Document MGJpBOyq4e6G9e6N4bQqYXgBM

April 30, 1945 ?. .. Worasey, Secretary lead Industries Association 420 Lexington Avenue Lew York 17, . Y* Lear hr. ormsarj I appreciated receiving your letter o.f the 2?th, and will be very glad to arrange to meet you when you are out here this suaser. I still led that the research should, be done in connection with the points brought up in say loiter to you of the 12th* As the infestation out hare has become heavier, and the probability has been that codling moth have built up a resistance to lead sprays, the use of oils and.stickers in the spraying program has become heavier and heavier* this greatly increases the difficulty o remov ing the spray to a .05 tolerance. Ant seizure ms made this year where the resi due ran five times the tolerance. I as not too certain that an earnest endeavor was made to clean th fruit below tolerance, but nevertheless that was the analysis that the food fc drug found when they made seizure. If further research is not made and facta dotorndned in connection with the points X wrote you about (and there are probably others) 2 sa quite sura that after the war we will end up with a set tolerance of probably not to exceed .05 or .06. 2 should have a tolerance that would enable the growers to remove th residue without damaging the fruit, regardless.of th sj&raying program they use and which they find necessary to secure control. If there were any question of the toxicity of lead arsenate in connection vith tee spraying of apples and pears, then of course the matter would be one to consider a, little differently. However, since there has never been any damage to public health from the ingestion of &r3nsfce of load residue on apples mid pears, it sews to m that we should be entitled to a very liberal tolerance. i-ic were instrumental in getting the Public Health Service to make the sur vey bore which is covered in their Bulletin lk>, 267, copy of which you of course have. I believe it was a very thorough study, but it does not cover some of the phases that I think it should, and 1 know that it is not given any more credit by the Food ft 'rug .AdraiaiatratiQn than they can help. I was recently advised that a food 6 . rug attorney stated in a recent case that it ms just another one of those government pamphlets, of which there are thousands, and didn't amount to anything, ;;nci that no notice should be taken of its contents in connection with the matter. tfjg- 0008465 Sincerely yours, N9720 COFI LEAD INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION 420 Lexington Avenue New York 17, N.X. Clinton H. Crane, President ?. H. '.Brownell, Vice President F. V;. Rockwell, Vice President Felix Edgar Wormser, Secretary and Treasurer April 27, 1945 Hr. C. Chase, Secretary Washington state Apple Commission Wenatchee, Washington Dear Hr. Chase: I Iiavc read with deep interest your letter of April 12 on the spray residue problem and your thought that it might be desirable to engage in some additional medical research in the lead and arsenate field. As you know, we became interested in the spray residue problem some twelve years ago or so. At that time our industry offered to share the cost of any scientific investigation the apple industry needed to protect its future where our products were involved, but nothing ever came of our offer. Subse quently, however, the apple growers interested the U. S, Public Health Service in their problem, quite wisely I thought, as it is one of deep public interest, and I am impressed with the thoroughness of the various reports made by the Service. In fact, so adequate has been their study of the problem that I really do not see the necessity of any further work at this time, in defense of your interests. It strikes me that the report of the U. 3. Public Health Service is a complete answer to the "hysteria" that had surrounded the spray residue problem in the country. Incidentally, .may I point out that our organization has never hesi tated to enter into ary research relating to the public use of its products for fear that the results might be detrimental to the continued use of its products. Whenever we have sponsored scientific research it has been with com plete freedom for the investigators to publish their results - good, bad or indifferent - to the public. We have only asked for scientific accuracy. I am sorry that some one may have given you a contrary impression and I hope that you will be good enough to advise your informant that they have a mistaken notion of our policy. I expect to be in the northwest late this sunnier and perhaps we can arrange to meet at some mutually convenient point and go into the entire subject in greater detail. Sincerely yours, ?. 3. WORMSER Secretary KE 0008466 N9720.01 April 12, 1945 F. 4. uoroser, Secretary Lead Industries Association 420 Lexington Avenue No t ? York, N.r. Dear Hr. Wormser; As you may know, I have bad considerable to do in connection with arsenate of lead tolerances during the past eight years, and consider able credit has been given us Cor -bavins secured liberalisation of the old tolerances, in spite of government opposition. Quite a number of seizures have been made tills season. However, seizures were never made unless the residue exceeded double the administra tive tolerance of .05. The Food & Drug Administration is -quite anxious to call a hearing under the Food 4 Krug Act and plad the tolerance on a definite basis. You of course realise that after this is done it will only be necessary for them to prove that the residue exceeds the tolerance in order to insure conviction and seizure of the fruit. In other words, they do not 'nave to prove daat&gc- to public health. We have resisted the calling of a hearing in this connection, and will continue to do so, at least until a year or two after the war. one reason for this of course Is that It would be almost unpatriotic to attempt to got certain scientists to testify ulvo are already overworked in war ac tivities. Another reason is that we do not believe we are reacy for a hear ing. There arc several things- that should be determined first. For instance, r/e should determine to what extent, if any, the combining of lead and arsenic affects the toxicity of each, ke believe the combination reduces the poisonous elements, or in sane way minimises them as far as public health is concerned. Furthermore, it should be determined to what extent the toxicity of lead arsenate is affected by weathering; that is, during the period that spray is on the fruit (which, in most cases, averages several months) just what occurs to the poiconcur properties of the combination? It should also be determined to what extent apples and pears are an antidote to the load arsenate# Research which has been made would in dicate that animals fed lead arsenate in a diet consisting of the elements contained in apples ware damaged very little, although the lead arsenate fed alone is deadly. Kf 0008467 N9720.02 F. h. \k>rmet, Secretary Lead Industries Association 420 Lexington Avenue iiow York, ii.Y. April 12, 194 Page -e2 1 en witiag you this largely from the standpoint of & iayst&n who hae had a great deal of experience with it but does not have actual scientific knowledge of the product* I have been in formed by several scientists that you have felt that your organisa tion should not enter into any research of this kind, feeling that it might be detrimental to the wee of the product by the industry. X do not believe this is correct. I feel that you could very easily set up research on the three points that 1 have mentioned (and there are probably several others) to determine the scientific facts, and that the result 'would be given full, consideration at any hearing regardless of ti& fact that your organisation had sponsored the research. inuring recent years there has beers, oorieio.orafelo change xa the spraying out. here* partiadariy to fluorine, the- lejurcylvwsiu ealt ccsap&ny end tie.. Altijalnausa Ocsapany have sponsored a great deal of research in correction with fluorine. be* sj s an industry which uses great quantities of lead arsenals* arc anxious that something be done along tide lino. It seesis to j us that it would be a luamtfaeturer* a project rather than one of tns industry. Certainly if you pore to secure Ur., services of sien like Dr. Eehoe of the bettering Labcrutorius or hr. Ruth of the Universit of Illinois* at Drbana, 111,* and other very preminent and nationally known scientiete, to do tula work, their findings would. not be questioned or frowned upon by the government or thw industry. so would greatly appreciate your serious consideration of this matter, and would 11ke to hear free you at an early date. lour very truly. CKO: o C. CiAh: , hecretary-Henager cc: Dr. W. A. Ruth Dr. Robert A. Kehoe Samuel Fraser Walter Hebert John Chandler Hk 0008468