Document EqZ00mQQBa7LROLX2pLr0adxj

V * COPY E. I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS & COMPANY INCORPORATED Wilmington 98, Delaware '"-1 1 : ORGANIC CHEMICALS DEPARTMENT EXPORT DIVISION CC: Mr. K. Kikuchi, President Maruwa Buss an K. K. Tokyo, Japan. Dr. K. Akatsuka c/o Tokyo Medical College 412, 1-Chome, Higashi Okubo Shinjyuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan. May 7, 1957. Dear Dr. Akatsuka: We thank you very much for your very complete report dated April 20th covering your activities for the first quarter of 1957. We have passed along to our Dr. S. L. Rankin the results of your medical examinations. You state in your covering letter that Showa Oil Company is now intending to set up a drum to weigh tank blending operation at their Yokkaichi Refinery as per specifications and drawings submitted to them by Associated Ethyl Company of England. We have drawings and specifications covering standard drum to weigh tank blending installations which we have forwarded some time ago to Mr. Kikuchi for his presentation to Showa Oil Company. Therefore, we presume that the staff of Showa Oil Company have our drawings and specifications in their possession also. You point out in your letter that Associated Ethyl Company is recommending a special type of standpipe, to be inserted in the drum, which will insure removing all of the Tetraethyl Lead Compound in the drum. - ' You state that they are recbmmgnding with the use of this special standpipe that the washing of the empty drum will not be required. ? f 'As you are aware we have always recommended that the empty drum indeed be washed with gasolene. From a hygenic standpoint we all know that TEL is toxic. When all of the TEL in a drum is removed, we know that from experience the hazards relative to the later handling of the empty drums will have been removed, that is with respect to TEL hazards. The drum, of course, is re sealed following washing and shipped back to our plant. An empty drum label is attached to the drum indicating that such drum containsnflammable mixture, since it has been washed with gasoline. RE 0010130 Dr K. Akatsuka -2- $ May 7,4 1957 Certainly devices can be designed to remove all of the contents of TEL in the drum. This special standpipe that you refer to has no doubt been thus designed. Our position is basically that such devices do indeed have merit, if the use of such a device will assure and guarantee the removal of all of the TEL Compound in the drum. Even though such devices are designed to do this, we think that for such to be- actually accomplished requires probably special handling by personnel in the blending plant. Byt this we mean that the drum would probably have to be properly upended, etc., to insure proper drainage of the contents. Since such special handling would in many cases not be used by an ordinary staff on all occasions routinely, it is therefore our opinion that perhaps some of the TEL content in the drum could remain on occasions. "in contrast we do know through many years of experience that from a practical standpoint the TEL content in a drum is removed with the gasoline used in washing such a drum. Quite apart from the hygenic and health hazard aspect, which is of course of supreme importance, there does exist a commercial aspect to the problem as well. We want our customers to be assured of receiving all of the TEL that they have been billed for. For example, if drums have not been washed and perhaps only one pound of TEL Compound remains in each drum, for several hundred drums this would represent a considerable quantity of TEL Compound that the customer would not be receiving. We trust that the above will serve as a guide to our thinking on the matter about which you have written. Apart from the above, we have not had any actual experience of course with these specially designed standpipes. Very truly yours, - , . E. I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS & COMPANY A.O. Hamon Account Manager Petroleum Chemicals NOTE TO MR. KIKUCHI: We presume that you are maintaining close contact with Showa Oil Company regarding the design of their blending plant facilities for the Yokkaichi Refinery. 001019