Document bB4n9My54dKbannORYQg9qM6

. *k i SAFETY" COMMITTEE O'. 13 . Le w is CHAIRMAN Et h y l Ga s o l in e Co r p o r a t io n Ch r y s l e r Bu il d in g 105 Le x in g t o n Av e n g e Nk w To HK August 9, I937 MEMORANDUM TO - Dr. E. A. Kehoe Dr. G. Edgar Mr. H. W. Kale7 Mr. J0hn Schaefer Gentlemen: Dor your information I am attaching the following correspondence received in connection with the recent accident which occurred during the cleaning of a tank at Gulf's plant at Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. W. M. McElaowney's letter of A'ugust 3rd together with the various correspondence mentioned therein. Mr. E. A. Mack's letter of August 5th giving a complete report of the entire incident. gel Enclosure GULP OIL CORPORATION Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania August 3, 1937 Mr. J. C. Taylor Ethyl Gasoline Corporation Chrysler Building Hew York, H. Y. Bear Mr. Taylor: Since Mr. McEldowney's telephone conversation with you on July 29, we have received the enclosed reports from oar Toledo office deal ing with this particular accident. We "believe you will be interested in reviewing them and just as soon as additional communications are received, we will forward them to you. Very truly yours, W. M. McEldowney Per: C. R. Milne HE" 0017614 N21120.01 rom R. R. Johnston To E. C, Meyer at Toledo, Ohio at Pittsburgh, Pa. Subject Accident - Cleveland Terminal 7/29/37 There will go forward to you in the regular way today de covering the death, apparently due to lead poisoning of pump and tank mechanic at the Cleveland Terminal. ed reports On July 15th and loth we had three of our men clean tank #209 which had contained Texas Eire Chief, or Ethylized Gasoline. Before cleaning, one of the Ethyl men from Dayton, Ohio, inspected the tank and gave ins tractions as to what should "be done in the way of keeping the bottom wet, etc. We used a vapor machine and the men were dust masks on instructions of the Ethyl man. It is reported that after they got out of the tank, two of the men were nervous and were sent to Dr* Castle! who handles our compensation work. They did not return to work the next day and, in fact, were off sick. The third man, however, did return to work and kept on working. I understand further that Mr. a neighborhood doctor and then was taken violently ill. Ke was admitted to the hospital on Mon day, July 2oth, and died Tuesday night, July 27th. I sent our Mr. Wager who handles accidents, over to; Cleveland yesterday and he secured all possible information which will be forwarded to you, as stated above, in the regular way. Also, he had the other two men exidmined by our doctor and the;/ are now in the Huron Road Hospital for twenty four hour observation and laboratory test. At an autopsy made on Mr. a pathologist at the Huron Road Hospital the verbal statement was made that there was no question but that it was lead poisoning. However, we will secure a written report. The Ethyl Gasoline at Dayton have been advised of this death but I am assuming there are certain reports you may have to make to them. We, of course, are quite exercised regarding this and hope the other two men will come out all right. We will keep you informed. KW 0017615 N21120.02 from To G. A. Grants H. 0. Meyer at Toledo at Pittsburgh Subject Personal Injuries 7/29/37 On July loth, we finished cleaning Texas storage tank #209 the Cleveland termina^^Oi^July 26th I received a preliminary accident report from Cleveland on also a letter from Mr. Auerbach in which he explained that^^HHfcnd t^m^^were ill from the effects of their work in the tank and were Therefore, not on duty. In his correspondence he minimized their illness stating that he thought most of their condition was brought about by heavy eating and drinking of beer after leaving work. On Tuesday Mr. Auerbach phoned me stating that he was very irrational. rwas quite ill and that I immediately dispatched Mr. Wager, our accident insurance mah to Cleveland to personally investigate the situation, inasmuch as it seemed very unusual to me that they should display this serious illness so long after completing the work. I am attaching hereto Mr. Wager's report. From all the facts that I am able to gather together it appears that our men at Cleveland handled the joh in accordance with instructions and: directly under the supervision of the Ethyl Gasoline Corporation representative,: Mr. Siehenthaler. We will of course forward to you immediately complete accident reports as soon as