Document ModOyVQJ5xo4m3boga6mNp1mV

292 Madison Avenue New York, N. Y. 10017 Telephone: (212) 679-6020 March 21, 1973 TO: BOARD OF DIRECTORS RE: LEAD IN NUCLEAR MEDICINE Gentlemen: One of our basic public relations goals is to find stories which reflect currently upon various uses of lead and its properties, rather than using the defensive tone into which circumstances force us. We think that the attached story from AMERICAN METAL MARKET and, which has been released to a number of other publications that we believe will use it, shows lead in a most favorable, as well as newsworthy and international light. We are looking forward to more stories of this nature. Sincerely, Lewis E, Gage Director of Communications LEGtmki Attachment LI AO 49 96 Nuclear Medicine May Be the `Doctor' To Give Lead Industry That Robust Look NEW YORK -- WhBn M Is taking s beating in some fields, doe to environmental considerations, one bright y* far aquadbg reasnmptlun could be nuclear medicine The Lend Tedaetrtoa Association backed op this claim by points* to the inherent dangers involved In mtof nackitr mrinriMs In places like hospitals. ) diagnose internal cancer ' TV precent involves the inaction ef mtonte amounts of nAdnlapa into the body. The process baa tbe advantage ever X-njri bp bring mere prndae in locating tbe diseased area and determining tbe oftocthranaii of treatment. Bat this science bee one pertkriar major disadvantage -- radiation. Vartans tecbalqnas have been developed to protect persons Involved in nuclear isotopes from nkbattaii. Land enncrilves ere optimistic ever tbe fact that lend is currantiy tbe hating contender an tbe material to ritirid persons from earleer rsdiriioe According to the Atomic Besrgy Commleelna. when other ahMd materials are considered, ''comparisons are assail? <pressed bi tarms of lead becaaae it repreaants tbe beet praetka! shield for most ipfAiratitps. ' * Ameag other things, the ABC is nip small for eatablishh* tbe nriatian 1knits permitted in ancleor medicine, 1Icenslag doctors spactaikk* k this science, __ and detemtatag the thickness of shielding material for sbeh applications as the lead shielding devices for radiopharmaceutical! Protective shields are required from tbe time the nuclear materials are shipped from tbe manufacturer until they are injected into tbe body. For example. the material is shipped to tbe user in special lead shielded devices. Lead To The Rescue Other special shielding devices are needed to store the material, and the storage shields themselves are in turn stored in lead-lined safes. When tbe radio active material is being transferred from one shield device to another, the action takes place inside a radiation leak-proof, lead lined glove box. and technicians using it wear lead-impregnated gloves Radiation protection in the form of hypodermic needle shields are need for nuclear medicine. As tbe use of nuclear medicine expands, the LLA predicts a dramatic growth of lead consumption in this field. However, the LIA declined to give The company's design department has developed a wide variety of lead radiatioe shkMb* products. Saves Weight, Space According to Mtoia. although lead's primary shielding property is mass, its use invariably saves weight and space. He also says the metal's cost and tbe ease with which it can be cast, extruded, rolled, machined or otherwise formed, combine to make It owe of tbe roost efficient end economical shielding materials. Radiopharmaceutical shields and shipping devices are typical of tbe products tbe company casts from lead. To produce the devices, pig lead is melted and pored into round, cylinder-shaped molds with a hollow core When the lead has cooled and the desired shape of tbe shield or shipping device has been formed, it is removed from tbe molds. If required, the sides of tbe devices are machined and then painted. Molds also are need to produce the various types of ceps that fit over the tops of the derinss. Shield devices have lift-etf caps while shipping devices esnafty qmctfic figures. pivot for spening. A number of companies are specializing in developing and producing nuclear medicine products A leading firm in tbe fteM is Atomic Development Corp., Plataview. NY. "Oar company's success in tbe unclear medicine product field is tbe result of its being built on a A typical radioactive ahisM er shipping device that woeM bn used to skip a radiopharmaceutical is abeat S inches high, has lead wells abaat lVk inch thick, a \k Inch itiamstor hollow core, and weighs shunt two pounds. LIA04999 fonadation of lead." Atomic president Pet MMa said. ''Virtually everything we produce is either made entirely or partly of lend." Tbe company's predact Une range* from containers need to ship and store nuclear medicine to accessory equipeaant tot gigaatic cancer detection scintillation scanner* and cameras that can In addition to ha edvantagu of being the densest ef any commonly eveherie meteriel and bring aval able in s adds vsristy of forms, land has anotbsr advantage whh regard to Ms sde as a radioactive tetaM aentorisL Became lend dam am became contaminated bp nsntrsm -.er gemma rays, R map b* mad contlnusnriy wbfceri tonr of Rs photographically icon tbe homes hsalf by omitting hnnaM pyn, body from bend to toe. the UArlrimed. N 719.01