Document 6wR81eYy392zBkm2rZjOKoyD3

< Qu^dfojL, /5"C0>-p.p.y MEDICAL RESEARCH PROGRAM^. IN INDUSTRY ROBERT E. ECKARDT. M,,D.. Medical Research Division Standard Oil Development Company. Linden. New Jersey There exist numerous problems of medi cine in industry which need further re search effort. For instance, how can the of worker*. Naturally. therefore, th. ,,,w tion immediately imisc whether nr m,t lt the amounts present in gasoline it n-nt,^ cardiac be used in industry, effectively, yet have an effect on the health of gs safely? What is the effect of noise on em attendants, automobile mechanics, ployees, and how should this be handled? bile operators, uiu\, from breathing the fe*. Whnt nre the effects of air pollution on in automobile exhaust, on the general health and uv)l-beiug? These are but Home of the medical problems of industry which need research for their solution. Our own interest in organized medical re search began about 1045. when several of the executives ot our cumpuny began to wonder what the effects of the increasing use of additives in petroleum products might have upon the users of those prod lie. As a result of n brilliant piece of Hcarch by DR. ROUKRT KF.ilnB ntut his ^ ciutea, the answers to these ipie.ilhu,, un. obtained and we all today use tetraeih, lead without worry. This dues nut mib it any less toxic today than it was in jjj, The Division had Its origins in dividual who served ns advisor to this roet mittee. As the number and scope of p*, fnnil.'* I:d'ir: *a i l l',.i iti; As ..! k. :ind m.t.I. ucts. Prior to that time, ROY BONSIB had re problems referred to this individual ]t viewed potential toxicity hazards and writ ten recommendations for their control based principally on literature searches. creased, additional personnel have ben added, until today the organizational of the Division is as indicated in Fig. 2. avail;* t'.mni In order to insure that the Division would Once a problem has been referred to a* obtain the proper perspective, company Toxicity Subcommittee, the Medical fc. wide. on potential toxic hazards, a Toxicity search Division begins to accumulate tit Subcommittee was created f Fig. 1). information which will make it possible * i.-reh- To this committee our Division serves as evaluate any potentinl health hazards whid advisor. Potentinl problems nre referred to may be nsstwintod with this use. Our fir* t. the committee by the various groups repre source of information, naturally, isthtfc sented, or by any other person or group eruture, to determine whether there .ij m ait n< > within the company. From these groups the published toxicological work. If we are n- l<-( ra* Medical Research Division is familiarized nble to find the required information in d* l**t :* with the contemplated use of the compound literature, we next turn to others-who** liazai under consideration, the volume of busi have sources of information nut *v*fl*Hr iml**d ness contemplated and other technical facts to ns or in the literature. These *r which will put the potential problem in its toil 1 n .11 i proper perspective. New uses for old prod ami I ucts can be reviewed from a toxicological Du, standpoint during or before this use. Perhaps one of the most dramatic cases of the effect of additives is the well known example of tetraethyl lead. In its develop mental stages, it was found that this com fmm lions prei hiihl.v pound had serious effects upon the health f ,, Prevented at tS*. Sixth Annut) Health Conference. Houston, Thm, October 2, 1U). br**t Fig. (h,v E K0 02 984 EXX-MOR-003106 fRAM USTRY erefore, the queshether or not in gasoline it would tth of gas station echanica, autonuw weathing the tend the general publiant piece of reioe and his aaso. se questions were ay use tetraethyl x does not make an it was in 1020. irigins in one intvisor to this comand scope of the tis individual inonnel have been -nnizntional set-up rated in Fig. 2. en referred to the the Medical Reo accumulate tht take it possible to iHh hazards which this use. Our fiwi iturally, is the lit' ether there is ork. If we are un information in the to others who-iw ition not available re. These are our Hyatte Quarterly IZ1 friend-1 nn^ acquaintances in other indusjries. the universities, or government who mKy be able to furnish us the desired in formation. Finally we consult other toxicity Ixboratories. in industry or elsewhere, who oxr be able to provide us the toxicity in(urination we need. A* a result of this preliminary ground w>rk. we are nble to evaluate what is known, md what additional information will be needed, and plan the toxicity studies which irf indicated. These studies may be done in oor own laboratories if the facilities are available, but if not. then they arc per formed under contract by one or another toxicity laboratory. It is very important bt Uie toxicity laboratory chosen be well nned in toxicological techniques, otherrise completely extraneous, misleading, or | irrelevant results may be obtained. The I q'ople fact that a compound mqy or may lot be toxic, by itself is of very little help i attempting to evaluate the hazards from ate. This was illustrated by the case of xtraethyl lead, the toxicity of which was jsi altered by DR. KEHOE's work but the hiards of handling were definitely eliminicd by hit work. In addition it is essen^ to know where it is to be used, how it 'll tome in contact with people, how often *4 lor how long contuct will continue, etc. foite the toxicity information has been ^dped, either from the literature or Z* actual toxicity laboratory investigaand it appears that a material may ^nt a potential health problem, then the "'trial Hygiene Section takes over and ^ the possible exposures and methods ^jdrolIing them. Is the xposure from ^ thing the material, from contact with * *n. or from ingestion, or from n com- lunation of these? How often does exjmsnn* t*ccur? How long dt*s each exj>mun* lust? What level of exposure occurs? What are the work habits of the men nnd how cun they be altered so ns to minimize exposure? Whnt nre the engineering features of the equipment nnd how can they be altered or ventilation improved to reduce expasure? Can non-toxic chemicals be substituted for toxic ones and still accomplish the same operating effect? Will protective equipment provide the necessary