received in this office. K 0017616 N2 It 20.03 M. A. Wager G-. A. Grants ESSSONAIi I1IJWIES Office Office Deceased 7/29/37 In accordance with your instructions I went to Cleveland yesterday and in connection with my inv e s tigat ion surrounding the circumstances causing the seem ingly slightiUnessof serious illness of and fatal illness of arxsfn^outof the cleaning of st omg^tanBF#209 for the Texas Companywhi^md previously contained Eire Chief Ethylized gasoline the following is to the "best of my knowledge the true facts of the case insofar as it could he determined at that time. The three above employees under the supervision of A. A. Kotz, Terminal Superintendent, and foremanship offHHBHHHHB, hoth of whom have had previous experience in the cleaning of s10rage tanks, Sere delegated to descale and clean generally the #209 storage tank which, as above mentioned, had previously con-, tained ethylized gasoline. This tank had been open with all manhole coversoff for a period of from two to three months and was thoroughly aired at the time of cleaning. A sample test of the scale in the tank by the Ethyl man from Dayton, a Mr. Siebenthaler I believe, indicated there was absolutely no danger from lead fumes, and his instrwctiphs were to go ahead with the cleaning following the usual instructions. I was informed by Foreman ^RHHMhko was working On this job that the Ethyl man had eaiid no gas masks were necessary but that dust masks should be worn at all times when, within the tank. These instructions I-am informed were definitely carried out. Instructions were that the bottom of the tank was to be kept damp at all times and these instructions were also alleged to have "been carried out. A vapor test of the air within the tank before and after wetting indi cated between 3^' and 4p solution which I understand is a negligible amount. On the particular day the illnesses were incurred it whs exceedingly hot and, of course, the humidity within the tank probably was very high. The manifold within the tank was, so I understand, tightly closed and there was no escape of fumes from this source. The wet scalings were bucketed out and buried in accordance with the usual instructions. the deceased, worked in the tank the first day for a period o^netweei^Ru^ana five hours but at no time was in the tank longer than three quarters of an hour to an hour at a stretch. He claimed of slight illness (nausea) and was immediately taken from the job and told to remain in the sunshine and rest for the remainder of the day. K" 0017617 N21120.04 2- - IflHBthen helped Complete the job and hoth were subsequently ill (nauseeaa).^TlI am informmeed that all three men after quitting work drank considerable milk in an attempt to throw off the nausea. It is my further understanding that afte^wm^^Pf^^nd H^P^ate hearty meals and drank some beer. Later onPH^PPPPate several slices of cucum ber and vinegar and then drank more milk. On the supposition that possibly this might have bad some effect on his condition we brought this to the attention of the attending physician who, however, advised that this would have no particular effect other than the possibility of temporary discomfort. flMHMBNeemed to be all right with the exception of a slight nausea at various timesT All three men felt that it was nothing serious at the; time but when Anna and spent a rather sleepless night Dr. Castle's Clinic, who handles the ma^oHfy^of our industrial case^was called and asked to contact both men which, I understand was done, and I^^HHBwent into the Clinic the following day. As the men became more ill Drs. Castle & Associates wpre called several times and I understand made several other calls due to the fact that the men were becoming more or less violent, having hallucinations, yelling and screaming, etc. It was brought out that another doctor or two from the neighborhood were called in who prescribed in the same manner as Drs. Castle & Associates (bromides). Loth andMBB^rere becoming more and more Violent and hystei accompanied by extreme naus^^and hallucinations and on Sundiy, the 25th, ___ pHpp I understand, was locked up apart from his family for a period of timeTand on iSonday, the 26th,ms taken to the Huron Road Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio, where he was placed in a straight jacket. as seriou t the same time was suffering somewhat the same disorders although not At the time was placed in the hospital a Dr. Bryson, attending physician at the time of deatt^^a^called in and