Document GmKjyLkzwEbvG5nkqbO97OZwV

to Dr. Graham Edgar May lO, mk Dr* Charles ft. Stephenson 179 Aliya street Hartford, Conn* Dear iir* Stephenson* v.V* V--' i%.-. -1 ; ; ."v ; your letted addressed to the Ethyl Gasoline Corporation has been referred to ste for reply* The Inhalation of load-containing gaSoltnee-- has not been associated with the occurrence of lead poisoning among gasoline handlers* In fact there.have been no oases of poisoning reported anywhere 'as a consequcneo of. exposure to-leaded-.gasoline, either by'-inhalation or as' a result of. akin, contact* I. and, my associates In this laboratory have studied this problem over a period of years, and 1 am sending you a reprint of an article which recently. appeared in..`the Jotsrn&l of Industrial Hygiene which will give you the detailed yidenc obtained in our studies* v On the other hand, there is a possibility that sen who have been exposed in large tanks which have contained loaded gasoline my absorb appreciable amotmts of lead* . The situation here Is as followsi the lead compound in the gasoline may decompose and 'deposit crystalline lead compoxmds : in fcheruston the side of the tank# "The presence of these small amounts of lead is not dangerous unless they are scraped loose with the scale froja the tank and sus~ pended in the air In.the form of a dry dust* Conse quently when such tanks are cleaned, adequate safety can be provided against, the load dust either by means of keeping the sides,and bottom of the tarikrwet, or by the use of a suitable mask* , If your patient was not engaged in cleaning tanks, and If he was not exposed In any fashion to suspended materiel of this sort, then it seems quite certain that he has had no appreciable closure to lead, and that hia condition Is not due to lead absorption* As you are doubtless.aware, undue exposure to gasoline fuses results In intoxication to the point of unconscious ness and death unless the subject i removed from exposure* Generally speaking, in my experience, persons who have been so overcome recover quickly from their exposure* However, occasionally an Individual develops some degree of permanent Injury to the nervous system* It is possible that you are dealing hero with such a case* *Zm 18?* Charles W. Stephenson In the matter of laboratory evidence. It Is not my experience that persons who develop acute lead encephalopathy fall to show definite evidences of.in creased lead in their excreta. In fact* in all of the instances which have come to my notice, short exposures to lead compounds of sufficient severity to produce mental symptoms are associated with a very pronounced increase in the lead excretion of both the faeces and urine. In such a situation as you describe, I should regard the failure to find increased lead as adequateevidence that lead was not responsible for his illness, provided the analyses were made by reliable methods.; ; I should be very much Interested in having any further details which are available as to the character of your patient*s exposure, as to the time of onset of his symptoms, and such other details as will enable me to determine whether he had a significant lead intoxication as a result of Inhalation of the type of lead compounds which may be found In the scale on the ^ ^ Inside of the Ethyl Gasoline storage tanks. Moreover, if I can be of any assistance bo you in making determinations to the extent of your patient*s lead excretion, I should be glad to do so. Very truly yours. RAKtIS Robert A. Kehoe, If D, H 0017197