protection where ex posure cannot otherwise be Avoided, and if so, what protective equipment should be provided and where utid how should it be used? This Is the type of qitcstlmi which eiui be answered by the Industrial Hygiene Section after careful study, collection of samples where indicated, and analysis of samples after collection. Let it be empha sized at this point that the techniques of industrial hygiene are not unique in and of themselves, but frequently the collecting methods are quite specific, and the amounts of material being analyzed are quite small, so that special analytical techniques must be used. Therefore, it is essential that the industrial hygienist be fully fnmiliur with the limitations nnd pitfalls of his tech niques. This implies that he must hnve spe cial training or long periods of supervised instruction in these techniques before he can be considered competent to interpret the significance of his findings, it often occurs that n safety supervisor, is suddenly made responsible for industrial hygiene without any period of special training or previous experience. This Is unfair to the safety supervisor, and in most cuses would lead to a false sense of security. These re marks are not intended in any way as a criticism of safety supervisors, who have done an extremely wonderful job in n field In which the training nml huckimmml must necessarily be different from those of the industrial hygienist. It is intended only to caution against expecting from the safety department personnel a service which they are not trained to provide. When the Induntriul Hygiene Section has completed its studies and developed the facts about exposure, then the Clinical Section swings into action. From the facts developed by the toxicologist and the industrial hy gienist, an attempt is made to evuluute the I i i EMO 02 98 5 EXX-MOR-003107 1X6 Jmie. i potential effects on man of exposures at levels determined by the industrial hygien ists to compounds of the toxicity determined by the toxicologist Will men bo affected by these exposures? If so, how enn the effect be measured? Are preplacement examina tions necessary to exclude those who may be unusunlly susceptible? Are periodic ex aminations necessary, and If su, how fre quently ahould they be done and what shoutd the examination consist of? Should men be removed from the job if certain changes are observed and at what stage ahould they be removed? Are the controls recommended by the industrial hygienist adequate, or are more elaborate controls necessary? If an accident occurs, what Is the beat method of treatment, are there any antidotes, what first aid measures should be developed ? These are the questions that must be an swered by the Clinical Section. All of these answers should be svallable before any new process or the use of any new chemical progresses beyond the pilot plant stage. It has been found that if we develop this in formation for the protection of our own em ployees. then we are in a position to answer the questions which will be raised by the ccnsumers of our products, and to assist them in the proper handling of our products w thout danger to their own employees. In addition to evaluating the hazards from the use of new chemicals or new pro cesses, our Division is slso concerned with the development of new concepts in esch of our three lines of endeavor. An an example, the Industrial Hygiene Section is perform ing research on new methods of sampling, new analytical methods, and improvement of older methods. Recently an extensive study of skin contact was undertaken in conjunction with the Medics! Department of the Esso Standard Oil Company. The techniques developed were somewhat unURuni and ahould be applicable not only within our own induatry, but also in other industries with skin contact problems. A study of protective clothing is also under way to try to develop a auit which would provide protection, yet be cool enough that It could be worn in hot climates. Our Toxicology Section is embarking now on a program of fundamental research on the effect of hydrocarbons on various me tabolic processes. Are body eniyme uya- terns nffected by aliphatic nr nronuifir drocarbons, and if so, hoiv? Do tl changes .in Ixsly enzymes ttecur heron* iKHly cells are visibly dnmng*<t? If these methods lend themselves In upp) tion by the physician in studying the fib of different cxtwsurc* lieforc irrepan damage hits lieeii done? It is ji fm-i | pnrnlhiqn Is n very toxic inntrriul (V| will cnlise convulsions in men ovonx|. to it. However, long before cunvulsion.i pear, it will depress the blood rholiiicstcr As a result, a practical field test has ], developed to detect pnruthinn exposure* a time when the only detectable rlinngi in the blood cholinesterase. At this ni the blood cholinesterase will restore it to normal, without having miUjeet.d the posed person to any danger from con siona. Are similar sensitive enzyme n tiona occurring, in benzene and other r mntic hydrocarbon exposures? Today only measure of benzene toxicity is iLxef on the bone marrow. When this occurs, it parable damage has often already liern dt Because industry is always develop new processes or new products, or find new uses for old products, we find that are never lacking in work projects to performed. We huve found it ndvnnUft to lie set up organizationally in the Stg urd Oil Development (`nm|imiy, the nai research affiliate of the Standard Oil Q pany (NJ.). This permits us to km new ideas as they are developed, and to* right along with the chemists and enrim as their efforts proceed from mental f cesses to laboratory liench work, to pilot plant, to large pilot plant, to eofisi ing design for full scale production B Our efforts quite naturally vary i&4 stage of development, but our ultimata* jectives are to identify medical or hfjj problems arising from the mnnufariajj use of various petroleum and chemical# ucls as they affect employees. nwtofigp( the general public, and to invrxliaat:ljl to be taken to minimize or rliminatfcS problems. Our motto is that tv* chtmfefl too toxic to be used, provided it stood how to use it safely. Our potfW designed to develop information a proper understanding f the precautions for the safe hniidlinf ug health standpoint of any chemical or #1*5 .^ ENO 02986 EXX-MOR-003108