he informed me he immediately started a laboratory test on mHp for lead poisoning, [indications were present but it was too late tosuccessfully administer treatment and] succumbed between 10:00 and 10:30 FM Tuesday, July 27th, was being treated by Dr. Bryson at the same time although no laboratory test had' been made on him. had, of course, stated with Drs. Castle & Associates for treatment. Immediately upon ascertaining that neither |MHfeor had been sub jected to a laboratory test I ordered them into theBuron SoapMIospital for a 24 hour observation with a laboratory, test. This will necessitate an expense of au- proximately $35*00 total, which I guaranteed in the name of the company after my phone conversation with you. The results of the tests will b^ forwarded to this office. ' In my conversation with the doctors handling these cases I inquired regard ing their conclusion for being more susceptible to the fumes than the other two and was informed that undoubtedly it was due to 'the [chemical composition of the body which made one more susceptible to certain drugs, gases, etc. than the other and this seems to me to he a plausible explanation though not conclusive. K" 0017818 -3- I found that an autopsy was under progress and decided to await the find ings. I was verbally informed that the autopsy as conducted by the Pathologist at the Huron Hoad Hospital reached, a definite conclusion that the injury causing the death was lead poisoning and that certain deposits of same were found in the urine and feces substantiating the above statement. A written report of the autopsy will be.forwarded to this office. The conclusions I reached in this case are as follows: There seems to be no particular negligence attached to this company although, of course, this will not discharge ary obligation we may have by reason of our insurance coverage with the Industrial Commission of Ohio. Incidental remarks are as follows: The Ethyl Corporation, Dayton, Ohio has been notified of the death of the employee and I understand they are now following the case through, for whatever responsibility they may have in connection with same. There are as yet no completed pspers, affidavits or statements in connection with this case, however, same will be properly and promptly haridled immediately upon recleipt. I; understand that an attorney to handle this case. wife ana; a two year old son. of the deceased,' has already retained The dependency involved in this case is the K 0017619 Mr. J. C. Taylor Attention: Mr. 0. B. Lewis Dear Coard, Dayton, Ohio August 5 1937 Re Cleaning TAnk 209 ; Gulf Refining Co. i Cleveland, Ohio j J' On July 29th, at 10:57 am we received the following telegram from Gulf Re fining Company at Toledo, Ohio: HRe Cleaning storage tank number 209 Cleveland which previously contained Ethylized Gasoline our records indicate your Mr. Siebenthaler oked" test your instructions followed one employee died autopsy shows lead poisoning wire your instructions to cover handling of case, (signed) Gulf Refining Co." Prom the above wire it would indicate that tank #209 was cleaned in accord ance wit' the instructions which Mr. Siehenthaler had given them on a number of occasions. Itaturally I was surprised upon receiving this telegram to learn of this unfortunate incident and knowing that Mr. Siehenthaler was contacting the various refineries in the Cleveland territory I was able to locate him at' the Gulf Refining Company's Bulk Plant at 11:20 am, Just about 25 minutes after I received the above wire. I am Calling this, to your attention to let you know that Mr. Siehenthaler had in mind that Gulf intended to clean this time most any time for during previous visit at this plant he was given information that the tank would probably be cleaned in the near future but no 'definite date was given to him. When I located Mr. Siehenthaler on the morning of July 29th, he was still unaware of what had happened at this plant. The reason for following up on the cleaning of tanks at this particular point is because we have always felt it Advisable to keep in close touch with a bulk plant of this type which has a small blending plant, due to the fact that, in our own minds, we have felt they do not keep the safety measures in mind nearly as strenuously as our refinery points. | In making our investigation we found that they had cleaned tank #209 on Priday, July l6th, and Saturday monring, July 17th. The men that were involved in the cleaning of this tank were Messrs. and JBHBBBfcthese two men doing the actual cleaning of the storage tank. The third man, I Mr. |was put in charge of the operation of the cleaning of this tank^Tr. as you know passed away at 10:30 pm July 27th and Mr. still in 'the'Taospflial but it is Dr. Maehle's belief that he will be out of the hospital and ready to go to work in about a week, Mr. flMBHPwas in the hospital for about a week but he was released last Saturday and is now doing light work at the Gulf Bulk Plant. J On October 3. 