Document 6bVKvwojjY2V2ZgDN7Rw9o3xm
E ASSOCIATED ETHYL COMPANY LIMITED 20 BERKEMLEEDYICSAQLUSAERREV,ICLEOSNDON, W. I
TELEPHONE: GROSVENOR 6030
Dr . PHILIP BOYD
ChiefMedicalOfficer
t e l e g r a m s : ETH YLPORT, W ESD O, LON D ON
CABLES*. ETH YLPORT, LONDON
OUR REF. MU/K.l.
YOUR REF.
1 June 27, 1958* '
Dr. R.A. Kehoe,
Univerity of Cincinnati,
The Kettering Laboratory,
College pf Medicine,
Eden Avenue,' '
CINCINNATI 19,
Ohio,
U.S.A.
l1
Dear Dr. Kehoe,
I thought you might like to see(a copy of a letter
sent to me by Dr. Lebedev of the Soviet Ministry of Health in
Moscow. This letter is one of several inia correspondence
which I have been having in relation to hygienic standards in
the lead industry, and I think his views might be of interest
to you.
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The significance of this is not exactly unimportant, as I have already been approached by various German doctors on the standards set by the Russians in the light of atmospheric pollution with lead from automobile exhausts. There is the possibility that we may find German, Swiss and other authorities trying to sell the idea that the lead figures found in congested city areas represent a material hazard to health.
If you have time, I would be grateful for any comments you may wish to make on this matter.
With kindest personal regards,
Enel. PRB/jmr
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TRANSLATION OF LETTER FROM THE SOVIET MINISTRY OF HEALTH.
' {i
MOSCOW.
121-9/8-3lk
13th June, 1958.
Dear Dr. Boyd,
I hope you will forgive me for the delay in
answering your, letter in which you enquired for more specific
information regarding the limiting admissible concentration of
lead. I am very sorry, but I was engaged on service duties
for a long time. I am glad to be able to give you the
following information.
. ....
The limiting admissible concentration established in the Soviet Union for lead and its inorganic compounds in the atmosphere of industrial plants is 0.01 mg./Cu. metre. This is 15 times lower than the corresponding figure established in the U.S.A. You were correct in this.
The figure of 0.01 mg. /cu. metre for lead was established on the basis of data obtained from the literature and from material collected in industrial observations, according
to which this concentration does not produce any harmful effect on the human body. Recently, however, some observations have shown that prolonged exposure of experimental animals to lead
aerosol in the concentration of 0.01 mg./cu. metre produced
disturbance of the upper nervous activity, porphyrin metabolism, accumulation of lead in the bones and also pathologico-anatomical
changes in organs and tissues, especially the brain and spinal
cortex. This now appears to us to be a subject of some concern.
Iu
Apart from the figure referred to above, we in the Soviet Union have also established a limiting concentration for the atmosphere of populated zonesj this is 0.0007 mg./cu. metre
and representa s reliably safe concentration. This is due to
the fact that the inhabitants, especially children, infirm
persons and fold people, may be within the zone for whole days. Employees in a plant where lead enters the atmosphere are
allowed a six-hour working day.
It must be remarked that no direct correlation has been observed between the lead concentrations to which the body is exposed ajmd lead elimination via the urine, since this latter is dependent on the general condition of the body: metabolism, nervous system, endocrine glands, etc. Lead-in-*urine figures can have a decisive significance only when taken in conjunction with other clinical symptoms.
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I also wish to inform you that the limiting value for lead sulphide established by us is 0*5 mg./cu. metre*
)_ . .
I shall be glad to be of help in answering any
further questions*
?
Yours sincerely,
Signed: Yu. D. Lebedev.
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