Document Ex3RpeyD3dXqeedBkJBp7zXdj

THE ASSOCIATED ETHYL COMPANY LIMITED NORTHWICH CHESHIRE telephone: NORTHWICH 2237. Jf&ad Office ARTILLERY HOUSE, ARTILLERY ROW, LONDON, S.W. |. ABBEY 3974. K.2. YOUR REF. ^telegrams & Chiles: ETHYLPORT, NORTHWICH. 24th May, 1948. directors: N.A.GASS. J. a. AUG. KCSSCCR, fNETMeRLANOS) J-W. BOYLE. F.G.C.MORRIS. R.H. PORTERS. R-W. SELLERS D. A.SHEPARO^U. S.A.) A. J. SINGLETON. C. SPRY. . t . r . a . Se v an , (Managing} Dr. S.A. Kehoe, Kettering Laboratory of Applied ihysiology, University of Cincinnati, & S'.'-My: College of Medicine, Eden Avenue, -' Cincinnati, OHIO, U.S.A. i Deer Dr. Kehoe, I Rm most grateful for your letters of the 1st find 18 th May and their content a,' which ere of greet value to us here. It would appear, as you stated, that vsntilntion of sludge- free t*nks is necessary, and our regulations will, therefore, require to te amended accordingly. As they stand they imply that a tank that has been sludge-freed may be entered immediately afterwards without any protective equipment. At least, that is the interpretation put on Then by some of our customers. In the Ethyl Corporation's instructions for the use of the Lead in air Analyzer, it is stated that sufficient time should be given for the tank to air out completely before sampling the air in the tank, and the instructions give reasons for high results. 'A ?'>' f 1. I was at Kayle recently and saw a man who had suffered from mild ethylene dibromide poisoning as r result of cleaning a rail tank waggon with a top opening. The history is as follows:-- About 10.0 a.m. on the morning of Monday, 10th May, 1948, aged 42 years, employed since February 1948, entered a dibromide & fPyts rail tank waggon for cleaning purposes. The waggon had previously been boiled for about twenty-four hours and subsequently washed out with sea water. The #`c- v'.y.'Y tank was pronounced fit to enter for cleaning by the Safety Officer prior to entry. 'debater, who was engaged on this work for the first time, had no protective clothing and no respiratory protection. From past experience it . 'k rfty kkbp would appear that such were not necessary. He felt uncomfortable inside the tank, chiefly from the intense heat. /The temperature that day had been in the region of 80F. He came out of the tank frequently for fresh air in - 'y-sL\fvSi-S.i '' \ :Vr-*.\V^,'Ty - - accordance with current practice. e finally left the tank at 11.45 a.m. not having recognised any unusual odoqr whilst he was in it. On reaching the oAv/; . '-Av. . M-b. ground he became slightly nauseated, retched and vomited. After bathing he : *; V--. continued to retch and vomit although he experienced but little nausea. From Ld-VAi' L ' the history given he was slightly confused. He was seen shortly afterwards . .'vk/ '..a A f+v'.-iK:7 (Contd.] E.A. Kehoe, Cineinn? ti. 2- - d a t e ... 24th May, 1948..... J by Dr. V/.H. 1'almer, who bed him admitted to St. Michael's Hospital, Hayle, for / ,, observation. He continued to retch and vomit until 5*0 p.m. He had little ' abdominal pain and no other signs of symptoms at that time, other than a moderate degree of irritation of the eyes which did not come on until he was in hospital. -v' He recovered gradually and was discharged on the 12th May, 1948. 'TThe tank waggon had an unmistakable odour at 11.45 a.m. when examined by _ Tr the same Safety Officer. - x / ' V\ . The diagnosis, therefore, may be considered as:' '. (1) Ethylene dibromide poisoning. (2) Heat exhaustion. (3) Combination of (1) 'and (2), or some other cause. He was examined by me at 12.30 p.m. on Thursday, 13th May. He had no complaints other than hoarseness and slight weakness. There was no evidence of ;-r"E:",Any organic disease. The skin was normal. There was no evidence of irritation 'V g': of the eyes or throat. He did, however, exhibit a moderate degree of inflammation ; of the middle ears, a marked congestion of the pharynx, a mild degree of inflammation of the vocal cords, and mild bronchitis. Witnesses 3tated that 'iVebster is always a little hoarse, but the clinical evidence indicated that the vocal cord inflanmation was of recent origin. It is ray opinion that^m^^ was suffering from a mild degree of ethylene difcroraide poisoning. He has suffered no loss of morale and is prepared to undertake similar work again. The tank waggon involved was inspected on the morning of Tuesday, 11th 1'a.y, approximately twenty-four hours after it had first been entered. The manhole was off. The cleaning was incomplete. There was no detectable odour. A small quantity of black sludge, remained in the bottom.. The inner surface was covered with scale about 3/l6" thick, black, brittle, dry and odourless. No dibromide. wa.= found in a sample by available laboratory methods. Gleaning was completed that afternoon. There ms a heavy odour of ethylene dibromide present at J.O p.m. The operator in the interior stated that it arose when he commenced to remove the si udge. Suggestions for tank cleaning operations in the future were formulated: 1. Epch man engaged on tank cleaning shall know the odour of ethylene dibromide. - 2. Tank waggons shall continue to be boiled for twenty-four hours and .subsequently flushed with sea water. t: }L;... '''i 3. The tank waggon shall be inspected and pronounced fit to enter by the Safety Officer, who v;ill re-inspect the waggon at half-hourly intervals. 4. During hot weather the tank waggon shell be kept cool by cold water applied to the outside during the period the workmen are removing the sludge and scale from the interior. (Cont.d.; 0010002 24 th May, 1_9_48. Ua t b 5. Full protective equipment shall he worn. (1) Protective clothing. (2) l-ositive pressure air line. 6. Not wore than a ten minute period should be spent in''the interior of the tank. This will be followed by a five minute rest period outside the tank. 7. A3 far as possible, the interior will be kept moistened to reduce the dust, and the scale removed with a wire brush. - 8. The sludge end scale should not be deposited on the adjacent ground, but should, be immediately buried, incinerated or discarded into a culvert. The present situation as regards medical consultants is chaotic, and I am 3till far from clear on the situation. Cur records are most incomplete. V/e have not yet received a report from the Australian Office, but from my present knowledge of the areas covered by the London and South American Offices, it would appear that nineteen copies of the "Lead Studies" in English are still in use, two, perhaps four, not in use may possibly be reclaimed, and nineteen cannot be traced. I was unable to obtain any copies of the German translation when I was in Switzerland recently. I shall forward lists of tho medical consultants at present employed by the Company, the medical commitments covered by them, their appointments and qualifications, if known, and the literature forwarded. I am, however, certain that we shall not be able to recover sufficient copies of the "Lead Studies" in English, to meet our needs, and some form of instruction for new consultants is necessary at the present time. I hope to get the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries covered and clarified by early July. We are hopeful of getting our central analytical laboratory erected within the next year, as there is now some hope of the building licence being ' granted. This would not cover one floor of your new extension, so despite the setbacks you have had in getting into it you are certainly a lot better off than we are here I shall be writing again soon. Please give my kindest regards to Mrs. Kehoe, With kindest personal regards to yourself, .Yours very sincerely. E. Davison.