1935, if you will refer to your files, .Mr. Siehenthaler sub mitted the following report to this office regarding his contact with Mr. 0. A. Eotz, Superintendent of the Gulf Plant at Cleveland: KF 0017520 N21120.05 -2- Mr. 0. A. Kotz, Supt. Mr. Xotz was not familiar with our rules for cleaning leaded gasoline storage tanks so I discussed this with him at length and left with him several copies of the rules. j They contemplate cleaning several tanks this fall and I asked that 1 he notified in order to he present at the time this work is started. They have no safety committee at this plant as it is a small hulk plant, Mr. Xotz being responsible for safety matters. October 1336 S.D. Siebenthaler11 I am quoting the above report for you can see that Mr. Siebentihaler states definitely that Mr. Kotz was not familiar with our rules regarding the cljsaning of storage tanks so he discussed the proper procedure for the cleaning of the tanks at length with him and left several copies of our rules and regulations which they must follow. You can see from the date on this report that it was ma&e shortly after the form ing of the Safety Committee. On November 19, 1936 your records will show that Mr. Siebenthaler contacted Mr. Kotz and made out forms on tank cleaning and secured the necessary information on tanks used for blendisg and the storage of leaded gasolines. On these forms you can see that Mr. Siebenthaler again discussed the cleaning of storage tanks in order to obtain the information needed on these forms. Mr. Siebenthaler's weekly letter dated December 19, 1936, will show that he contacted Mr. Kotz again to see if the proper plate was placed on the manhole of the blending tank and he found it to be in the proper position. During that visit ourgeneral roles and regulations in regards to blending and cleaning of storage tanks was agailrnst discussed. On June 5, 1937 Mr. Siebenthaler in company with Dr. Schradin corntacted this bulk plant in order to have tie proper examination made of the blender and Mr. Siebenthaler discussed the blending plant operations and tank cleaning with Mr. Drank Byers, who is assistant to Mr. Kotz, the Superintendent. On this particular visit Mr. Byars stated that they anticipated cleaning the storage tank very shortly and as their airline mask was equipped with only 50feet of hoseand since the storage tank to be cleaned was 105 feet in diameter, he askeawherehe could secure additional hose. Mr. Siebenthaler advised Mr. Byers to contact Mr. Metz, Superin tendent of the Standard Oil Company of Ohio as they were fully equipped for this type of work and no doubt would be glad to loan Gulf an additional length of hose or if necessary an additional, complete airline mask. At this time Mr. Byers asked Mr. Siebenthaler for complete information regarding th4 necessary equipment to clean storage tanks and Mr. Siebenthaler advised him that rubber boots, rubber globes and necessary clothing, as well as a mask were necessary* and as far as we can determine they wrote Mr. Grants at Toledo, who is in charge of operation, for RE 0017621 -3- necessary equipment other than the airline mask which they had. You will .so note from the records in your office that blending reports on the 1000 gallon installation at this point were made on January 6th, April 1st, May 12th and July 2nd. In making these contacts the cleaning of storage tanks was always discussed with Mr. Byers. In Mr. Siebenthaler's weekly letter of July 12th, you can see that he again contacted Mr. Byers and at that time Mr. Byers gave him a sample of water and sludge which had been secured by reaching in the open man-head and scraping this from the bottom of tank #209. Shis tank, the day this sample was obtained had several feet of water in it and all three manhole covers including the top manhole cover were off the tank in order to ha.ve all the gas fumes escape before cleaning. At that time they still would not state a definite time as to when this tank would be cleaned. Mr. Byers did notify