Document K6GOBMXkG4m9wmzbQrQbmY6O6

A u g u st 1 I9 6 0 AIR MAIL D r. K. Akatsuka c /o Tokyo M edical C ollege 412, 1 -chm e, H igashi Okubo Shinjyuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan D ear D octor Akatsuka: I have received from M r. C arter of Ethyl C orporation a copy of your letter of June 15, I960, in which you outline your proposal fo r obtaining approval of the u se of tetraxnethyl lead in Japan. M r. C arter was acting fo r m e, at m y req u est, in looking into this m atter. I think I should point out that m y role in th is is that o f acting fo r the A m erican and B ritish m anufacturers of antiknock com pounds, rather than fo r any one o f th em , and that I would lik e you to view your a c tiv itie s in th is m a tter in that sa m e lig h t. It i s m y p u rp ose to p r e se n t the sc ie n tific and hygienic facts for the consideration of the appropriate o fficia ls of the Jap an ese G overnm ent, without any n e c e ssa r y referen ce to the distributors of gasolin e, or any one sp ecific m anufacturer of tetra m ethyl lead. I do not m ean by th is that th ere is any reason to conceal th e in t e r e s t o f E th y l C o r p o r a tio n ;o r du P o n t, o r th e A s s o c ia t e d E th y l Com pany in th is, but th ere is no point in em phasizing that o f any one com pany. In con sid erin g your p rop osal, I regard your in v estig a tio n o f the to x icity o f tetraxnethyl lead to be u n n ecessa ry . C ertain ly, I would not undertake to deter you or your scien tific colleagu es from follow ing up your in terest in this m atter, but in view of the position occupied by th is L aboratory in you r country, I think it u n lik ely that any corrob oration of our findings is n e c e ssa r y . T h is, how ever, is not the m ain reason for m y opinion. R ather, I think it c o rr e ct to sa y that te s ts of the to x icity of TML in the laboratory w ill not contribute m uch toward the consideration of this m atter. We are conducting a fa ir ly elaborate in vestigation of the effects o f prolonged exposure to low d osages and concen trations (in a ir) of TML. C ertain ly no v ery u sefu l purpose w ill be served by your duplication of th is work. The p resent problem , how ever, is not the relative toxicity o f TML and T EL, but instead is that of the extent of any in crea se in the exposure of gasolin e handlers to lead in consequence of the u se of TML. T his is th e problem dealt w ith in our fie ld in v estig a tio n , reporte of which a r e being sent to you. I send you a ls o , how ever, two copies of a b rief sum m ary o f to x ico lo g ica l ob servation s m ade som e y ea rs ago which show that TML d iffers som ew hat, but not g rea tly , from TEL, being som ew hat le s s toxic on the w hole. 0002903 D r. K. A k atsu k a - ( 2) - A u g u st 1, I960 C onsidering the need for fa irly prom pt action in this m atter, I suggest that you approach the appropriate o fficia ls a s soon a s you have received th is letter and the rep o rts, and in itiate the step s required to obtain c le a r a n c e . The oth er step s, a s proposed, seem en tirety appropriate. I should ap p reciate it g rea tly , if you would acknow ledge the r eceip t o f th is le tte r prom ptly, and le t m e know the schedule of tim e involved in initiating and com pleting the various ste p s. In view of the m anner follow ed thus fa r in oth er cou n tries, e sp ec ia lly in W estern E urope, I should think this m atter could be cleared up within a short tim e. I am fa irly w ell acquainted with P r o fe sso r H oriuchi, and no doubt it w ill be w ell to inform h im about th is m atter. I should think it m ight be w ise and courteous to inform P r o fe sso r Susurna H arashim a a ls o , considering h is p osition in the field of P reven tive M edicine. C ordially yours, R obert A . K ehoe, M. D. RAK ef C .C . : M r. C. D. C arter M r. Julian F rey E nc. Sum m ary of P re lim in a ry Toxicologic Investigation of the L ead A lkyls - M achle, B ru st and K ehoe - June 18, 1959 An In v estig atio n of th e P o te n tia l H azard s of E x p o su re to L ead A sso c ia ted W ith the H andling and U se of G asoline C ontaining an A ntiknock F lu id in W hich T e tra m e th y l L ead is S u b stituted fo r T e tra e th y l L ead - C holak and K ehoe - N ov. 10, 1959 - (2 c o p ie s) |^E 0092904