Document ZJBkzZ9voez6bBo5XgZrw5EwY

January lo, 1945 Mr. E. K. Scales, Ethyl Corporation, 1500 Vest Eight Mile Road, Ferndale 20, Detroit, Mich. Dear Dicks I have considered the question raised in your letter of December 26, and have gone over the information provided by Mr. Prudden*s letter to you. On the whole I cannot escape the feeling that this method of drying hay or grain leaves much to be d e s i r e d . I a m afraid it i3 not very easy to determine the probable lead content of hay or grain exposed in thi3 manner to exhaust fumes, for I suspect the particulate matter and the gaseous combustion products may tend to accumulate in the proximal layers of the exposed material rather than to be distributed throughout. For this reason it would take some experimental observations to determine the toxicologic significance of the proc e d u r e . We should be quite willing to analyze some samples if the situation justifies it, but I would not like to hazard a guess on the probable outcome of the observations. There is an objection to his procedure that Mr. Frudden has apparently not considered. I would expect this method of drying to impart a certain amount of objectionable taste to the most exposed portions of the hay or grain. As you realize, the combustion products of gasoline are not without taste and odor, and I would suspect that this would be a factor of some significance. This and numerous other inquiries that have come my way have impressed me with the tremendous ingenuity with which the human animal selects undesirable methods for accomplishing a great many things. Sincerely yours, EAK ef Robert i..'"itelioe , k') KF 0008674