Mr. Siebenthaler that the Toledo office had sent him an instrument to test this tank for gas which he had done and had fpund that the gas content in the tank was a non explosive mixture and met their regulations in regard to gas-free tests. I have cited the above contacts made by Mr. Siebenthaler at the Gulf Bulk Plant for one reason - to point out to you that through these contacts they had proper instructions as to how they should clean the storage tanks and I feel that this accident occurred throxiah lack, of nroper equipment and total disinterest by those in absolute charge in seeing that the instructions given by Mr. Sieben thaler regarding the cleaning of tanks were carried out -properly. There are a number of conflicting statements, however, principally by Messrs. Kotz, Johnston and Anna but after it is all boiled down the fact remains that they only wore lubber boots while cleaning this storage tank while the airline mask which they had on hand and which could have been used remained in the boiler house. When there we inspected this mask and found it to be in A-l shape. I was greatly sur prised to learn of the buck passing that was going on among the various officials at i thb Gfjtxlf 'Sulk.'Pliant id'regards iip them, stating that they did not receive, proper instructions for cleaning storage tanks from Mr, Siebenthaler, for we even learned that they made one statement that Mr. Siebenthaler had advised them that they didn't need a mask on while cleaning the tank. In my final contact with Mr. L. S:, Auerbach, 'Division Manager for Gulf, however, he finally s tated that the men admitted, that they had received instructions from Mr. Siebenthaler to wear masks and the necessary equipment but that the type of mask had not been specified by him. Therefore, you can see this is a very weak alibi for Mr. Siebenthaler only discusses two type of masks - the airline ana carnister types. In checking with Dr. Machle he feels that these men did, recei ve the proper instruetions from Mr. Siebeinthaler as to the type of equipment necessary to use in cleaning storage tanks. Thinking that you might have in mind that a spike or blend had been made in tank #209, I want to report the following. First of all, the; blending setup is such that they can only blend in tank #211 and that is Firechief Ethyl for the Texas Company. We did, however, make a blend for the Gulf Refining Company on August 16, 1933 of ten drums of fluid - with a total of 1,7^1,S77r'gallon2. This blend was put in tanks #201, #202, and #205 for I have a sketlch on hand made out by Vince Keenan which bears out these statements. We also checked this report of Mr. Keenah's the other: day and'found out that it is absolutely correct and that there can absolutely be no spiking made in tank #209 for this 10 drums of fluid was placed in the above mentioned tanks through the Gulf pump house in which the lines pun to tanks #201, #202, #203, #205, and #206 which are the full tankage at this particular Bulk Pliant for Gulf. Tanks #209, #20 g, #211, and #213 are separate and distinct lines connected directly with the Texas Company's pump house RE 0017622 ght also say that these are two distinct units of tanks and pump hoiises. ,re is one thing you might check - I belie ye Dr. Machle is plannint to check nether too, and that is they received their first harge of Pirechief leaded Regular Gasoline (SS Maine) on August 311 1933 at 9*^5 AM and this barge was emptied through the Texas pump house into tank #209. This shipment consisted of 695*529 gallons and a sample of it was taken from this barge and sent back to Lockport. ITow I am wondering if you can check to see if there was any over blending done in this barge. 17e feel, therefore, from the check we made that we can absolutely state that tank #209 had nothing but Firechief Lep.ded Regular Gasoline in it since 1933 (the date this tank was completed) and that no spiking has been done in this tank by us, also, if the rules and regulations set down by Mr. Siebentbaler with the different officials of the Gulf Bulk Plant had been carried out this incident would never have occurred. Dr. Machle feels the same way for he made a thorough investigation in checking through on the contacts we have made. I might also add that so far we have been successful in having no publicity appear in the'newspapers, and direct your attention to the [lapse of nine days before Gulf notified us of this occurrence. Very truly yours, |i (S) H, D. Siebe'nthaler (S) H. A. Mack I 0017623