Document G5Nk01qM3rGx0wbgE6nmKyMQV

December 18, 1952 Dr. Henry Gilman Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts Department of Chemistry Ames, Iowa . ; f Dear Doctor Gilmans ' -- 'i-Jf I have no doubt that you have abandoned any hope of obtaining f a reply from me to your letter of November 3* I apologize v. for what may seem a lack of common courtesy, but I have had A time lately for only the most urgent items of my correspondence. 'A v. I'm afraid I can give you little help in response to your question. I nave not seen lead-poisoning in cattle, but I have little doubt that it occurs from time to time. Cases of poisoning have been reported, with some show of validity but little real proof, as the result of eating contaminated forage. There is no reason for doubting that lead accumulates in the bodies of cattle as in other mammals, and the well-known tendency of cattle to lick the surfaces of fences, barns and the like would be likely to cause poisoning, if these surfaces were painted with lead-containing paints. The long alimentary tract of the ruminants, and the length of time that food re mains in the tract should operate to facilitate alimentary absorption and poisoning. ' I do not understand your reference to poisoning (of cattle) that shows up within thirty days or not at all. If exposure to lead continues at a significant level, the danger increases steadily with the lapse of time. As to the Influence of trichloroethylene on susceptability to lead poisoning, I might hazard the guess that it would exert an effect only to the extent that It promotes disease indepen dently and thus may interfere with the handling of lead in the body. This> however, Is a stab in the dark, for which there is no evidence whatever. If trichloroethylene were known to exert a significantly injurious effect on the liver, the probability would be greater, but it Is not a very potent injurant of the liver, and so I should expect small amounts to have little influence one way or the other I cannot but wonder what inspired your interest or concern in this matter. Certainly lead poisoning among cattle i3 a fairly rare occurrence, and Is of little practical importance. You mentioned lead poisoning among children, however, and that Is a matter of real importance. On the basis of evidence obtained In areas where this disease among amall children is under investigation and is recognized, the incidence is sufficiently Dr. Henry Gilman - (2) - December 18, 1952 high to justify the assumption that several hundred of such cases occur annually in the U.S.A. The death rate ranges from 25 to over 50 per cent in these cases, since encephalopathy is the common form of the disease as it is seen in the recognized cases. Most of this is due to the ingestion of paint from a variety of sources in the immediate environment of the child in that period of life in which any and all objects of appropriate size go into the mouth. Returning to cattle for the moment, there is no reason to suppose that lead poisoning would be recognized in 'these animals unless they were poisoned fatally and were subjected to toxicologic examination. The form of the disease among many animals bears little resemblance to that seen in man, and I imagine that the diagnosis would present great difficulties. With kindest personal regards, Cordially yours, RAK ef Robert A . Kehoe, M . D .PARTMENT O F CH EM ISTRY CH ARLES A. GO ETZ, H EAD IOWA STATE COLLEGE OF AGRICOLTURE AND MECHANIC ARTS AMES, IOWA No vember 3, 1952 Or. Robert Kehoe School of Medicine University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio Dear Dr. Kehoe: m e l o s ed is a copy of a letter which I sent to Dr. George Calingaert recently. I just heard from him, and he suggested I might write you on the matter. We would be grateful for any information you can give us on this nutter. With kind regards f HG:ls October 27, 1952 G 0 P Y Dr, George Calingaert Department of Chemistry Hobart and William Smith Colleges Geneva, Mew fork < - Dear George: ^ 'When you \vere here some years ago you mentioned aoout the danger of lead poisoning from many sources, including paint on cribs and playpens of children and paint on fences and walls, fou may recall that your general observations were made in connection with the metal work that Mrs, Munn was doing with sheet lead. / Spmeone asked me recently about the possibility of cattle being poisoned by their licking walls of barn structures painted with lead containing materials. Do you recall from your ex perience and knowledge of such things in Belgium and elsewhere whether there were cases definitely due to such causes on the farm. I understand that there are some cases of cattle poisoning which, show their appearance at the end. of thirty days or not at all, also, hogs and chickens which are not poisoned are the type of animal which do not lick walls and so might not oe expected to show any symptoms of lead poisoning due to such causes. This, is a neat correlation, aIthourn it may be due to other things. In this connection, do you happen to know, or mirht you make a guess, on whether a compound like trichloroethylene which may be contained/ in very small quantities in cattle feed, mirnt accentuate any yead poisoning on a farm. With kind regards, Sincerely yours, // Is / / Henry G-ilman /