Document 65qRve7LyOJM1xk8Ea7eqdqog

Et hyl Gasol ine Corporat ion Tul sa Division Na t iona l Ba nk of Tul sa Buil ding Louis W. Sha nk DIVISION HANAOCK Ia. In Huxt abl e A ltlS T A M T OIV4SIQM MANAQCN Tu l sa , Ok l a h o ma July 19, 1941 Dr. R. A. Kehoe Dear Dr. Kehoe: This is a report of my investigation of the death of* whose illness was diagnosed as lead poisoning and the case of who has been informed by a Dr, Dresbach that he has lead poisoning. To make this report clearer and to prevent confusion in reading, no attempt will be made to discuss or describe condition in the general report but a separate case history of the man is attached which is complete in itself. Also attached are copies of the following: A. A statement made b y ^ B l ^ ^ ^ t o W. A. Tippit of the Aetna Insurance Company and signed by him. . B. A statement made by Bradley to Tippit. C. A report by Dr. 0. S. Pyle of his examination of D. Mr. W. R. Barnes' report to us on J H M M P f e n d E. A report by Dr. R. A. Adams of his examination o F. A list of names and addresses of all companies and parties concerned together with appropriate comment showing their connection to the cases, xn xo On Wednesday morning, July 16, Mr. W. R. Barnes, our Safety Engineer -s o o -headquartering in Wichita Falls, Texas, telephoned this office. He advised us that <0 late the previous afternoon, during a routine call at the Anderson-Prichard refin ery in Cyril, Oklahoma, to make a mixing installation inspection, he had been informed by the superintendent of the death of one of their employees, 2- Br. It. A' Kehoe the attending physician, he had had lead poisoning. July 19, 1941 We instructed Mr. Barnes to send us a report giving all the infor mation he had obtained. This was subsequently received and a copy is attached. The facts as then known were communicated to Mr. Kaley in New York by telephone and to you in Cincinnati. " I left by plane at lOO P.M. on Wednesday for Oklahoma City where I joined Mr. Barnes, who accompanied me during the investigation which followed and was present during the conversations which took place. We called Mr. L. H. Prichard, President of Anderson-Prichard Refining Corporation, and he advised us that while he knew in a general way of the circum stances surrounding the case, only Mr. George H. Burruss, General Manager of Refineries, and J. C. Bradley, refinery superintendent, knew all the details. Mr. Burruss was then out of town and Mr. Prichard suggested that we call Mr. Bradley at the refinery in Cyril and have M m drive up to Oklahoma City that night to see us. This was not found necessary as we planned to be in Cyril the following morning. We ceiled Mr. Bradley and made a nine o 'clock appointment for the following morning. Mr. Prichard informed us that the Aetna Casualty Company had made an investigation of the case for them and suggested that we call on Mr. Ledbetter of the E. R. Ledbetter Insurance Company, Aetna Agent. Mr. Ledbetter has written a policy for Anderson Prichard with the Aetna Casualty Company. This is a stan dard policy covering employers' liability and workmen's condensation. While was sick and when it appeared that an attempt might be made to make a condensation case out of it, Mr. W. C. Tippit, an investigator for the claim department of the Aetna Casualty Company, checked into the matter. He secured statements from and copies of these are attached hereto. Due to sudden death, the Aetna people are no longer concerned with the workmen's compensation angle, and will not be involved unless a suit is filed against Anderson Prichard by the widow, in which case the employers' -3- Dr. R. A. Kehoe July 19, 1941 =; - lir. Ledbetter referred us to Mr. Ewing, head of the Aetna claim department and the remainder of the afternoon was spent in his office. Mr. Tippit was called in and they gave us all the information which they had avail able. On Thursday morning we drove to Cyril where we interviewed Mr. Bradley. He gave us his story of the case and when the use of ^ J p J | ^ i n remov ing the eductor was brought to light, we pointed out that this was a violation of our regulations in that we were not notified and an unapproved man was used. He admitted he knew this but used as an excuse the fact that about a year ago he had called our Tulsa office when they wished to replace a broken gauge at the blending plant and had been informed that it was not necessary to have our man make a special trip for this since the low pressure gauge on the gasoline line and not a fluid line was involved. He felt that since the eductor was also on the gasoline line, it was not necessary to call us. He was quickly straightened out on this point and also on the question of using men around the Ethyl plant who have not been approved by our Medical Department. I do not anticipate that we will have any future violations of this kind at Cyril. In discussing the case with Messrs. Ewing and Tippit of Aetna and with Mr. Bradley, we pointed out that if parts kidneys, liver, brain and bone could be obtained, we would be glad to have our Medical Department make an analysis of them and this would definitely prove or disprove the presence of lead poisoning. All of these men agreed that in view of the widow's refusal to have a post mortem examination, it would be a serious