Document XRNLYwgj2ZX38G5dZMvn4OQ0B

ETHYL CORPORATION IXTER. OFFICE CORRESPONDENCE TO D r. R , A , Kehoe a d d r e s s C incinnati FROM D r. G. F . K irby a d d r e s s New Y ork s u b je c t M eeting w ith USPHS on A tm ospheric L ead C ontam ination F e b r u a r y 18 - W ash in g to n , D. C . da t e March 9, I960 A ttached is a copy of d ra ft of a le tte r to the Sm oke and F u m es C om m ittee of the A PI fro m Jac k Sabina and m yself. We a re m aking up about 25 copies of th is fo r d is trib u tion w ithin the C om m ittee. GFK: JC G. F . K irby 0003347 DRAFT #1 .I ' { s '. M a rc h 1 I960 The Smoke and Fum es Com m ittee is w ell aw are of the active in te re st which the U .S. Public H ealth Service is taking in various pro g ram s to study and c o rre c t a ir contam ination in A m erican c ities. The Public Health Service has been in terested in recen t m onths in the investigation of contam ination which r e sults from the burning of fuels in autom obiles, and p articu lar attention has been focused on the Los Angeles smog problem and the contribution of autom obile exhaust to this problem . Cue component of autom obile exhaust products is lead. It is re le a s e d p rim a rily in the fo rm of v a rio u s s a lt3. While it has been dem onstrated that lead used as a fuel additive does not con tribute in any way to a ir contam ination problem s a t the present tim e, it is, nevertheless, a fuel component which can be easily identified and to which public attention is often called. T here a re m any other so u rces of lead in the norm al urban environm ent, but none a re so easily traced and m easured as that used in fuel. M em bers of the tetraethyl lead industry have sponsored very intensive studies of a ll asp ects of lead in fuels which could b e ar on public health, and the reco rd of the industry has been excellent for m any y e a rs. At the p resen t tim e, th ere is no reason to believe that any significant lead h azard e x ists. The in te re s t of the PHS in th is KET 0 0 0 3 3 4 8 > -2 problem is th erefo re p rim arily to develop inform ation and be p rep a red to m eet any situations requiring control which m ay develop in the future. As an expression of this in terest, a m eeting on atm ospheric lead contam ination w as called in W ashington on F e b ru a ry 18 by M r. V. G . M acK enzie, A ssista n t C hief. R e se a rc h and Development Division of Engineering S ervices. The p a rtic i pants in th is m eeting a re liste d with the attached agenda. It w ill be noted that the A m erican Petroleum Institute was requested to send a rep re se n ta tiv e . At the req u est of M r. W. T. Gunn, F ra n k L . Dennis of the W ashington office was p resen t, and the A m erican P etro leu m Institute was fu rth e r re p re se n te d by$er. J .R . Sabina of E .I. duPont de N em ours & C o ., Inc. and George F . K irby of the Ethyl C orporation, who w ere also in attendance fo r the tetraeth y l lead industry. The attached agenda and program w ere followed closely in the m eeting. They rep resen t quite w ell the intention of the Public H ealth Service to p articipate in obtaining analytical data which will describe the distribution and behavior of lead in atm ospheres to which city dw ellers in this country are exposed. In his introduction to this m eeting. D r. D auer recognized the creditable basic contributions which have been m ade, p a rticu larly by the K ettering L aboratories under the direction of D r. R. A. Kehoe and the sponsorship of the tetraethyl lead producers. He stated that } ( 00C3349 - 3- the P ublic H ealth Service now has the funds and personnel to participate first-h an d in fu rth er studies of lead in the environm ent and its effect on the human body. There was every indication from the subsequent discussion that the studies planned by the Public Health Service will be objective and technically sound, and that they w ill contribute to a better understanding of this m atter. It was agreed that the program should be a cooperative one, making use of the best scientific know-how which can be brought to b ear on the various problem s involved. The program w ill be co ordinated in three steps - (1) E stablishm ent of analytical m ethods and chem ical techniques with standardization and checking p rocedures to be set up among all participating laboratories. { 2} C oordination of p ro g ram s now under way to avoid duplication. (3) Development of collaboration fo r new program s. The environm ental program , as discussed by M r. S tem , w ill require particu larly good liaison on sam pling techniques and chem ical analyses. It w ill be noted that the f ir s t step in this program was scheduled to begin on F eb ru ary 29. The Taft Engineering L abora to rie s w ere a ssisted by experienced chem ists from the producing industry in getting this program under way. The various environm ental studies K'E' 0 0 0 3 3 5 0 -4 which w ill be undertaken la te r in the y e a r w ill co v er a wide d is tri bution of sam ple points and they should am plify our understanding of the cu rren t situation on lea d -in -a ir burdens. The m edical program rep resen ts a logical extension of program s which have been c a rrie d out in the p ast by the K ettering L aboratories. It is expected that m ore individuals can be covered than in previous studies and a w ider variety of sam ples traced for c o rre la tio n . In the co u rse of the meeting C hairm an M acK enzie asked w hether a ll existing data bearing on th is subject could be m ade available* and also w hether the com panies representing the tetraeth y l lead industry would be willing to p articipate in fu rth er com m unity-type studies. He was assu red by M essrs. K irby and Sabina that the in dustry welcom ed a chance to participate and to m ake all existing data available to the Public H ealth S ervice. It was then suggested by the C hairm an that a working com m ittee be form ed to guide and coordinate th is program fo r the next y ear. Both Ethyl and DuPont ag reed to appoint representatives to such a com m ittee. It is our understanding that the A m erican P etroleum Institute should decide what type of represen tatio n it would like on th is working com m ittee. It is our recom m endation that the arrangem ent instituted by M r. Gunn be continued, and that the rep resen tativ es of Ethyl and DuPont continue to rep re se n t the A m erican P etroleum Institute fo r KB 0003351 -5 the purpose oI inform ing the Institute as to the scope and p ro g ress of th e stu d ies undertaken. We believe th a t th e Smoke and F u m es Com m ittee should be actively interested and should keep in close touch with the p ro g re ss of th is study. If at any tim e a change from th is type of representation is needed Xam sure the Public H ealth S ervice would be glad to com ply with such a change. J . R. Sabina G. F . Kirby tfg 0003352