Document R2X21X4MNw6qjjGjrDk2n8dmV

U M 4e/ To: Mr. Z iegfeld From: Manfred Bowditch Subject: 1952 ACTIVITIES December 16, 1952 The following is a b r ie f ou tlin e o f Health and S a fe ty a c tiv it ie s during the f i r s t eleven months o f 1952. A more comprehensive report w ill be made' to the members o f our Association when records fo r the f u l l year are a v aila b le . CHILDHOOD LEAD POISONING This problem continues to be a major "headache" and a source o f much adverse p u b lic ity , o f which the Baltimore publications herewith are but two examples. No accurate estimate o f i t s prevalence is p o ssib le, but these figu re s on 1952 reports from a few com munities with which we are in touch w ill serve to point up i t s Importance. A ll Cases Fatal Cases Atlanta Baltimore Boston -Cincinnati Cleveland New C a s tle , Pa. New York S t . Louis Washington miscellaneous 3 26 5 12 16 15 UU 61 11 h 197 0 h 1 h 5 3 lh h h 1 UO Most of the above figu res are incomplete; th is is p a rticu la rly true o f those for New York C it y , which are based on estimates by the Assistant Health Commis sioner, Mr. T richter, whose present illn e s s has delayed the further report promised. Detailed in vestigation o f any such large number o f cases to deter mine th e ir v a lid ity would be p ro h ib itiv e ly expensive and time consuming, as witness the costs o f the current Baltimore ($10,000 for one year) and Boston ($2,500 to $3,000 per year) stu d ie s. But granting th at many could be shown to be o f doubtful v a lid it y , th is world not lessen the adverse p u b lic ity , and' i t is my considered opinion that we must fin d means o f securing more accurate diag nosis o f lead poisoning or face the lik elih o o d o f widespread governmental prohibition o f the use o f lead paints on dw ellings. INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING Due to widespread lack o f knowledge in the medical profession o f the causes and diagnosis o f lead poison in g, as w ell as the fa c t that i t is not a reportable disease and the facto r o f deliberate ^covering up, u no useful estimate o f i t s prevalence in the adult population is p o ssib le . Although i t s incidence in the painting trade has unj doubtedly lessened su b sta n tia lly in the l a s t several decades, Dr. Robert A. I Kehoe, Director o f the Kettering Laboratory and an in tern ation ally recognized ! authority on th is su b ject, gave the opinion in an address on November 19, 1952 i at the annual meeting o f the In d u strial Hygiene Foundation, o f which Mr. Fletcher is the Chairman, th at plumbism i s as common in industry today as i t was in much e a rlie r times. CO a o LIA22720 ' T ^ w iu a A u .jg iw --' l^ - W ----- ^ $\i. "3" ( R.0^ W eil f t Ahnusl Meeting! -3IZtD HTCH3IS A p ril 9-10, 19S3 The fo llo w in g 1* 4 rja n a rj ot our p r in c ip a l a c t i v i t i e s in the f i o l d of lead hygienei 1 . Childhood lc s d poisoning continued to be a major problem and source o f nueh adverse p u b lic it y . Consequently vm continued our grant o f 2,200 per year to the Harvard Medical School to study th is problem, A nee gran t o f `.10,000 fo r a y e a r 's in te n siv e study o f the problem was nado to the Johns Hopkins H ospital in B altim ore, th e won. s ta r tin g in Ju ly , 1952. 2 . A new drug, Ca ED7A (calcium cth y len ed iaein etatraaca ta te) has been under in v e s tig a tio n as an an tid ote fo r lead poisonin g. In d ica tio n s are s u f f i c ie n tly favo rab le and in te r e s t so broad, th at we are servin g as a c le a r in g house fo r i n f crea tio n and otherwise aid in g in the development. 1 3. Our in v e s tig a tio n o f the sa fe ty of red lead p a in ts fo r water taiJc in t e r io r s , which previously revealed s u f fic ie n t ly favorable data to rernve an objectio n able paragraph fre e a fe d e ra l s p e c ific a t io n , has been continued to assure us of adequate data to cacbat ary fu tu re attaeka oo red lead in th is d ire c tio n . L . The A sso cia tio n i s sponsoring and i s represented on a ccrxsittee of the American Standards A sso ciatio n which w i l l endeavor t c e s ta b lis h standards fo r the sa fa la b e lin g o f p a in t to be used on c h ild re n 's fu rn itu re and to y s , 5. Oir e f fo r ts to have provided throughout the country adequatelabor atory f a c i l i t i e s to make r e lia b le lead d e to m in a tic r j to aid in accurate diag nosis o f lead poisoning are bearing f r u i t , host rece n tly t h is has been n otice able in Cleveland and S a lt Lake C it y . r 6. Arrangements were cade to ha7c a s c i e n t i f i c e x h ib it , St no co st to us fo r space, a t the annual meeting of the American 'Jed ical A sso ciatio n in Nev fork in Ju n e, 1953. This was by In v ita tio n and w ill be one of a group of e x h ib its on childhood a c c id e n ts . Dura w i l l be devotod to educating doctors in childhood p lu ch isa . 7. Eleven Hyyiene and S a fe ty B u lle tin s rare Issued during 1952. Qf these seven re re L e g is la tiv e Reports, mailed only to esters who had s ig n ifie d an In te re s t in th en. The data used in compiling the L e g is la tiv e Reports hats been u eefu l in se v e ra l instan ces in nipping 111-ariviscd and d is c r ix in a t ir y sta te le g isla tio n in the bud, 8 . Hearly 500 newspaper clippin gs fe atu rin g lead poisonin g, o ften In s it c a b ls h e a d lin e s, were received in 1952. Thooe invo lving tne moot fla g r a n t and obvious edaststement of fa c t have boon followed up with a view to co rrectin g the underlying m isconceptions. 9. Nany meetings of o rran itatio n s dealin g with our own health - " bleru were attended. They Included the American In d u s tr ia l (bfgiere Assooic American Medical A s so c ia tio n , Congress on In d u s tr ia l Health :C the A .N .a ., American Pu blic H ealth A sso cia tio n , fed eration of America.'' fu r l s t l e s fo r Experimental Biology G reater New fork S a fety C o u n cil, Ir i ..- " L a i Hyjlone Foundation, Massachusetts H edical S o cie ty and tho N ational fu f v t y C o u n cil. (jur Hoalth and S a fe ty D irecto r took part as a speaker in thuoe of those n oetin gi and aleo attended a number of em aller or sp e c ia lis e d B e e t l e s . i |!t I hi! : :!i! ! ! -I I