mistake to approach her to secure permission to obtain these specimens. Anderson Prichard and the insur n e 0004559 ance company have taken the attitude that the case is closed as far as they are concerned, since his death was in no way connected with his occupation or an accident sustained while on his job. They believe that for them to display fur ther interest would only agitate the situation and might cause her to file suit if she does not already intend to do so. This same reasoning would also apply to any ,,i l-Br. R. A. Kehoe July 19, 1941 Funeral Hone is closer to Mrs* to Anderson Prichard and they would be sure to relay any information to her. Under the circumstances it was decided not to follow this angle any further. Through a casual remark, our discussion with Bradley brought out the fact that ^ J p ^ p | d i d not carry any company insurance and when asked why he did not, Bradley stated he believed the insurance company had refused to issue him a policy. He gave us the name of the company and the examining doctor who lived close by in Cement, Oklahoma. We called on this doctor, W. L. Dixon, and it developed that he had also treated for syphilis. His records gave us the dates and kind of treatment but we found it necessary to call on R. W. Dozier, agent for the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company in Oklahoma City to learn the reasons given by the company for the policy rejection. By this time Mr. Burruss had returned to Oklahoma City and we were able to review the entire situation with him. We also discussed the general attitude of several of the refinery workers and specifically,' is a distant relative of and works in the yard and on the loading rack at the Anderson Prichard refinery. He apparent ly want with; m | n -^-eas'*: one ^-s trips to see Dr. Dresbach, and as he was having headaches, asked the doctor to examine him. Dresbach reportedly said, "If you work at the Anderson Prichard refinery you undoubtedly have lead poisoning, too." Dresbach examined and diagnosed the case as lead poisoning. He K'e 0004560 started to treat him but details of this treatment have not been determined. Howard did not report this to his company but discussed it freely at the plant. He did not take any time off because of this supposed illness. Mr. Bradley heard rumors that another of the men at the plant besides had lead poisoning and, through the grapevine, found out who it was. He immediately communicated this fact to the Aetna people and they h a d ^ ^ | ^ ^ come to Oklahoma City on Wednesday, the day I was there, for a medical examination. This examination was made by Dr. R. H. Adams who found no symptoms of lead poisoning. Dr. R. A. Kehoe July 19, 1941 We did not see p j p p ^ either in Oklahoma City or at the refinery, t-aicing care to see that he did not learn of our presence or interest in either his case or that did talk to Dr. Adams and a copy of his report to the insurance company o n ^ ^ ^ i s attached. The laboratory reports are not in cluded since they had not yet come over from the laboratory, although Dr. Adams had discussed their findings by telephone. In view of this examination, Mr. Bradley did not seem to feel that it would be wise for us to secure urine and blood samples from ^ p p | since it would follow too closely examination and might indicate that either the company or the insurance people were still questioning his condition. .I suggested to Bradley that he talk and if he found him still worried or dubious, write me to that effect, giving the name of the doctor they wished to secure the samples, and I would have you send containers and instructions to him. It could then be explained to that since he still was worried, they were having an additional test made. I discussed this with Mr.. Ewing of Aetna and he is in entire accord with the suggestion. He was going to s e e p p J J P on Friday in Cyril and agreed to write me after his visit, including in his letter the laboratory reports on Howard which Dr. Adams did not get until after I left. In his work, ^las never k&d possibility of exposure to tetraethyl lead except in finished gasoline. Apparently p p ^ p p before his death, agitated the whole question of handling leaded gasoline and has convinced v-- i several of the men they might be poisoned. This situation was naturally not helped CO ).r5 by Dr. Dresbach's diagnosis of condition. Dr. Schradin may remember that <o o a similar scare occurred at this same refinery a few years ago at which time he CO examined at least one man who thought he had been poisoned. In all of these contacts and discussions, care was taken to see that the name of the Ethyl Gasoline Corporation and our interest in the matter does not get back to Mrs. or anyone intimately acquainted with her. It was also Dr. R. A. Kehoe July 19, 1941 esent. No contact was made without the knowledge and approval of either Mr. Prichard, Mr. Burruss, or Mr. Bradley. These men were all advised that we had no intention of attempting to hide the fact that lead poisoning existed, if it did, and that we were willing and anxious to assist them in determining whether it did exist. As will be noted in the following case history of his death certificate will not be filed with the State Bureau of Vital Statistics until August 10 and at that time