Document KRaoROKk84GVxRL0ev9jkreBQ

April 29, 1971 Mr. Matthew Kolodney 1930 Ivy Road #1 Charlottesville, Virginia Dear Mr. Kolodney: The quiestions which you raise in your letter of April 24 are of the type that can be raised at any time concerning almost any type of postulated threat to the po;pulation, or segments of it, in this and every other nation which has made fiirly large strides in the applications of technology to its life. We are threatened, theoretically, at least by a very large number of biological by-products of our technological activities, which in the past have not been accompAnied by the necessary accompaniment of biological research. A large proportion of the managers of our industry, large and small, and of those who have profited productively and financially, or in the achievement of comfort or speed, are just beginning to realize that the price which we must pay for this may be too high unless we find out in advance somewhat more about what the price may be To return to the problem of lead in the air, as derived from the exhausts of automobiles, here is one of those problems, which has been under careful study since 1926, in order to determine what the risks might be to the dissemination of lead in the environment of man, especially that which is centered in the areas of heavy automobile traffic. The technological advantages of the use of lead are considerable, but is it advisable to achieve these advantages at the cost of danger to groups of persons in the population? This is the question, which has been raised time and time again during the past forty-odd years. The question is no nearer to an answer now, in the final sense, than it was forty years ago. What has happened, is that, as more and more leaded gasoline is used by mbre and more cars, and, particularly, in certain badly ventilated (naturally) areas of the country, the exposure to lead seems to increase, and the supposition is (as it was in the third decade of this century) that at some point it will become dangerous. There is nothing except this supposed growth of the exposure, to indicate that it is dangerous. I am as certain as 1 am of anything else, in this welter of uncertainties, that no one has been, or is being, uamaged. The garage mechanics are a case in point. (The latter are exposed to lead in a variety of ways vh ich have nothing to do with leaded gasoline, as they have always been. They have an occupational exposure to lead, and the extent of their total exposure to lead has not altered, as measured by lead in their urine and blood, for at least 30 years.) The question of pregnant women and children always comes up in any theoretical stress as applied to the public. There is simply nothing (but apprehension) to justify the statement that they are especially at risk. We havre much lead poisoning among children in our older American cities, but we know why this occurs, and we could prevent it entirely within a year or two if we wdre to spend the effort (and money) required to accomplish this desirable purpose. N 6096 Mr. Matthew Kolodney Page 2 April 29, 1971 Now this is not at all to say that there is no problem here. What is true, however, is that there are very many other environmental threats which are much more likely to have serious consequences than is this one, and that the great erapnasis on this one is simply stupid, from the aspect of public health. Technologically, however, there are serious problems, and the removal of lead from gasoline is now being promoted, for such reasons. There are ways of greatly reducing this threat, however, which can be accomplished, and in my view, this should be done. For example, the congestion of automobile traffic in our cities (some in particular) can be greatly reduced, by providing other and more effective means of transportation. This must be done, in any case, since if we double our population, and continue to draw them into the cities, their transportation simply cannot be provided by automobiles. One cannot, as a private citizen, operate an automobile effectively in Manhattan, because there are npw too many for the streets. I cannot write more extensively in this matter in a letter, but I believe 1 have indicated that the answers to your questions are not simple, and that the issues which you have raised are not really the important ones in this matter. Sincerely yours, RAXswb Robert A. Kehoe, M.D. Professor Emeritus of Occupational Medicine Dr. Ro d s rt A. Ka'hoe Katterin g Institute C Lnc inna ti, Ohio 1930 Ivj Road #1 Charlottesville, Virginia April 2k, 1971 Dear Dr. Kehoe, I am a fourth-year chemical engineering student at tne University ol Virgi nia. In a required course outside of my major, I am trying to "write a term paper on environmental lead and health. You are one of the-country's senior researchers in this area. In th September, 1969 issue of the Journal ofths Air follution Control Association- there was an article written by you, "A Toxicological Appraisal of Lead, in Relation to the Tolerable Concentration in the .Ambient Atmosphere," In this article, you indicated that you,,don t feel that lead at normal environmental levels poses a 3erious hazard to human health. In th e meantime, a good deal of additional research has been don in this area. From what I 'v read, atmospheric lead poses no ser1ou3 thr eat to most of the population? at least no major,visible symptoms . Howkver, there was seme concern for groups such as preg nant wornen, children, and groups with high exposure to nvironmenta1 lead (traffic policemen,' garage attendants, etc.) Howev er, as you have far more familiarity with and expertise in this fia Id than I do, you have!, seen1more 'of the recent data and can better Interpret it. Do yo u still feel that environmental lead poses no real threat to healt h? Do you feel that gome, groups such as those mentioned abova mi ght be harmed somewhat by lead? There has been evidence to show a great rise in atmospheric lead Incthe past few centuries, and esp cially the past few decades. Some people feel that there might be .'.'Insidious," hard-to-detect effects of lead on health, Do you f eel that there are any effects of this type? Your answers would b very much appreciated, as would any very recent pAbdications of yours. Yours truly, Matthew Kolodney f