Document QJ2RM17MeXg4g99k2X4RoJ4gR

Source: Stock as supplied by Becton-Dickinson Company, Rutherford, New Jersey Required: Determination of range of lead contamination resulting from the use of B-D tubes not' undergoing special cleaning Discussion: Of the last shipment of 250, a total of 135 were analyzed for lead by the usual method. Including results which were reported at various times previous to this report, a total of I05 results were available for study. The results have been arranged as a frequency distribution in order to indicate more clearly the magnitudes of the lead contaminations and the frequency of their occurrence. It is obvious from this study that it is not safe to use the tubes which are prepared in the usual commercial manner. Special cleaning techniques will have to be employed if contamination is to be reduced to a safe range. If the cleaning is carried out with careful attention to the elimination of possible dust contamina tion arising in the various processes employed in the plant, it should not be difficult to keep the contamina tion considerably below 0*5 microgram, as has been demonstrated by results obtained in earlier studies carried on in our laboratory. Results Frequency Distribution of Lead Contaminations Micrograms Pb No. Range of tolerated contamination = 123 = C ont amina tion not tolerated .^= hz = 25 Total 165 165