the cause of death as stated on it will be determined end communicated to you. I will appreciate any suggestions you care to make regarding the securing of additional information or, of course, any criticism of the handling of the matter. lours very truly, LLHEM Enclrs. (7) L. L. HXTAELE /< 0004562  CASE HISTORY - - was born in February 1893 He has been employed by the Anderson Prichard Refining Corporation at their Cyril, Oklahoma, refinery as a pipe fitter for over ten years and was so employed at the time of his death. Apparently his work was satisfactory but he has the reputation of having been a radical, an agitator, and a trouble maker. He was constantly causing other workers to become discontented with their work, their pay, their hours, etc. He is credited with being responsible for the formation of a C.I.O. union at the plant and while he held no union office, was supposed to be the backbone of the organisation. He was a heavy drinker. This did not affect his work as he re mained sober on the job but regularly every weekend he became and stayed drunk. His work as a pipe fitter consisted of running new lines, repairing old lines, and doing general maintenance work. He did not regularly work around the Ethyl plant but according to his statement he "helped make some pipe fittings when the new line to the lead was changed" about three years ago. He evidently refers to the time when the blending plant was changed over from drum to tank car shipments since this was the last-change made to the plant. The old drum line vms dismantled, burned and buried and a new tank car unloading line in stalled, on February 11, 1937, according toour office records. Neither the refinery records nor ours show the names ofthe men on this job, which I observed. According to Mr. J. V. Kicks, foreman in charge of the blending p l a n t w a s also used to free the eductor of an obstruction about two months ago. There is no record of the exact date and our company was not notified. Ac cording to Hicks, was dressed in regulation clothing for blenders, equipped with a gas mask and rubber gloves. The line was thoroughly washed out with gaso line and there was no spill during the time the eductor was removed and a welding 0004563 HISTORY PAGE2 d shoved through the jets to remove the obstruction. Only one tank, which had contained leaded gasoline, has been cleaned at the refinery in the last several years and this was observed by our L. R. Fleck. Mr. Bradley states that was not used for this work although in his state- ment to the insurance company, claims he helped carry sludge to a pit for burial. According to our records the last tank cleaned at Cyril was #100, a 10,000 bbl. vertical tank cleaned on May 22, 194-0. These are the only times that could possibly have been exposed to tetraethyl lead, according to his own statement and to our records on the history of the plant. His normal work necessitated breaking lines and handling fittings which were on gasoline lines but all of these were in the finished gaso line systems about the refinery and his handling of them was no different than that of all other pipe fitters at all other refineries. It will be noted that during the line changes at the blending plant and the tank cleaning, our men were present and records show that nothing out of the ordinary occurred and there was no exposure, even if ^ ^ p j ^ w e r e used on the jobs. The cleaning of the eductor was done in violation of our instructions since we were not notified, but their foreman supervised the job and he states that no exposure could have occurred. Our regular sign warning against opening of fluid lines without the presence of one of our men is wired on the manifold and has been there constantly since these signs were made available several years ago. was given three separate series of treatments for syphilis, all by Dr. Wallace Leslie Dixon of Cement, Oklahoma. The first started on October 16, 1920, and was completed in November 1920. According to Dr. Dixon, his symp toms were so pronounced that treatment, consisting of five neo-arsethenimine shots, was started even before a blood test was made. The second series of treat ments was given in 1933 and consisted of six neo-arsethenimines and six mercuries. A blood test was made at that time. In 1939 returned to Dr. Dixon stating STORI PAGE 3 he was feeling bad again and knew that it was his old trouble returning. He requested another treatment but refused a blood check stating it was not necessary since he knew what his trouble was. He was given two "neos" and one bismuth but did not return to finish the treatment. On May 12, 1935 made application for |2,000 worth of insur ance through the company's group policy for employees which is written by the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company. At that time a medical examination was required for this policy and Dr. Dixon was the examining physician, was refused the insurance. According to the Massachusetts Biutual records, refusal was on the basis of their confidential report on his character and on the medical examination which showed a heart murmur, rales on the posterior portion of the right lung, and an elevated blood pressure (14-0). This examination also indicated that he had a stiff right ankle apparently due to some previous