Document EwX2ykMYqGQa4prMv8MnMERn

/ March IS, 1938 Dr, A* iT* Lanza Assistant Nodical director iYetropolitan Life Insurance Co# He-/? York City New York Dear Doctor Lanzas* I am afraid that there is very little I can give you in the way of new infor mation S3 to the influence of lead poisoning on mortality. Nothin" that I have on the subject is worth anything in a statistical sense since I have only my own experiences la the matter of clinical cases to go on, and these, I believe, would be of very little assistance to you# In the course of the past several years I have seen several fatal cases of lead poisoning in children as the result of ingesting lead from toys, play pons, and in one Instance contaminated food# I have also seen several cases of fatal encephalopathy in connection with the manufacture of white lead. I have also had direct knowledge of six or seven deaths from acute organic lead poisoning in connection with the cleaning of storage tanks heavily contaminated with tetraethyl lead or its decomposition products. I can not con ceive of these as having much significance in relation to the general question of mortality. My experience leads me to. believe that fatal-lead poisoning 13 quite uncommon and aside from the instances which I have men tioned, I believe that fatal cases occur rarely: except in connection with ship breaking' or cutting operations In which an oxyaoetelene blowtorch is used on a heavily painted surface under conditions In which ventilation is lacking, or very Inadequate. The only man I know who has systematically collected data on this subject Is one of my colleagues on the Committee on Lead Poisoning in the Section of Industrial Hygiene of the American Public Health Association. I have no doubt you are familiar with some of Dr# Hoffman's publications and I believe he has the data on this question in better shape than almost anyone else in so far as available statistics are concerned# I personally doubt the N13955