Document 3ez8b37rmdoOndB0geaVkrEo3

SC- ,` April' 13 193k Perrtse Building Oklahoma City Oklahoma -, ;-.V./ - . .. 'V-: .. .. x\ Dear Dr leorei - - '.. . .' Your lottier of April 7th addressed to the Ethyl Qasolim Corporation ha# he referred to me for reply - '' ';\v , Siphoning gasoline with the mouth Is oh- viously not a very good practice though one Is certain that It Is done rather frequently in the'chief, danger is- that the gasoline itself is quit . injurious to the mucous membrane of the mouth producing hyperemia and considerable Irritation, dependent upon the length of time the gasoline is in contact with the smeous membrane* If the mouth is at all sore or If the gums are somewhat inflamed with pyorrhea, the contact is painful-and m y load to ulceration. If the gasoline Is swallowed, it produces a considerable irritation and stay cause erosion of the gastric mucosa and variable amounts of ulceration dependent upon the quantity. Vomiting,-usually results, and for this reason damage . . to the small intestine is usually avoided* however, Ingestion of gasoline even with water results In a severe,-toxic enteritis* These things all occur with ordinary gasoline and the picture Is-in wise influenced by the presence of the minute amounts of tetraethyl lead that occur in commercial gasolines. Tlie amount of lead In comheroial gasoline is never more than (1) part in (1260) parts of gasoline by volume, and at the present tin# most of the gasolines contain very much less than this proportion Thus if you will calculate the amount of lead which is present in a mouthful of gasoline, (not more than; 30 be} you will recognise at once that the quantity of lead which might be swallowed or absorbed Is quit insignificant Obviously* If on were to repeat this performance over and over for a considerable period of time, It is conceivable that eventually enough lead might be absorbed to give rise to lead poisoning However, this Is dodhfeful since the immediate toxicity of the gasoline is such that injury from the gasoline would greatly out weigh the injury from the slow absorption of lead* S' It - -3 ,- X*- ^ --. '. ', V n 1 V* .* ^_ - ''* - Dp C* D* Moor \ frt* * J. vr?^clft,, * ; .. ' . ' , .. {.,- '' v . ' - , ' . :' v . , i- . 2 - '' t j^cm^tti above information X believe you will . recognise that a claim for lead poisoning as the result of taking small amounts of gasoline into the month is in the very nature of the ease ridiculous. It springs from two things* firsts a failure to understand the irritating qualities of gasoline; and second, a leek of appreciation of the minuteness of the quantities of lead Involved - I trust that the abo^-e Information will b ; satisfactory for your purposes, but I should be pleased to answer any,.questions you may propose in further.-detail, if you wish to call upon sae* ' I might indicate one other fact which is not ! generally known, namely,, that.in the period of nine . 1 year during which leaded gasolines have been used con- . tlnuously In certain parts.of the United states, there - | has never yet boon a substantiated case of lead poisoning I as a consequence of the handling of gasoline* In fact, l there is now no adequate reason for believing that the \ dangers of handling leaded gasoil are any greater than : those associated with the handling of ordinary un-treated gasoline* ' ' ; Very truly .yours, RA&tXS . Ho^ert'' TT1se7~^0**