fracture, Mr. R. W. Dozier, agent for Massachusetts Mutual in Oklahoma City, attempted to get some insurance for and was able to offer him a policy a short while later which did not require an examination but he refused to take it. It is thought that he did have an old policy with the Mid-Continent Insurance Company. Refinery men at Cyril average 36 hours a week. This is done by working five, eight hour days one week and four, eight hour days the next. ^ w a s always off on Sunday and Monday and on every other week, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. On Saturday night, April 19) 194-1, ^ 0 0 ^ as usua^ was drink and got into a fight in a billiard parlor in Cyril during which he was hit on the KF 000456 head by a billiard ball by a W. A. Griffin. This knocked him unconscious but'"he was revived without calling a physician. He apparently suffered no ill effects and was back on the job on Wednesday, April 23, as that was one of his long week ends. W. A. Griffin is a ne'er-do-well, whose father was a bootlegger and HisTORi - PAGE A desired character in Cyril. His father has been run out of town to Cement where . Fhe now operates a hotel and does bootlegging on the side. W. A. Griffin apparently had no regular means of support, had no steady occupation, and since the fight has left the state, reportedly for California. continued to work steadily until June 10. According to his statement, at 2:00 A.M. on that day (Tuesday) he had some sort of a spasm follow- . ed by a chill. He was home at the time and did not call a doctor that night but did go to Dr. H. V. Dresbach of the Oklahoma Mutual Hospital Corporation in Chick- asha, Oklahoma, the next day. Dr. Dresbach treated him for a blood clot and he was under treatment for about two weeks. He returned to work on June 2A (Tuesday) worked the usual five days that week and Wednesday and Thursday, July 2 and 3, of the next. July 1 was his regular day off. On July A he was seized with another spell and returned to Dr. Dresbach for treatment. Apparently it was shortly after this second attack on July A that Dr. Dresbach decided ^ ^ g f ^ j p n d lead poisoning. J. C. Bradley's first knowledge that the case had been so diagnosed was on July 7 when Johnson made such a state ment to the night foreman at the plant who reported it to Bradley. At that time p a s taking daily treatments from Dr. Dresbach at the hospital in Chicka- sha which were evidently some sort of heat pads around his face. These treat ments left him so weak he spent the days in the hospital, returning home each night. He reportedly had two such treatments each day. Bradley called '^jjj^^^at the hospital the next day, July 8, but He 0004560 was informed by Dr. Dresbach that his patient was too weak from one of the treat ments to talk on the telephone. During the conversation Dr. Dresbach informed Bradley that had lead poisoning as proved by the symptoms which were des cribed as "dropping of the head, muscular reactions, and fractioning (?) of the eyes." Dr. Dresbach was advised that should receive the best of care and was requested to call in a consultant which he refused to do. Word was left to have get in touch with Bradley when he returned to Cyril. HISTORY PAGE 5 Bradley immediately reported the case to the Aetna people whose investigator, W. C. Tippit, interviewed at the hospital on July 9, and secured a signed statement from him, copy of which is attached. He also took a statement from Bradley and a copy of this is included. finally came into Bradley's office on July 10 and arrange ments were made to have him examined on the following day by Dr. 0. S. Pyle of the Chickasha Hospital and Clinic. During this interview ^ ^ J d ^ i n f o r m e d Bradley that Dr. Dresbach had diagnosed the case as lead poisoning but admitted that no blood or urine analyses had been made. Dr. Pyle examined Johnson on July 11. A copy of his report to Mr. Bradley is included with this report. While he did not complete his study to the extent of determining the cause of Johnson's trouble, he did make sufficient tests to enable him to conclude that "based on history and physical examination, there is no evidence to support a diagnosis of lead poisoning." ` returned to Dr. Dresbach for treatment on July 12. At 2:00 P.M. on that day while at the Oklahoma Mutual Hospital and under Dr. Dresbach's care he had a stroke with a cerebral hemorrhage. On learning of this, Bradley called Dr. Dresbach and again requested that they be permitted to call in a consultant but Dr. Dresbach stated that this was unnecessary since no one could do any more than he was d o i n g . ^ d ^ P ^ never recovered from the stroke, remaining at the hospital until approximately 1:00 A.M. the next day, Sunday, July 13, when he died. On Monday, July H , Bradley talked to the widow, taking along two K ? 