Document R7xpG9aa7E602bGrQRorERBX

August 12, 1930 Mr. John Schaefer, Ethyl Gasoline Corp., Deepwater Plant, Pennsgrove, N, J. ' Dear Mr. Schaefer: Your letter of July 22 arrived, while I was out of Cincinnati, and I just returned a day or two a ago. Consequently I am afraid that I shall not be able to do you very much good in taking up the matter you suggested with the DuPont management. I can certainly understand your feeling about your employees, and 1 can also understand their discomfort under the conditions of their present work. I shall do what I can to give you help in this matter, though 1 am quite skeptical as to whether the DuPont group will take kindly to any sug gestions of mine about matters which they regard as their own affair. Mrs* Kehoe and I are driving East start ing the latter part of this week, and 1 think it quite likely that I will see you in Wilmington sometime next week* . Kindest regards. ; Sincerely yours, X ^ " Kj RAK; EJ Ist er -Of f ice COHRKePOKTDEJiCir Et hyl Ga so l ine Co r po r at io n Ma nufa ct ur ing Depa r t ment Deepwa t er Pl ant Pen n s Gr oyje, N. J. July 22, 1930 Dr. Robert Kehoe College of Medicine University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio Dear Dr. Kehoe: In connection to your recent remarks to the du Pont Company with respect to the use of the test room at the blending plant and also* to a more rapid reprocessing of leaking drums, it may be of interest to you to. appraise that conditions are very much improved. We have arranged to co-operate closely with the blending operation to remove drums from-the test roam as the first job in the morning regardless of apparent conflicting con ditions and without exception. In turn, thereby, these rooms will be cleared to receive without hindrance that day's production. In the event that the full capacity of these rooms is taken up, drumming is stopped for the day. Leakers are immediately placed in the test room-when they are discovered and are handled to the process as soon as possible. The accumulation of leakers noted b y you have all been reprocessed. I feel that the condition manifest to you at your last visit was surely due to the lack of suitable facilities rather than to the question of poor management or supervision. \ When you were last here I discussed with you the sub ject of suitable working quarters for our own personnel. As you are aware new office and change-house facilities, removed from the blending building and located along the river wall,have been approved for quite some time and the project is at the moment under consideration. However, due to the heavy curtailment of activities at the Dye Works all construction has been material ly reduced and the rate toward completion diminished,thereby, substantially. The work on our office and change-house has suffered the same fate of being fore-stalled to a much later date than was originally stated. As a matter K'r 0000771 t l Ga sol ine Cor poka t ion Iaxcfa.ot t jeih'g Depa eIMBITX - 2- ' Dr. Robert Kehoe July 22, 1930 of fact we shall probably not be able to move our quarters much before October 1 at the present rate of construction. I believe I mentioned to you the poor working conditions in the present office space and of both the hazardous and obnoxious odors present and the poor ventilation existent. With the advent of the hot weather the of fice is almost unbearablej foul odors literally seep from the improperly drained ground beneath and my people are beginning to complain. I thoroughly appreciate that for economic operation at the Dye Works the procedure of curtailment of activities in view of present con ditions is certainly good business but I question the advis ability of including therein anything which might effect proper working conditions in the manufacture and blending of tetra ethyl lead. Economy here is certainly not of major im portance and should certainly be superseded by safety* Furthermore, none of my men have any decent locker room facilities. Even the laboring colored help of* du Fonts are aecorcLed more at tention and consideration in this respect. Neither have we any proper bathing facilities. Part of our present office has been used for temporary locker space, it being necessary for the men to undress and dress in the lavatory which mea sures about five feet square. Today a Fluid line in the blender was repaired and the odor of lead was prevalent making it necessary to move all to the outer room in the office. With a temperature around 95$ and about bight people jammed in a small office, certainly our employees deserve more consideration. I am writing to you to this effect to solicit your co operation in bringing pressure to bear for a rapid and immediate completion of the new office project. I will do my part here but I shall appreciate your support from the question of the health of the employees involved, it is not only a question of health, it is also a question of impairment of efficiency r- when employees do not have suitable surroundings. I certainly do not think it a good policy to place clerical help in an operating building in which tetra ethyl lead is involved as are the present conditions. I believe men in the operations by physical activity^ dissipate by perspiration any pos sible lead accumulation, at least at a much more rapid rate than to those whose work naturally precludes this. I trust I may hear directly from you on this subject at your earliest convenience. Yours very truly, JHS:C J X H . Schaefer 00007