Document M4aZRZ4w3MLyGY7XJQ2RV4YYk

COPY LEAD E3OTSTRIES ASSOCIATION 60 East h2nd Street How York 27, If.Y* GPY October 3, 2?S7 A. L. Cbapaan, M. D* Assistant Surgeon General U. S. Public Health Service Federal Security Building S Washington 25, D. C* Dear Dr. Chapmans Herewith is a copy of ny letter to Dr. I-Mthcaa referred to in our telephone conversation today. You will note that copies went to Mr. Doyle and Mr. ?ortoilst, both of whom had telephoned ns about this natter. In view of the apparently caKsaercially motivated and specious nature (what sense does "more than is dangerous and in fact Xotbal when swallowed" make?) of the telegraphic release which started the furor, as well as the complete lack of epi* dcm&ologtcal evidence of any harm to children from such toys, it seems hardly fair lx those who have imported them in good faith that obstacles should be placed in the wsc of their sale. On the other hand, some control of the paint of toys which may be tactically hazardous to children seems obviously desirable, and when I was asked what agency night logically set standards for this, I suggested your Division of the Public Health Service, and it was from this that Hr* ICuahol*8 call to you steamed. A copy of American Standard 266.1 is also enclosed. Having been the chief instigat or of the establishment of this standard, I am la a position to assure you tliat it was primarily directed at interior house paints, which have been the principal and almost sole source of childhood lead poisonings* and that the mention of children* s toys was really an aftOTthought. As I now sissa up the problem, it would seem that a materially higher lead content might be allowable for the paints with which newly manufactured toys are coated. Sincerely yours. H ISanfred Bowdltch tfET 0006293 N 7550 co?x October 2, 1957 air ma . 2a!thclWS, --I* 0# CorFilssioner of Health State Department of Health 31*00 Horth Eastern. Oklahoma City 5* Oklahoma Osar Dr. Hathsss* . I aa sorry to have had to defer replying to your letter of September 27th, ene to the press of work engendered by the matter to which you refer. Telephone calls fro a health officers locally and in Hear Jersey, California and Hashingtoa have been supplemented by letters such as yours, and attendance at a ''Japanese toy" meeting here yesterday,, at which same 60 were present, has been another factor, ibis at least enables me to tell you more than I could have on lionday. Ills Toy Guidance Council is apparently a commercial concern doing business also as Toy Guidance Exhibit. Ue may suppose that their interest, in issuing the release towhich you refer, was to forestall competition from. these imported ton.- I aa told that it went to the health authorities of some 60 states and rEunicipalities* Today, nearly two weeks later, no one appears to know Just what is the lead content of the paint on these or other toys cow on the market*- one would thick that this should have been ascertained before any such release was issued. As we greatly prefer that no lead paint be used on articles or surfaces that jsay be chewed by children, it had been ay initial thought that American Standard Z66.1, setting a limit of 1$5 lead in the pigment of paints so used, might be considered toapply here. However, it is obvious that the paint film on structural surfaces may be many times as thick as that on toys, and certain statements made at yesterday*s meeting have led me to revise my thinking. Among these were* . 1. That the Hew York City Health Department, among a great number of cases of childhood lead poisoning investigated, has failed to find a single one attributable to the pint on toys as pur chased at retail. KF 0006294 N 7550.01 COPT G* F. Mathews, IT. D. -2- COPT October 2, 195? 2* That the Health. Bepartsaoat of California and the City of Detroit have approved the sale of the Japanese toys la ifoestdon* 3* That lead paints are used oa both domestically j^araifaotaaresd and inport-ed toys* 1* That vast numbers of imported toys have been sold here for years, on is^porter having sold over a afiLUioa Japanese toys . a year for seven years, and -with no known resultant trouble. 5 That, under date of September 2?th, the Toy G-uidaace Council lias issued a second release of a rather exculpatory nature. I have secured this md a phoisstatic copy is herewith, the heading having been lost in the photography because it ms printed in rad. As I read this docuasent, the susmtlca Eight be `'Uo are no sorry.** Late yesterday, I talked by telephone with ifir. Huntington williams, Health Ccmisaioacr of Baltimore, who, as you. surely know, is more than acutely afar of the problem of childhood lead poisoning. I think I asst / right in saying that ho agrees that the situation has been greatly overplayed, and teat, while it should not be lost sight of, there is as yet no proof of haaard calling for prohibitory action* In the light of what I now know and believe, the best advise X can offer is teat, since there is no evidence of potential harm therefrom, the calc of these toys be permitted and. that a conservative statement to that effect be issued. A ad, in closing, let aa reiterate that, as a farmer state health official, I am personally opposed, to any use of lead determined to be possibly .lianafui. to tee public health, and that in this I have tea full support of this Association. Sincerely your. rianfroa Bowcliteh XE 0008295