0004567 written statements, one agreeing to a post mortem examination and the other refus ing to permit such an examination. She refused the post mortem and Bradley did not press the point. The body was embalmed by the Reisner Funeral Home at Fletcher, Okla homa, and was buried in the Cement Cemetery at Cement, Oklahoma, at 3:00 P.M. on July 17, 1911. The death certificate can be signed by either the doctor or the HISTORY - PAGE 6 idertaker or both. It will not be filed with the Oklahoma Bureau of Vital Statistics until August 10 and there is no way of determining who signed it or the cause of death shown thereon until that date. At the time of his death, Johnson was 4.8 years old, married and had three step-children. ******** 0004568 4 STATEMENT July 9, 1941 My name is X reside at Cyril, Okla. I am 48 years I am employecHay the Anderson-Frichard Oil Corp. as pipe fitter. I have been so employed for the past 15 years. My duties as a pipe fitter I do any and all work in the maintainance dept. My work calls for everything from digging ditches to fitting pipe. About 3 yrs. ago I helped make some pipe fittings when the new line to the lead was changed. On an average of once a week I have to break into a line that carries gasoline with lead. When I do this I usually get my hands wet with the gasoline and too, the place where I usually do my work is not in the open. I have never helped sweep out a lead tank, but I have helped carry the sediments from the tank to the pit when it is busted. The only two accidents I have ever received since working for Anderson & Prichard were in the nature of burns. I have never received any broken bones, bruises or other accidents. I first noticed something was wrong about 2:00 A.M. on June 10, 1941. I began to jerk and draw. This lasted for 5 or 10 minutes and was followed by a chill. I did not call a doctor} I did not go to work St was off about 15 days. I went to Chick&sha to the hospital during that period of time. I then went back to work. I went to work and worked the last five days in June and two days in July. I had a second spell on July 4 1941* After the second spell I returned to the hospital where I am now confined. When I first came to the hospital I thought it was a blood clot because I had a fight about two months before & received a very hard blow to my head. . I am married & three step-children. I am getting $1.04 per hour, for 36 hrs. per week. (SIGNED) ^ 00G4569 c 0. P __ I STATEMENT July 9, 1941 My name is J . C. Bradley. I am Superintendent of Refinery at Cyril. one of our employees and das been employed for at least 10 years. During the past 10 years he has been employed as a pipe fitter. His duties as pipe fitter require him to run new lines repair old lines and general, maintainance work, he has not worked around the tanks or vats where lead is used, nor has he cleaned out any tanks when lead has been for the past year, Regulation equipment is used when the tanks are cleaned and the cleaning is done under the supervision of Ethyl representative. The first notice we had at the plant relative to an injury or sickness in regard t o f l H | H H H f t w a s approximately four weeks ago. He had been in a fight someone `hit him on the head with a billard ball. About two weeks after the fight he began to have dizzy spells and fainted away. He was off about two weeks. He has been having dizzy spells since. He has been under the care of Dr. Despatch at Chickasha, Oklahoma. The doctor first thought had a blood clot but now he seems to think he has lead poisoning^*He is still under the doctor's care. (SIGNED) J. C. BRADLEY July 15, 1941 Mr. J. C. Bradley Cyril, Oklahoma Dear Mr. Bradley Re: Roy Johnson The above person came to our Clinic on July 11, 1941 At the request of Mr. Tippett of the Aetna Casualty Company I undertook a clinical study to determine the cause of this man*s complaints. I was unable to complete this study due to his sudden and unexpected death. My findings are summarized below: His chief complaint was progressive exhaustion and loss of weight ex tending over a period of five years. The loss of strength was so great that for the- past year he was only able to do his work with great diffi culty. He had lost about 25 pounds weight. In April, 1941, he sustained a blow on the head from a billiard ball which apparently produced no ill effects. On June 10th, he was suddenly seized with a violent attack of trembling which lasted only a few minutes and was followed by a chill. This was followed by a feeling of extreme weakness. He consulted a doc tor who prescribed for him. He rested for about" two weeks after this attack and although he did not feel well he returned to work. He worked for a few days, and on July 4th experienced a similar attack. He was re moved to a hospital in Chickasha where he was told that he had lead poisoning and received treatment for the relief of same. He stated that he lived in fear of another seizure as described above. He stated that his health had always been good until five years ago, that he had had no serious injuries or illnesses. About 25 years ago he had a sore on his penis for which he was given three short courses of treatment during the next 20 years. He believes a blood test was made which was positive, but was not certain about this. Physical examination revealed a middle aged man who appears chronically ill and exhausted. He obviously had lost considerable weight. He had no teeth. Physical examination was essentially negative except for an inequality in the size of his pupils -- the left pupil being decidedly larger than the right. The reflexes were all hyper-active. X-rays of his chest and head revealed no disease or injury. Laboratory examinations were as follows: RBC 5,600,000; TOC 10,b00j Hb. 15.5 gms. Sedimentation