Document G1E5OrbD19z1MR4ZyOxzpK54

i< REPCRT Of HEALTH Ah'3 S.'VETr DIVI3If?l j Manfred Bowdltch, Director ! j Rather than risk boring yon with detailed statistics of activities, I will j say only that the health and safety work continues to show a healthy growth (there i has been an Increase of at least 50 per cent since its inception) and will give a | few examples illustrating its acre important phases, | CHILDHOOD LEAD P3ISONDJO Because of the difficulty of its solution and the great amount of adverse publicity which it engenders, childhood lead poisoning has continued to be a major time-consuming headache, A recent news it eta In the New fork Hally News with the headlir.a "Lead Poisoning Killed 10 Kids in Brooklyn in '55, Highest loll in the City,* is a typical example of the latter. Through our responses to the Inquiries of phy sicians, hospitals and clinics, the sponsorship of research, and cooperation with such organltatlons as the Acerican Acsdeny of Pediatrics and American Medical Association, I believe that we are securing a better understanding of this problem and more reasonable attitudes towards lt INDUSTRIAL LEAD FOLSONINO Although the recognition of lead poisoning as a disease dates back to antiquity, and despite the fact that its causes and control are well understood, yet, as Br. Kehoe has told us, there has been a diminution in the severity of industrial cases, rather than in their total number. This is illustrated by the fact that in o quiries and case reports continue with little change in the annual total, A primary y need here, as Dr. Johnstone said yesterday, 1s better instruction of our physicians. DiHJ3TRIAL MEDICAL AND HEALTH SERVICES There is gratifying evidence of a greater recognition of the Importance of adequate medical and health services on the part of the larger companies. Two examples of this have been an Inquiry from a non-member company as to a physician suitable for appointment as over-all medical director, and a recent request from representative of one of our members for advice in setting up a company-wide health program. TREATIPyr OF LEAD POISON DO The so-called EDTA therapy for plumblsm, brought forward five years ago, is by far the greatest advance in this field in recent times. It continues to be subject of intensive study, and report of recent findings will shortly be mailed to all of our members. i I . sws*v-7f- presented at ths 28th Annual Moating, Lead Industries Association, April 2l<-25, 1956, St. Louis, Mo. a . - ' .'s. ' LlA2q4 ywvdsWwwSEw-' -2- LE3I3LATICN Report of Manfred Bowditch n We continue to watch legislation adverse to the Interests of our Bombers, Three bills this year, two in New York and one In New Jersey, having to do with lead u paints, were killed in coi^r.lttee. Two New York bills on air pollution hare been re committed for study end copies of a substitute draft bill prepared by the Associated Industries of Hew York State have been called to our Bombers in that state. Because of tho impossibility of keeping a close watch on 18 state legislatures. It would be nost helpful If our necsbers having installations in other states would notify us of adverse legislation cooing to their attention. UNIFORM LABELDO The trend towards more end more precautionary labeling regulations continues. Our effort here has been mainly to secure reasonable and unifora labeling requirements for lead compounds in all federal and state jurisdictions. This has been quits suc cessful to date, with the elimination of objectionable wording froa a labeling re quirement of the U. 3. General Services Administration the cost recent episode, Modi fication of the New York City lead paint labeling regulation was secured by means of American Standard Z66.1, prepared by a committee of the American Standards Association, sponsored by the Lead Industries Association, The futility of the labeling approach has been brought to the attention of health officials in other large municipalities and appears to have caused them to reconsider any such plans, usmRsnr o f Mic h ig an p l a s t ic p ipe r epo r t Getting wind of a forthcoming report on the suitability of plastic pipe V for potable water supplies in preparation at the University of Michigan, we arranged { to see the galley proof of the report and, through contacts with members of tho advlsory committee on the report, were able to secure elimination of a number of state ments adverse to the use of lead stabilizers. Copies of the report, expected this week, will be called to those of our b embers known to be interested and will be available to any others on request, ALLEGATIONS AS TO SOURCES OP LEAD POISONING Experience has convinced us that no theory as to the causation of lead poisoning is too crazy to be brought forward. No matter how absurd such a theory nay be, it can find its way into print, and from then on is almost certain to be re garded as gospel. Dr, Johnstone has mentioned several of these wild notions. In conclusion let me emphasize one of these and cite three additional and very recent ones 1 A group in Los Angeles had put forward the claim that lead from the exhausts of motor vehicles constituted a menace to the public health. They were very vocal and went so far as to hold sizable mass meetings, We have secured figures on the lead found by official agencies in the street air of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, Cincinnati and other major cities, have found that none of these concentrations remotely approach a hazardous l'evd, and havo brought this fact to the attention of municipal health authorities and others, whereby it la believed that this ghost has been laid* A letter from * Washington physician, received in March, stated that "ingestion of newspaper has been the basis of lead poisoning in three of our more recant cases,* His reference was to plucblsa in small children. In reply, we pointed out that -3- Keport of UarSred Bowditch there la no lead In newsprint, and nono In the ink with which newspapers are printed. Our request that ho explain the source of the lead In these cases brought no response. It would be of some Interest, If It were so, to know that the eating or drinking of lead paints hss become a favored naan* of committing auicide. Such we would have to conclude to be the case from a tabulation received froa the American Publlo Health Association, showing eleven cases of attempted suicide, one of them successful, during 1955, by means of ingesting lead paints. Here wo have a respected and important national organisation, pub lisher of the American Journal of Public Health, putting forth a seenlngly utterly absurd item of vital statistics. When we ques tioned this, the reply was that "it night be a clerical error.* It quite obviously was. Perhaps the craziest of all was a letter fron a physician la Alabama, reporting la detail on the case of a housewife thought to be suffering fron lead poisoning, alleging a urinary lead value sone ten times that found In severe Industrial cases, and suggesting that the patient's habit of biting off silk thread, while sewing might be the cause. Because of the association of this physician with an organization overseen by one of our leading Industrial medi cal friends (and one blessed with s sense of humor), these theories were brought to the latter's attention and elicited the understanding and amusing reply from which, in closing, I will quote, with minor changes! Anent the case of Mrs. I concerning whom the words lead poisoning' have appeared. We are suggesting to Doctor Doe that the Health Department be requested to make an Investigation to de termine If possible sdiether Mrs. I has been ingesting lead from sources In the vicinity of her home. Should this prove to be the case, perhaps It can be stopped with these sequelae! a) Mrs, X would feel better) b) The hospitals would be relieved of dozens fj of a&usslons in addition to the dozens aha has had) i e) Our organization would be relieved of the necessity of continuing to pay hospital and * physicians' charges through ensuing years) d) The clinicians, the Public Health authorities, our organization and the Lead Industries Association would all emerge triumphant for having had a part, and Mrs. X, wo hope, along with all the others will happily live forever after.* ;