Document QJp2BQ3EDdMEj1Nv12Qpo5ngo

November 30, 1955 Mr* V. A. Hath C hief In Poxnologioal Physiology U niversity of Illin o is College of A griculture Urbans, I llin o is Dear Mr. Ruth: We were very g lad to have had a v i s i t w ith Dr* S h ield s and to have given him th e b e n e f it o f such inform ation a s we could* I th in k I conveyed to him my sk ep ticism as to th e s ig n lf icanoe o f th e type of experim entation which Is contemplated* This skepticism was founded n o t only on a profound d i s t r u s t of anim al experim entation of th is type In providing a p ra c tic a l answer to th e q u estio n s a t is s u e , b u t a ls o my re c o g n itio n of the extreme d if f ic u ltie s which are asso ciated w ith - t h i s type o f work* I t i s my f e e lin g th a t Dr* S h ield s w ill have to exercise a great deal of care in prelim inary work on methods b efo re he can expect to c a rry o u t th e experim ent as designed* He w i l l f in d a ls o t h a t th e study of anim als,and p a rtic u la rly small anim als,in th is fie ld w i l l be a tte n d e d by many o b s ta c le s which I t I s alm ost im possible to fo resee* Even the most experienced man have g reat d if f ic u lty in ddVising and carry in g out experiments which give conclusive r e s u lts . 1 have r e c e n tly been in in tim a te touch w ith a man a t Yale who Is undertaking a fundamental m etabolic study of dogs to which d e fin ite q u a n titie s of lead are adm inistered. Els experiments w ill have a g reat advantage over those which you have contem plated in th a t they w ill n o t only determine the f in a l quantity of lead in the tis s u e s of the animals b ut w ill also determine the fa te of th e le a d from day to day* I m ention t h i s only because t h i s problem i s under study In a number of places* The p r a c t ic a l e f f e c t of such s tu d ie s on anim als i s to p o in t out the general p h ysiologic mechanisms involved as a b a s is f o r l a t e r n ecessary s tu d ie s on human beings* There ifl, o f co u rse, no j u s tif ic a tio n fo r arguing d i r e c t l y as to th e e f f e c ts o f human b ein g s from th e re su lts of animal experimentation* I re fe r to these m atters only beoause i t seems to me h ig h ly d e s ira b le to proceed very slow ly In such work in order to avoid the ooourrence of ambiguous and perhaps m isleading r e s . u l ts * ,* N9755 ''JT-WW*""' 1 JriJ'lW W W 'U1 z* * Mr. w A* Ruth I th in k I t wise to t e l l you t h a t some m atters have arise n in connection w ith other food m aterials which have given us a ra th e r comprehensive program of experim entation In a fie ld clo sely re la te d to th e i n t e r e s t s o f th e f r u i t grow ers. J u s t how f a r t h i s w i l l go and how long I t w i l l l a s t i s n o t p re d ic ta b le , b u t i t seems l i k e l y t h a t we s h a l l be Involved in a r a th e r exten siv e program of food study. I t would be ad v isa b le , l f p o s s l b l e , to co o rd in a te t h i s work in some measure w ith the te n ta tiv e program of experim entation which X o u tlin e d to you. However, i f th is i s to be done, i t must be done prom ptly. Otherwise we may fin d o u rse lv e s so occupied t h a t we w ill n o t be ab le to e i t h e r tak e on a d d itio n a l work or to modify our experim ental program to in clu d e the study o f f r u i t . The l a t t e r i s d e f in i t e l y 6n th e card f o r our subsequent in v e s tig a tio n in as muoh as i t i s one o f the most im p o rtan t, i f n o t th e most im p o rtan t, a s p e c t o f th e problem. However, i f we a re to c o n sid e r i t a t once or soon, we s h a l l have to come to some d e f in i t e u n d erstan d in g about i t in th e immediate fu tu re . X neglected to reply to your question a a t o th e c o a tin g o f your la b o ra to ry w all w ith some non*lead m a te r ia l. We a re u sin g In our hoods a w hite und erco atlp ain t w ith a titan iu m oxide base which is then covered w ith a china wood o i l and b a k e lite gum type of v a rn is h , Crur supply of t h i s h as been o b tain ed through Hr. Howard Ecker of the C harles Mo&er Company o f C in cin n ati* . We have found t h is q u ite s a t i s f a c to r y and I th in k you w ill fin d i t both s u ita b le and d u ra b le T heir ad d ress is 215 E ast Jth. S tr e e t, With k in d est personal reg ard s, C ordially yours, RAKtis R obert A. Kehoe, M*D. RE 0008564