Rate 14 mms. per hour. Malta Feaver Agglutination negative. Kahn negative for syphilis. Differential blood count negative with no stippling of red cells. Urine and prostatic secretion negative. Blood pressure 116/93. _ ' I requested a neurological and cardiac study by Dr. Joyce but this was de clined. He agreed to return two days later for further study, but, of course, was unable to do so. My conclusion, based on his history and physical examina tion, is that there is no evidence to support a diagnosis of lead poisoning. My impression is that ths man was suffering from some undetermined disorder of the central nervous system. Page 2 Mr J. C. Bradley Hoping that this information that circumstances prevented SOr completion of value to yo^ and regretting our study, I remain g Very truly yours, /s/ OSCAR. S. PYLE, M.D. OSPKC . CC Mr. Tippett K'' 0004572 c 0 p T Oklahoma City, Oklahoma July 15, 1941 Mr. L. W. Shank Subjects Anderson-Prichard Oil Corporation, Cyril, Oklahoma Dear Lous This afternoon while I was at the subject company's refinery to make a quarterly inspectio^I was informed by Mr. J. C. Bradley, superin tendent, that one of their employees, had died Sunday morning, July 1 3 , 4 E ^ f l ^ ^ 5 r Drespack, Oklahoma Hospital at Chickasha, had told the man he had lead poison. Mr. Bradley explained to me that got hit in the head with a billiard ball about a month a ^ ^ a n c ^ b o u t three days follow ing the accident he went to Dr. Drespack at Chickasha for treatment. At this time the doctor treated V N B M for a blood clot at the base of the brain. Then according to Mr. Bradley the man had an attack or stroke about two weeks later and returned to the same doctor, and this time the doctor diagnosed the case as lead poison and started treating Johnson accordingly. . Mr. Bradley told me that when he got hold of this information he called Mr. d H | ^ ^ k i n and sent him to Dr. Pyle of the Chickasha Hospital for e x a m i n a ^ H ^ ^ j r . Pyle is not the regular doctor for Anderson-Prichard but does some work for this company. Dr. Pyle told Mr. Bradley that Dr. Drespack of the Oklahoma Hospital in Chickasha was not recognized by doctors around Chickasha and was not reliable. He also informed Mr. Bradley that ^ m ^ ^ d i d nt have lead poison. I was informed that I d r . ^ ^ H H ^ h a d been able to work about nine days at the refinery from the ti m ^ o f t h e accident and his death. Accord ing to Mr. B r a d l e y ^ yers of age and had been employed at the refinery a b o u ^ C ^ y e a r s T He was a foreman on the pipe crew and had only worked at the blending plant on repairs two different times according to Mr. Bradley. Mr. Bradley informed me that M r . ^ m ^ B ^ i a d another stroke Satur day and died Sunday morning July 13. He was^mcler the care of Dr. Drespack of Chickasha. Mr. Bradley stated that the insurance company tried to get the widow to permit an autopsy but they were unsuccessful. He also stated that the widow had consented to sign the clearance papers. I asked Mr. Bradley what work Mr.4Mflfcfc.had done at the blend ing plant and he informed me that sometime back he had helped dismantle the old drum plant manifold; and about two months ago he had worked on the Eductor of the new plant after it had been thoroughly washed with gasoline. Anderson-Prichard Page #2 . July 15, 1941 . Mr. Bradley explained that his helper unflanged the Eductor to clean out the Jets with welding rod. Mr. Hicks, foreman at the blend ing plant, stated that the man wore proper clothing and used gas masks and rubber gloves while doing the above work. I asked why we were not notified concerning the work on the Eductor and was informed that several months ago their low pressure gauge was giving them some trouble and they notified our office receiving instruc tions to fix same without a representative being present. I was told that since the Eductor was in the same line as the connection for the low pressure gauge they concluded that they could go ahead and work on it using the same precautions. I instructed Messrs. Bradley and Hicks to not have any work done on the manifolding of the blending plant without notifying our Tulsa Office so that a representative can be present. There is a warning placard on the manifold of this plant. Mr. Bradley further stated that w h e n t f H f l H f ^ was back at the refinery working he had told some of the men tna^ni^ailment was lead poison and of course alarmed some of them. Mr. Bradley told me that they had a man named age 26, who has been employed with them about three yeari^o^nn^Loaciing rack and on the yard, who has complained of having deep headaches and he had gone to the Dr. Brespack in Chickasha. When M r . ^ m ^ e x p l a i n e d his work at the refinery the doctor told him he had lead poison. Hence, when Mr. Bradley got word of this he called Mr. ' H H ^ i n t o his office and arranged for him to be examined by Dr. Pyle on Wednesday, July 16. -According to Mr.Bradley, M r . .only handled gasoline at the loading rack and had not been near the blending plant. Yours veiy truly, /s/ W. R. BARNES c 0 P Y July 17, 1941 A etna Casualty Ramsey Tower Oklahoma City, Okla. Attention: M r. H. E. Ewing R e i t H H H H H i B vs Anderson Prichard Address iCyril, Oklahoma Age 26 Dear Mr. Ewing: I am submitting