Document O1dw4VZVXZoOXyp40oN6Xaww1

May 10, 1968 Sankaran K. Asokan, M.D. Instructor in Medicine Department of Cardiology Eugene Talmadge Memorial.Hospital Augusta, Georgia 30902 Dear Doctor Asokan: In accordance with your request, I am sending under separate cover a publication of the American Public Health Association, of which the technical information was provided by Jacob Cholak, who has had a very large hand in the development and appriasal of analytical procedures. I thought it essential to add some material and instructions, on the collection of samples'-- a problem which has been tho undoing of some of the chemists, since it is really a physiological and medical problem. You will find no reference herein to certain recently developed methods-- speciiieally, that based on atomic absorption, for which equipment has been developed for sale and use. Despite the popularity and the potentialities of this method (which can be employed in dealing with many metals other than lead). I prefer to rely upon the results of the use of the "dithizone" method in the hands of most good chemists. None of the methods can be used accurately in the general run of hospital laboratories, while the methods employed routinely in hospitals for the collection of samples are certain to result in the contamination of specimens of urine and blood. Specimens of tissue must be obtained also with special care at necropsies. You will find a fairly elaborate bibliography in the last pages of this publication. I have marked several of the papers that you will find to be of special interest in connection 'with the work of this Laboratory. Incidentally, I retired from the direction of this Department and the Kettering Laboratory in July of 1965, but have continued on to complete, if possible, some experimental work in which I was directly involved. I would suggest, on this account, that if you have technical questions to raise, especially in relation tp new methods, it would be well to address Jacob Cholak, who continues in charge of the analytical work of the Laboratory. If, however, your inquiry relates to physiological or medical matters, you would be well advised to write to me. | Cordially yours, RAKlwp Robert A. Xehoe, M.D. Professor Emeritus of Occupational Medicine