Document QXjN992OnBGDG0JJRRqBNbjOE

Sep tem b er 24, 1954 CO NFIDENTIAL M r. E. L . Sh ea, P r e sid e n t Eth yl Corporation 100 P a r k Aven ue New Y o r k C it y 17 D e a r M r . Sh ea: In r e sp o n se to y ou r r e q u e st , I am pu ttin g in to w r itin g th e e sse n t ia l fact s a s tc the situ ation brough t to m y atten tion by D r. Rob ert C. P age, G e n e r al M e d ic al D ir e c t o r c St an d ar d O il Com p an y (N. J . ), co n ce r n in g the m ed ical p ro gram of Eth yl Corp oration v is a v is th e person n el of the Je r s e y a ffi l i a t e d c o m p a n ie s w h o a r e e n ga ge d in m ix in g '' E T H Y L " flu id w ith g a so lin e , o r w h o, o t h e r w ise , a r e h an d lin g th e co n ce n t r at e d flu id . I d elib erately elim in ate m ost of the extran eou s issu e s, p erso n al, com p etitive and p r o fe ssio n al, w h ich actu ally a r e r e sp o n sib le fo r th e .situ ation , in o r d e r to st a t e th e c a se an d to c o n sid e r a p p r o p r ia t e act io n . It w as D octor P a g e 's id e a, o r igin ally , I b e lie v e , th at w ith th e d evelop m en t of the m ed ical an d h ygien ic fa c ilit ie s of th e Je r se y grou p of com p an ies, it w as no lon ger n e ce ssar y fo r Eth yl's M edical D epartm en t or Eth y l's C u stom er Se r v ice s organ ization to act on beh alf of Je r se y em p loy ees. Je r se y people cou ld, he b elieved , atten d to th ese m at te r s th em selves an d, in so doin g, avoid an y u n certain ty am on g th e ir own em p loy ees a s to w h ere th e r e sp o n sib ilit ie s fo r t h e ir h ealth an d sa fe t y r e sid e . Som e d isc u ssio n w ith m e an d w ith at le a st on e of th e p h y sician s of an a ffilia t e d com p an y h as m od ified th is opin ion to so m e exten t, but it is qu ite p o ssib le th at D r . P age is un con vin ced th at an y m od ification of th is view poin t is m or e th an a tem p o r a r y exp ed ien t. In an y c a se , th e issu e h as b een r a ise d an d it m u st be m et. Th e M e d ical D ep ar tm en t o f Eth yl C o r p o r at io n can d e al w ith t h is m a t t e r sat isfac t o r ily , and is p r ep ar ed to do so , an d the p rop osed p roced u re w ill b e sk etch ed below . H ow ever, ce r t ain m at t e r s o f p o licy in volved in th e situ ation p en e t r ate so d eep ly in to th e fa b r ic of Et h y l's fie ld o p e r at io n s a s to go w ell beyon d the su p e r fic ia l a sp e c t s of th e p r o fe ssio n al (m ed ical) r e latio n sh ip s w h ich a r e con cer n ed . D ecisio n an d action on m y p ar t , w ith out co n su lt at io n w ith r e sp o n sib le m e m b e r s o f m an age m e n t , m igh t, 00 M r . E . L . Sh ea - (2) - Se p t e m b e r 24, 1954 t h e r e fo r e , tu rn out su b sequ en tly to h ave been a r b it r a r y an d u n w ise, if not som ew h at ir r e sp o n sib le . Th ere a r e tw o m ain issu e s of th is m at t e r , ou t o f w h ich a th ir d p r im ar y co n sid e r at io n a r i s e s . F i r s t is th e agr e e m e n t o f Eth y l C o r p o r at io n (an d m y se lf a s E t h y l's M ed ical D ir e c t o r ) w ith th e U. S. P u b lic H ealth Se r v ic e , th e su b stan ce of w h ich is th at Eth yl C o r p o r atio n acce p t s th e r e sp o n sib ilit y fo r m ain tain in g sa fe p r a c t ic e s in th e o p e r at io n s, in ac co r d an ce w ith th e sp ir it of th e p rop osed r egu lation s of 1925, an d fo r in form in g th e Se r v