a report made of my physical examination and the reports of the laboratory referable to this mants complaints as shown in the history as follows. This examination was made by me in my office July 16 , 1941. History This young man tells me that for the last three months he has had some headaches and his neck had been sore. He did not see a doctor until about three weeks ago. It seems that he finally ended up by seeing Dr. Dresbach at the Oklahoma Hospital in Chickasha, Oklahoma who gave him a very slight examination and told him to ge`t the following pres cription, which he gave him, and he has been taking this medicine since that time and has lost no time from work. I saw the prescription that Dr. Dresbach gave him and it was for a saturated solution of potassium idodide, 10 drops three times a day. He tells me that he was given a regular physical examination by Dr. Dickson who is the company doctor at Cement, Oklahoma and passed it very satisfactory. But because of his headaches he has gone back to Dr. Dresbach for further examination. His neck hurt, his throat hurt and he is having quite a good deal of trouble holding his head up. He now tells me that he has worked for the gasoline company for the past 10 years hut he has only worked for Anderson Prichard about 2 1/2 years and during that time ha has worked in the department with the Ethyl gasoline and he has been told that he had lead poisoning by Dr. Dresbach. He also tells me that all the boys that work down there in the Ethyl department have the same symptoms that I have and "they are burying my best friend tomorrow, he died from lead poisoning." Upon closer questioning I am unable to find any reason why this man died of lead poisoning. It does seem that one of his friends did die and that it had been diagnosed as lead poisoning by some doctor in Chickasha, I think it was Dr. Dresbach. However, he had gone to see Dr. McClure pre viously and Dr. McClure and Dr. Pyle in the Chickasha Hospital told him that he did not have lead poisoning, when suddenly he died two or three days later after their examination and which was diagnosed by Dr. Dresbach as lead poistming. He says, all the boys in the plant down there that work in Ethyl are scared to death and think they all have lead poisoning. I have been sent here as a"Guinea Pig" to find out whether I have lead poisoning or what is the matter with me. K f 0004575 'fidU . vs Anderson Prichard ` " / . fey* '''"' H^tory *"---- As stated before this man tells me that he has neverhad any in juries of any kind. !\ Complaints Today 1. Pain in the back of his neck. 2. At times it is difficult to hold my head up. Physical Examination Physical examination shows an unusually well developed white male who is 5 10 1/2" tall and weight 155 1/2 pounds, who walks into my exam ining room without any disturbance in his gait and with no different history than I have listed in the first paragraph of this letter. Careful examina tion shows the following: Head & Heck Head-There are no prominences nor no depressions. The scalp is covered with an abundance of black hair. - Eyes-The pupils are round and equal, react to light and accomoda tion. There is no limitation of extra-occular eye movement. There is no drooping of the lids. . Nose-Negative. There is no growth or discharge. Ears-Negative. There is no growth or discharge. . Mouth-The teeth need dental care very badly. There is no evidence of a lead line in the gums. ` Tonsils-This man has very badly infected tonsils. They are very much larger than normal and both tonsils ooze a great amount of pus upon slight pressure. Neck-There is no stiffness of the muscles of the neck. There is no limitation of movement of the neck in any direction. There is no soreness of the neck upon deep palpation. There are no objective findings referable to discomfort in the neck. He can more his head and neck in any direction with no apparent discomfort. .' Upper Extremities The upper extremities are equal in size and shape and length. There is a small scar on the anterior surface of the right wrist which he said was caused by the removal of a wart by his father when he was a child. Other wise, there is no other pathology or loss of function. Chest. ' -;';V:= . / ' v ;- ` y: : ' ' This man has full and equal expansion. There are no abnormal breath sounds. The skin over the chest and trunk is covered with many small skin blotches which I am of the opinion is due to the fact that this man has been taking potassium idodide and he now has an idodide rash. Heart . . ' '' ' ' . The heart is in normal position, there are no thrills, murmurs, or hypertrophy. The rate is 80. His blood pressure 136/80. Abdomen The abdomen is well developed, well muscled, no scars, no masses and no tenderness. . - K 0004573 ` ' - vs Anderson Prichard ; Hernia This nan does not hare a hernia. * Genitalia Negative. Rectum Negative. Back V. / . .. : ' The back is veil developed. There is no limitation of movement or any subjective symptoms of a back injury. Lower Extremities The lower extremities are equal in size, shape and length, He has good muscle tone. There is no loss of function. Reflexes All deep reflexes are equal and not exaggerated. Laboratory . The laboratory findings are attached in triplicate. All findings in the laboratory of the blood .and urin are nega6tive for lead. Conclusion This man has no signs or symptoms either objective or subjective referable to lead poisoning. This was confirmed by the laboratory findings. My suggestion was, have 'this tonsils removed and that would relieve most of his complaints. * ` This man has no history or complaints of a classical case of lead poisoning of which we associate abdominal cramps and muscle spasms. As stated, I believe that this man will recover from his mental condition and the pain in the neck by the removal of his tonsils. Very truly yours, /s/ ROBT. H. ADAMS, M.D. RHA:rr 4 LS ** **#*L.4`-,*..