Document Gn7RvynbYJ11Gn79aDd9Brkx

V .V March 12, 1942 ai M r . C . Leo Guynn, Claim# Manager, ; The Industrial Commission of Arizona, ' Phoenix, Arizona. - r -;.^'r^\ . Dear Mr, Guynn: 5f. -' ' v |f~ . : Your letter of March 3* addressed to the office, of Ethyl Getline Corporation, In Los Angeles, has been.refe x r e d t o m e as the chief medical adviser of Ethyl Gasoline Corporation X am very glad to have ,the opportunity of giving y o u t h e i n f ormation requested, and. I a m sending you herewith one d r two publica-! tions on the subject, which are pertinent. I might point out In the beginning that the concentration of 126tetraethyl lead in commercial gasolines is quite low* It does not exceed one part in o b y volume in gasoline, and most commer-v cial gasolines contain considerably lower dpneentrations. Te traethyl lead itself is not a skin irritant i In its concentra ted form, applied to the skin, it produces a little redness, which is of short duration, but it does not cause a chemical Irritation. In fact, it is absorbed through the skin without producing material or definite injury. Gasoline, on the other hand, is quite irritating to the skin, and m o d e m gasolines With their frequently high content of unsaturated Acyclic hydrocarbons, are much more likely to be .irfltAtiiife,t^tsth Is straight run gaso line distillate. Accordingly, we have seen more dermatitis due to contact with gasoline in recent years than we did in the past. This has nothing to do w i t h 4tetraethyl: lead, but inasmuch as tetraethyl lead is used, in most of the gasoline bases of this type, it has come to be regarded with suspicion, ehlefly'for the reason that attention is always called-tbi the presence of lead i n the gasoline whereas nothing: Is^ saidvel^ife:tne methods of manufacture of the gasoline -base. A c t u ^ 3 ^ : the only danger `which is thought of b y us in:connection^with tetraethyl lead in gasoline Is that of{;the possibility of .lead? absorption through the skin as the result of contact However* extensive experi mental, work and years of experience have demonstrated that such absorption does not occur in the case of commercial gasolines with their low lead content* .Indeed experimentation has shown that if the gasoline does not contain more' than one part per thousand of tetraethyl lead byvolume, the absorption of lead through the skin does h o t occur as the result of contact. In 0004509 `{ / & r . C. Leo Guynn - (2) - March 12# 19^2. other words, dilution of tetraethyl in gasoline hinders absorp tion and actually prevents it vithin the limits of concentration commercially employed. It is precisely for this reason that the load concentration in gasoline is limited to lov concentrations that do not give rise to the danger of lead absorption on the part of the men who handle gasoline and who come in contact with it from time to time. Returning to the subject of gasoline dermatitis, our observations have shown that this is sometimes a very real problem. A small percentage of persons become sensitized to the gasoline, and develop rather severe skin lesions which will not clear up unless all exposure to liquid or vapor is discontinued. Other persons develop the somewhat dry fissured skin that results from the extraction of the oils of the skin, but without much damage othervice. Fortunately, this is the more common picture, and it re sults in little or no disability unless the skin becomes infected with bacteria or fungi, I trust this gives you the information you require, but if any further questions arise, I shall do my best to answer them. Very truly yours, Hobert 'A .''ehoe . M. D. HAS ef Enc. 0004510 *\v\ yj iM T C w o rn c c CORE8POWOENCC E t h y l Ga s o e in e Co r po r a t io n L os ANGELES DIVISION 977 W EST SIXTH STREET LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA Marcii 5 19 4 2 Dr. Robert A. Kehoe Dear Doctor Kehoe: We are enclosing a letter we received from Mr. C. Leo Guynn, Claims Manager of The Industrial Commission of Arizona at Phoenix. We felt that thi3 letter should be sent directly to you for handling. Yours very truly, S. M. Wagner AHCDS By: A. H. Chenault c.c. Mr. 0. B. Lewis Kg 0004511 -**** |_ . C . H O L M E S. CHAIRM AN LYNN LO CK HA RT. MEMBER E . T. H O U STO N , MEMBER ^nbxt&ixm (Ifom m issim t ( ^kxiztxvm CLAIM S DEPARTM EN T 3jII;oems, Arisona March 3, 1942 MAR5 1942 C. LEO GUYNN C LA IM S M A N A G E* Ethyl Gasoline Corporation, Los Angeles, California. Gentlemen: This department has recently encountered several cases of employees suffering from local in fection, which is claimed to have "been caused from coming in contact with Tetra Ethyl Lead as used in gasoline. V.'e are therefore anxious to obtain any possible information and ask if you have any. litera ture available covering this subject that it be for warded to us. Any information regarding infections of this kind which you may be able to furnish us v/ill be greatly appreciated. . Thanking you we remain Yours very truly, C. Leo-'Guynn, Claims Manager H E 0004512