ice of an y d evelop m en ts w h ich r e la t e to in d u st r ia l an d p u b lic sa fe t y . Sin ce l a m th e Ch airm an of th e A d v isor y Com m ittee to th e D ivision of O ccu pation al H ealth of th e P u b lic H ealth Se r v ic e , an d , a s su ch , am a con su ltan t to th e Su r geon G e n e r al (U. S. P . H . S. ), m y p r o fe ssio n a l r e sp o n sib ilit y in th e m at te r is d ir e c t an d im p licit, but su ch r e sp o n sib ilit y w ould con tin ue to r e sid e in th e M ed ical D ir e c t o r of Eth yl C o r p o r at io n , r e g a r d le ss of an y r e lat io n sh ip w h ich he m ay o r m ay n ot h ave to th e P u b lic H ealth Se r v ic e . Secon d is Et h y l' s c o n t r a c t u a l r e la t io n sh ip to it s c u st o m e r s, b y w h ich th e agr e e m e n t w ith th e P u b lic H ealth Se r v ic e is im p lem en t ed . T h er e is no oth er str u ctu r e o r ar r an gem en t, so fa r a s I can se e , w h ereby th is a g r e e m en t can ca r r ie d out. Eth y l's m ed ical an d h ygien ic p erson n el, by th is m ean s, h ave the righ t to en ter p lan ts, exam in e fa c ilit ie s an d people, an d recom m en d and in sist upon the n e c e ssa r y p recau tion ary m e asu r e s. Th e p r im a r y co n sid er atio n in volved in th e two p r eced in g m a t t e r s, is th at of the actu al h ealth an d safety of th e m ixin g p erson n el - an d of oth ers (lab oratory w ork ers an d tan k cle an e r s) le ss d ir e ctly in cluded u n der Eth y l's h ygien ic su p er v isio n . By r easo n of ou r r e se a r c h e s an d th eir ap p lication a s u n iform p ro ced u r e th rough out th e p etr oleu m in d u stry , an d b ecau se of th e d ir e ct in form ation sou gh t an d obtain ed sy st e m a t ic a lly abou t a ll of th e operation s of th e b u sin e ss on a su b stan tially w orld-w ide b a sis, the h ealth and safety of th ese people h ave been p rotected . Am on g the m ixin g p erson n el, no case of illn e ss h as o ccu rred , n or h as th ere been an y sign ifican t problem of litigation o r claim fo r com pen sation fr o m th em . Even th e d ifficu lt p rob lem of tan k clean in g h as been brou gh t u n d er con tr ol. Now th ese a r e sign ifican t fa c t s, and th ey a r e not m atte r s of ch an ce. On the con trary , th ey ar e the d ir e ct con sequ en ce of Eth y l's p o licie s an d of r e sp o n sib le an d effective m ed ical an d en gin eerin g se r v ic e s. The safety of th ese people m u st not be jeo p ar d ized fo r sp ecio u s r e a so n s. Th is is n ot o n ly a m o r al r esp o n sib ility of Eth yl Corporation , but it in volves the se cu r ity of it s b u sin e ss. Th ere i3, I th in k, no qu estion about w hat w ill com e to p a ss if the r e sp o n sib ility fo r the in stru ction , gu idan ce an d p erform an ce of the in dividual em ployees of th is type is h an ded over to th e in dividual petroleu m com p an ies, an d if th e ad v iso r y ac t iv it ie s of Eth yl C o r p o r atio n m e d ical an d "sa fe t y " p erson n el a r e w ith draw n . T h ese se r v ic e s, th en , m u st n ot be su b ject KE 0004791 - M r . E . Li. Sh e a - (3) - Se p t e m b e r 2 4 , 1954 to atten u ation b it by bit, but m u st be m ain tain ed in ad equ ate str en gth an d efficacy . F a c t s an d eviden ce m ay p erm it th em to be alte r e d an d p erh ap s gr e at ly red u ced , but p e r so n al an d p r o fe ssio n al p r e ju d ice s abou t th em m u st not prevail. It