Document 4QYD4j8EOjrM1JK408L53qjpa

September 24, 1973 Mary C. Berber, Librarian Ferro Corporation Technical Cox-tor 7500 Last Pleasant Valley beau 2. dependence, Ohio 44131 Lear Ms. Berger: I response to your letter ci beg temper iS, 973, I must zee you know, i'irst .oi aii, max I am no longer tr.e hired or or Kettering Laboratory, saving retired several years ago. The present director is itaymonu 4 busxind, }i.u. 7. still wort at t.xo Laboratory, i.owevcr, ux.<i I .uve cone my oust to soon an answer to your request ior reports or reprints wnic.. ten \vth t-e observation o'i members of the staff. on the extraction oi lean i'roia glazed ceramic: surfaces. I was unable to find but one report (which I am enclosing) in our library, anu 1 am constrained to believe that tuese were private reports which wore not published, because of their lack ui suitable or significant imormation, I snail toil you, however, something of me significance oi the work oone in the laboratory at my request, on this matter. I'm afraid X can accept no responsibility for anything else v/hicn has neon cone, ana 1 believe tnat whatever v;as cone, provided little additional useful information. The problem oi the lead in the glazes on ceramic ware lies in the fact that tue manufacturer has not always submitted the article in question to a sufficiently high temperature to convert all of the lead (in the presence oi ample quantities ci silicate) to the silicate. This is likely to be the- case in the production oi "mat" iinisnes on pottery - a type oi glaze which is preferred often by artists. Under these circumstances, the glaze goes partially into solution in acidic foods and salad dressings, and seen ceramic ware useu with sufficient frequency in the household jas induced cases of lead poisoning among these wno use such ware. Ic is a very simple matter to glaze pottery in such a manner as to avol x this situation, ana industrial technology is adequate generally to accomplish this purpose, The main trouble is that 'art 1 pottery may be fabricated by artists without the benefit of sound technologic knowledge, advice, and supervision, plus the fact that some manufacturers, it seems, have no (or inadequate) xnowledge or concern about -natters of public health. Cordially yours. ILliC: wb Robert a . Kehoe, M.D. Professor Emeritus of Occupational Medicine