not seen at any tine -any evidohco of ;injury-''to-him as a result of his employment* Ho is unfortunately a nsfm:;with a -circulatory system;, so* donoged that it will not permit -him.,to* do heavy, aanual labor, and he should n ot, therefor, be,,prraitted to engage in such labor* ` -s- !lr* fKBSKKk wa3 employed --in- the blending Plant _' at the time of my arrival in Dayton, A-e was employed at this. ' job for-five .weolrp,'-after wliich time he coaplaihod of certain* ~ * - symptoms which'in'my -opinion*.-wera definitely -due t o ,the absorp tion of Ipad* The symptoms -were -sleeplessness, gastric cramps, ' loss of appetite and^floss...of weigiit ilio blood also -showed stip pling which is characteristic' -of "'lead absorption*? g-His tempera-* . . cure, pulse, and blood pressure wore subnormal*.HO.was removed " " from employment, therefor6#;,;sosaa .time.- in'"July aj^eras off work, being Seen -by-me from tissia. to :time, until about^he-eeeb o r --cOth*'ext At this time he returned feeling very much, .improved* having gained \ back the weight which he. had lost* d0 was able to abep well, had -*. good color, and according to sM s o\m statement was feeling orfect- ly WC-ill* . . ; '' \- /V;" t 'ho Thcr stippling,had also disappeared from his blood* My notes at this time on his condition come to an abrupt end* As 2 '' ^ remember, however* for this was my general .ploicy*'I 'Mvlsed him not to return to work In the Blending Plant* but to keep ;' _ away ffom all exposure to lead compounds* this was partly be- ; cause of his age* since he v;as only tv/enty, .but was largely because I felt that men who had been exposed to tetraethyl lead for a period oftime such as M s under the early conditions of blending* had absorbed a sufficient amount of lead, so that it was the very best thing to be. free of all lead exposure for some considerable period of time.* Ir* tftorefpre * was given some period of time, on pay* to l o ^ a D o u n r o r anther position* .. As I remember It he found another position shortly-'and took it* At the time lie was last seen by me he was feeling perfectly well, and was vary well disposed toward the company v/lio had employed him* and felt that he had been treated fairly and .psopprly In . having been advised not to work longer la the Blending Plant* If an has happens^, to him since to produce illness, I- do not know about it, for I have not seen him since he left the om- ploy of the lithyl Gasoline Corporation* I have In my notos, how ever* this observation* ,,He has a goitre involving the right side of tho nock, and I suspent that some portion of his symptoms is due to the existence of this goitre* In fact, he had some bulg ing of the eyes $nd a rapid pulse# He also had a high blood pres sure at times v;Ibh a nervous system condition; which was vory like hyperthyroidism* l'y impression of whoa I remember^;;, vory well* was that he was a very lff:Kdig7 nonest and intolligenlf man* and I inclined to suspect that if ho Is Claiming Illness, It because ho is suffering from some condition which Is capable of .producing Illness* Whether it bears any relationship to his pre vious absorption of .lead, I am, of course, unable to say. ~ ' A;.a i a a Ma? employed after I was in. charge'of "the Bayton'iilaffu, "TMedreally* I passed him for work . , after & careful examination* in which the only physical finding which toned to exclude him from employment urere a very bad set of teeth* b was enployed for short time jobs, however, the . with the advice that if he. would habo his mouth cleaned up he would bo employed for a longer period*lie had the necessary dental work done and was then passed for continued work* Uautre of his work was such that he was, likely t& Inhale dust of load compounds* lie was cautioned continually as yo the care, send necessary In doing this work*, in--spite of which ho developed .some signs and symptoms of lead absorption* He was* therefore* released from work" on pay in spit of his protest that he was not 111* Ho was kept off tho job for a period of time which my record does not`show* His con dition was, at no time serious, but consisted of the following things* ' .- . Criaghead Cwdn and Smith April - hiLtitCQ^^Ls^odi of the.: f^llo>ying(vthiji|33*''. He had lost weight* /the blood pressure Had'dropped wslig!itl^1arid1fclih''%lbdd<skoarh' Birouod .. the presence of stippling* Ills appetite1-Was iho,ltShh3,iaiid' he was , not sleeping as-well as he normally did There was at no time* however, any reason for any anxiety for his condition* He was .merely kept out of all exposure to lead compounds until'such a tine as those symptoms disappeared, aiic? he maintained that ho. felt perfectly well* iLe returned to. work "often a pexiod of some weeks*- .or perhaps months* and. after this time was not allowod to do work which involved .any "Vrlous further exposure to lead com pounds* He was not inclined-to:be'careful* however*; and Insisted that he was not likely to be injured by anything that he did* , I have a record of a number of examinations of ,h$3 >: and my.physical examination shows no evidence of any injury present* with the singlb" expedient that it v*/as :still-possible to find an occasional stippled cell In his blood* On my advice that he should not ho allowed any further exposure to lead com* pounds* he was kept strictly out of such.exposure* and at the time of tho discontinuance of the distribution of Ethyl Gasoline'in ' Jay 1925* he was still an employee., of--the'company*, .working on odd jobs :of trucking, etc* .Shortly after this the company found another position for him* and'I have-not seen him since* ' -.GOiKnent:**- I know have absorbed sufficient .quantities of lead to producos^^tcwo..* .He. has at no time* however* .had a serious case of lead poitonihg* hnd. I'-am sure that if hia-ease were considered in connection with ;the usual types of'industrial lead poisoning* it would be given no credonco whatsoever* -'.It lsLmy opinion* without having seen, him recently* that he has n;..adequate claim for damages, : k'.l.'. y' - ' In connection with this entire groutf of'caseb 1 ' 'am-not-Ini position :tQ.:say fiofiiiltely that no latent results can a c m e as a result of the absorption of lead* which at one time - took place in the case of three of these men* It m a y b e that re sults which did not show over a period of time .have again ^ectirrcd and that they may now ise sufferihg* to some extent* as h;result of former injury* L-iThijs .occurs /some1,times in load poisoning.to jay cor tain knowledge* ' '/r./ . '- . -- ~ ' . . i!-THe^ht ire groups-"who were -employed. -Payton, . however* were leapt under close observation* - Som of thorn I have seen since and I have not been able to find a single bona fide case of a recurrence of symptoms-of any import in the men who ap parently recovered* I should be very much interested in seeing and examining any of these men* in order to determine whether ox* not they are suffering;as-a /result' of their exposures* Tills is a matter of medical and scientific Interest*, as.well as one of' human...interest,.: ^ - i Criaghoodj, Cowdcn and Smith* April 1927" , Frankly 1 have been very, anxious'.to''see that ail Of these sen receive fair treatment and I extended myself In every possible way to sec that they were, dealt wltb,.at\the time of their.ill ness and of tlie.tr employment In such a way that thoy would have no valid,complaint of any account kind* 1 should be very glad on their account and in the Interests of the Fthyl Gasoline Cor 8oraticnsas well as to cooperate with you in any way possible to stom i n e what may be or should be done in-their eases .. ;... 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