is evid en t th at Eth yl C o r p o r atio n can n ot d e al w ith on e grou p o f it s c u st o m e r s, an d in p a r t ic u la r w ith th e Je r se y gr ou p , in a m an n er th at d iffe r s fr o m its gen eral p roced u re. R e gar d le ss, th erefore, of Je r se y 's fitn e ss to tak e o v e r th is job - an d su ch fit n e ss is u n qu estion ed in on ly a few in stan ces and location s - an d r e ga r d le ss of th e developm en t of a c o r r e s pon din g fit n e ss on th e p ar t of ce r t ain oth er cu st o m e r co m p an ies, the p o sit io n of th e in d u st r y in ge n e r a l, w h ile g r e a t ly im p r oved o v e r th at of 1926, is not su fficien tly advan ced, m ed ically and h ygien ically, to accep t th is r e sp o n sib ilit y . O u r a c t iv it ie s in th is fie ld , t h e r e fo r e , m u st con tin u e and th ey m u st h ave u n iform ity of pu rp ose an d ap p lication . . F o r th ese r e aso n s the M ed ical D epartm en t, a s rep resen ted by the M edical D ir ecto r , the A ssistan t M edical D ir ecto r an d the M edical Su p e r v iso r s, is con vin ced th at Eth yl C or p or ation sh ou ld n ot tu r n o v e r th e r e sp o n sib ilit y for the m ed ical an d h ygien ic su p ervision of the m ixin g plan ts an d th eir p e r so n n e l to an y o f t h e c u st o m e r s o f t h e C o r p o r a t io n a t t h is t im e . It i3 p r e p ar e d , h ow ever , to sh a r e th e r e sp o n sib ilit y w ith th e ap p r o p r iat e p e r son n el of th e cu st o m e r co m p an ie s. ` In cu lt ivatin g th e be3t p o ssib le r e la t io n sh ip s w ith th e p h y sician s of th e p etr oleu m in d u stry , it is th e p u rp ose of ou r m ed ical st aff to d isc u ss th is en t ir e situ atio n w ith the m e d ical d ir e c t o r s an d th e lo c a l m e d ical r e p r e sen tatives of cu stom er com p an ies. We sh all w ork out a su b stan tially u n iform p r o ced u r e w h ich is ac ce p t ab le to th em an d to o u r se lv e s an d w h ich w ill avoid an y p r o fe ssio n al clash o r p e r so n al o ffen se. Th is is, we b eliev e, no very d ifficu lt p r o b le m . A begin n in g h as b een m ad e in th is d ir e ct io n , and die r e is no r easo n to fe e l th at th e m ed ical an d h ygien ic se r v ic e s of th e Corporation ar e not gen erally accep tab le. Th ere seem s to be little doubt th at th e r elation sh ip s betw een the m ed ical m en in volved can be im proved , an a th at a b etter u n d erstan d in g of the en tire situ ation can be ach ieved . The p h y sic ian s o f Et h y l's M ed ical D ep ar tm en t w ill r e t a in t h e ir r e sp o n sib ilit y , w ill d elegate som e of it to p h y sician s of com p an ies at the in dividu al p lan ts, an d w ill, in e ffe ct , a c t a s co n su lt an ts to th e m e d ic a l d ir e c t o r s an d lo c a l p h y si c i a n s. Th e ''Sa fe t y " p e r so n n e l o f E t h y l ' s S a l e s D e p a r t m e n t c a n con tin ue in t h eir p r e se n t a c t iv it ie s w ith out ch an ge, excep t th at th ey w ill fin d it u se fu l an d d e sir a b le , w e b e lie v e , to c a r r y on t h e ir w ork in th e c lo se st co o p er at io n th at can be affe ct e d w ith th e co r r e sp o n d in g p er so n n el of cu stom er com pan ies. It is n ot to be su p p osed , fr o m an yth in g th at h as been 3 aid ab ove, th at th e p h y sician s of Eth yl C o r p o r at io n h ave e v e r d e alt w ith t h e ir co lle agu e s in th e p etr