>. 3^&^3isseSK^^Fr' ^ - - 4 *v l S , `^ m GH M E lfr *FI W .' . '. ^ v *t=*' ';;Vvv-r^::^^C,: ,Vll.' > '-' s*: W?].. -rMS.if,$i* rP" W S f W ' f * WnbiiH. .. .............................. ............ .. % *** f on ./bjie*^ifth ifip o r o f the Ramsy-ower ^,** `i1 ^Hahoma'* d p ^ ^ ' Handle's* in^us^pL'"ca'ses ah^ makes "most of the local examina- .......... . . ' v--<..'^ ::''V'^1-' - csisfort' Lated*J/OjBpanies^ =,, Exam ined -vr* *Afc/*?4*A\ ^- * .^f, ~*Atha Casm L t y Company-, ` ^ ,, ^{3ee E. R. Ledbetter \ **i,S^X. *WJ '*.',V 4 t-" ~Atna Affiliated Companies ' V 3 & 14&$s4 - ,,`V.Insurance .Company. t jf ' . Anderson .Prichard-efining Corporation: One of-dur refining licensees and a sub- - V $ ' ~ i ? v - ' > sr , . .- s i d i ^ y vdf;:;the 'Stamard. Oil Company, of California*,* Head office at 1000 Ramsey r'>_:*?. .J. ^ f 1.</* * " TowerjXOxlahoma' City|*i?Oklahoma. '-Have one refinery at Cyril, Oklahoma. Also . ' ^ .-C. , -` < ,, r' operatbias- the Col-Tex Refining Company, under which name they operate another ' "-'A ' r - -j ' \' -, . t " 1- *" V '< *& refinery at Colorado`City, Texas*;' V' -i.-.. ' ". *,t-*:Jf > * , ' - , ^*Ji ,,, /";' ' /, r VA-*,..-::- .. J.* C. BRADLEY: Superintendent pf'^the Anderson Prichard refinery at Cyril, .Oklahoma','; %' , -V.i-v ' ?'' "' '' ' .< J r u i ' <* - < - ^'` *1 Lives'in Cyril and'has, his office'at the refinery. ' J '' ,, 11 , , ;`J - .J ' . : ;,.-i'-S'.-.' :. George HcBurrussr, General-meager-of refineries "for Anderson Prichard with offices^cW*; . . 4t*k>** -- ,* l ' ' ' "* ^ nf*^ ^>M~ 1 V1/ * .'o n -th ninth flooi of .the Ramsey 'Tower in Oklahoma City., | sfr-'vr'* . jit'.' Vs/ ` '.f ,/J " Cement- Cemetery: Tn Cement, Oklahoma. .Is used jointly by Cyril ana Cement since * *i-: .; : VT'* ' .ujii^-.r - .. , i > . Cyril has"^no cemetery^of- their own. - .v ' - *.''> : -t buried in this cemetery on .July ^ 4 ,W . y cH-. : ./ ivofe^ 17, 1941/, at 3:00.P.M^ ' V y- \ ,- ' ' * *'i> ,r'.f j-o * - 1V; 'v,% ' L is * .7,/rZr jT ' v!i'f-w . *" ^ >`v v, '' .- ..- . . . h ..... -a. 4'*' " "~Chibkasha Hospital and Clinic; *.Located at 620 Choctaw Street in Cnickasha, Oklahoma". ' '1 ^ - ' ' '' <* ;4: . An narentlv,a reoutabla? hosoita l Pvie is on the staff'and Johnson was examined *% -if*0yy$r'*?J{ r - K E 0004579 V 8." Page 2 ~ Association-according to Doctors Maras and Dixon and has the reputation of being - __________ a -quack. He'is the man who diagnosed illness as lead poisoning, -> * fv " - '. treated him for such, and was in attendance at the time of his death. a Herschel,Duke Ewing; Head of the local claim department of the Aetna Casualty Company. Offices on the second floor of the Ramsey Tower in Oklahoma City. Deceased. Was a resident of Cyril, Oklahoma, and was employed as a pipe fitter at the Anderson Prichard Refinery in Cyril until his death. 5. R. Ledbetter Insurance Company: Maintains offices on the second floor of the Ramsey Tower in Oklahoma City. Agents for the Aetna Affiliated Companies, who wrote Anderson Prichard's employer's liability and workmen's compensation policy with that company. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Coraaany; Home office in Springfield, Massa chusetts. Oklahoma City office in the First National Building. Have written a group life insurance policy for Anderson Prichard employees. Oklahoma Mutual Hospital Corporation! Located at 1320 Iowa Street in Cuickasha, Oklahoma. A corporation with not too good a reputation -whose members contribute a stipulated sum per year which entitles them and their families to free medical examinations, treatments, and care. Supposedly run by a business man for profit who also has,a similar organization in Shawnee, Oklahoma. It is reported that the turnover of doctors at Chickasha is more rapid than the usual turnover of clerks in a business organization and that he is not too particular as to the qualifica tions of doctors he hires. Dr. Dresbach is the present physician in attendance and this, islthe hospital; w h e r e w a s treated and died. L. H. Prichard; President of the Anderson Prichard Refining Corporation and the Col-Tex Refining Company. A resident of Oklahoma City with offices in the Ramsey Tower. - . Dr. Oscar S. pylei Physician connected with the Chickasha Hospital and Clinic who examined'Johnson just two' days' before his death at the request of the Aetna Casualty - -- - 1 ` ... - Ui PAGE 3 e r g Home: Located at Flet'cher, Oklahoma. Undertaking establishment which embalmed and supervised his burial. W ^ a T c . Tiopltr Investigator for the Oklahoma City claim department of the Aetna ' Casualty Company. Office on the second floor of the Ramsey Tomer in Oklahoma City. -;{ -* -* -* * & * K'E' 0004530