o leu m in d u st r y in a h igh h an ded o r in co n sid e r at e m an n er . On th e co n t r ar y , o u r p r o fe ssio n a l r e lat io n sh ip s w ith t h e se m en h ave been con siste n tly good, an d fo r th e m o st p ar t , excellen t. Th ese relation sh ip s 4 M r . E . la . Sh ea - (4) - Se p t e m b e r 24, 1954 recen tly, h ow ever, h ave been com plicated by th e com petitive asp e ct s o th e an tikn ock b u sin e ss, an d b y th e n e c e ssit y , on th e p ar t of r efin er y p h y sician s an d the m ed ical d ir e ct o r s of the petroleu m com p an ies, of d w ith p h y sician s of both Eth yl an d du P on t. W ithout goin g in to th e r e a so fo r th is, it m u st be said th at th e m ed ical r ep r e se n tativ e s of Eth yl C o r p tion h ave expected th ese d ifficu ltie s to o ccu r . We h ave gu ard ed again s by every m ean s we could d e v ise, but we h ave n ot been ab le en tirely to elim in ate th em . We deplore the ac ts an d circu m stan ces th at tend to co st r ic t ly h ygien ic an d h u m an e co n sid e r at io n s w ith co m p et itiv e e ffo r t an d advan tage, but we h ave n eith er the pow er n or the p ersu asiv en ess to pr su ch con fu sion . We can on ly h old to ou r p r im a r y p u r p o se . In th is att h ow ever, w e n eed th e su p p or t an d con fid en ce, a s e x p r e sse d in p o lic ie s p erform an ce, of th ose who a r e r esp o n sib le fo r the gen eral an d d aily co o f the Corporation 's b u sin ess. It w ould be u n w ise, in m y opin ion , fo r an y of u s to b r in g t h is m a t t e r , p o ssib ly in a m o st p e r so n al an d con fid en tial m an n er , to th e atten tion o execu tives of an y of the o il com p an ies, u n til it h as been exp lored fu r th with t h e ir m e d ic a l r e p r e se n t a t iv e s. T h is op in ion is co n d it ion ed , h o w upon a b a sic p r e m ise , - n am ely , th at th e Staff an d D ir e c t o r s of Eth yl Corporation r egar d Eth yl's activ ities on beh alf of the safety of th e em p of its c u st o m e r s to be sou n d in p r in c ip le . In oth er w o r d s, if w e a r e c ce r n e d at th is tim e on ly w ith ce r t ain m eth od s an d d e t ails of m e d ical pr th e m at t e r sh ou ld, I th in k, be d e alt w ith by th e m e d ical p e r so n n e l in v If, on the o th er h an d, w e fa c e a p oin t of view t ow ar d t h is m a t t e r on th e o o u r ow n p e o p le o r o f t h e Je r s e y g r o u p (n ot m e r e l y a p r e se n t a t t it u d e th e p ar t of D r . P age , w h ich can be c o r r e c t e d ), th en it w ill r e q u ir e a v d iffe r e n t type o f h an d lin g. I b e lie v e th at Je r se y m an agem en t is n ot inv an d I w ould p r e fe r n ot to h ave th em con su lted , le st th ere be som e reac w h ich m igh t give D r . P age th e fe e lin g th at we h ad d e alt w ith th em beh i b ack . I m u st r eco gn ize, h ow ever, th at m y opin ion m ay n ot be sh ar e d y o u r se lf o r o th er s in th e Staff, an d , t h e r e fo r e , in b r in gin g th is to y ou atten tion , T h ave open ed it up fo r th e con sid eration cf the Staff an d th e D ir e c t o r s, if you no d e sir e . I a m con ten t to le av e th e m a t t e r in y o u r I p r esen t m y ap ologies fo r the len gth of th is le t t e r , but it h as seem ed n e c e ssa r y to p r e se n t m y view s in so m e d e t ail, both to you an d fo r th e record. Sin cerely y ou rs. RAK ef 0004793 Robert A, Kehoe, M. D.