Document byeQxaRoB3ODXYvzQKJrwavwZ

ETHYL CORPORATION INTER-OFFICE CORRESPONDENCE TO Dr . Robert A. ^ehoe a ddr ess Cin cin n a ti* Ohio FROM Dr . W illa r d Machie a ddr ess New York N. Y subject Report on Hygien ic Asp ects o f OperatiorasATE o f Asso cia te d Eth yl Compary Lt d . 19 October 191*8 1 . Purpose / This r e p or t ser ves t o communicate th e r e s u lt s o f a stu d y o f the op er ation s o f / As s o cia t e d Eth yl Company* Lt d . made in the p er iod 13 t o 21 September 19U8. In form a/ t io n was ob tain ed in d is cu s s io n and d u r in g p la n t v i s it s . Sources were p er son n el o f / th e op e r a tin g company* employees o f th e m an ufacturin g p la n t* p la n t r e co r d s, and ( in sp e ctio n of o p e r a tio n s. 2 . Hygien ic P o licy * P o licy o f management fo llo w s in p r in cip le t h a t o f th e Un ited St a t e s company and is in gen er al good. The sm all s iz e o f th e B r it is h company and th e r e a liz a t io n o f . . th e im p r a ct ica lit y o f maintenance o f f u ll su p e r vision * has r e s u lt e d in th e r e le ga t io n o f r e s p o n s ib ilit y fo r ce r t a in h ygie n ic co n tr o ls to th e custom er o companies* n ota b l the taf)^ o f safegu ar d in g tan k cle a n in gs . Med ical m on itor in g o f a l l op e r a tio n s remain the r e s p o n s ib ilit y o f th e m edical d ir e ct o r and co n s u lta n t s o f Asso cia te d E t h y l. .. ' 3 . Organization V: ' 'The m ed ical d ir e ct o r r e p o r ts d ir e c t ly to the managing d ir e ct o r o f the company, su p er vises th e a c t iv it ie s o f the co n s u lt a n t s , and a ct s in an ad visor y ca p a cit y t o 1/ , th e m an ufactu r in g and s a le s dep ar tm en ts. This arrangement is good . The d ir e c t accs by the m edical d ir e ct o r t o 't h e management give s h is a d vice a degr ee o f im p lie d :au th oi and en ab les more r a p id im p la m entation o f recommendations. Approxim ate scheme o f over fu n ctio n a l or ga n iza tio n fo llo w s: : . <> HE 0010152 ^ morandum - As s o cia t e d Et h y l Company* Lt d . 19 Oct o b e r 19L8 | Sa le s or Op er ation s i__________ No b le r -- -i ~ As s t . Sa le s 1 {Ro ffe yi I '' Pryke T r a ffic Twine ~p j Needham] ~KeiTey~] :r::i [Biggs I "Ma n a giHgl Dir e ctor ! (Bevan )1 _______i___________ Han u factu r in g Fossett Medical Dept. Davison jBromine Dep u ty Mgr . ~ j ; As s t . MicTTT Bromine ji-P--l-a--npt ---- Venn i pRes \ ' {Northw ich Plants . j Vks. MgrJ j Ch ie f j j Dir e cto r j Pla n t iI ! Parry I Par t time Palmer Ii ! j". For eign " I Consult a n t s i Sm ith i ! Chem ist j New An a ly La b . jp r ocess Mgr.j Rober ts o n __J Ch ie f j ------1--. .......... . Engineer; j Cou r tau ld ; Se p t. 191 i ^ -----------j Wks. Engineer ; In stitu te ; Sm ith i i Dunn_______ Seconded En gin eer j ______ London_________j R. Man ufactur in g a . Raw Ma te r ia ls - Lead in sto ck 600 ton s a ver a ge. Ranges hOO t o 800. A ll obtain ed by a llo ca t io n from Min istr y o f Su p p ly. Source Broken H ill - i s d e s ilve r e d and pre sumably b ism u th -fr e e . Sodium r eceived in drums from I .C .I . and is in sh or t supply w ith low in ve n to r y. Et h yl ch lo r id e a ls o in sh or t; supply r e s u lt breakdown one o f I .C .I . p la n ts. b . Pr ocess - Charges 3>800 to 3*900 lb s . - fou r -h ou r cycle in a u to cla ve s - thence u su al* dump t o s t i l l * d is t ille d , washed, thence to b le n d e r . No a e r a tio n done, s e t t lin g ca r r ie d ou t in wash b u ild in g . Soda-ash b la n k e t over stor age r a th e r than g ly ce r in e . Sm all amounts sodium t h io s u lfa t e , Fe Cl^ , and Me2C0 used in r e a ct io n . Eth yl ch lo r id e recovered in con ven tion a l s t i l l - n on -con d en sibles ven ted o ff no fir e s . c . Accid e n ts - One fir e in r ecover y b u ild in g r e s u lt b a ck -fla s h from o il burnerj was lo c a l and q u ick ly e xtin gu ish e d . Second fir e in p it which takes d r ain age from drum-washing b o oth s. Slu d ge from flu id stor age d r a in s in to same sump. No p r eviou s d iffic u lt y . Smoked and fir e d on one occasion o n ly - sludge in u su a l amount bu t was preceded by u n u su a lly la r g e drum-washing lo a d . 0010153 -3 - // Memorandum - As s o cia t e d E t h y l Company, Lt d 19 Oc to be r 19I18 d . P la n t - Thir d and fo u r th flo o r s in main b u ild in g are w or st, as is u s u a l. Excr etion le v e ls are h igh , as in d ica te d by r ep or ts - no cases o f suspected or in cip ie n t p oison in g have o ccu r r e d . The b len d er b u ild in g has been u n u su ally bad in the p a st year due to th e la r ge number o f bad b a r r e ls and le a k e r s . Air an alyses have averaged about 0 .1 mgra./ SF w ith u r in a r y e xcr e tio n s (sp o t) o fte n as h igh as 0 .5 mgm./ L. Work is now lim it e d t o $2 h r ./ w k. follow ed by a break o f one or two d a ys. Desp ite h igh le v e ls no c lin ic a l sign s o f in t o xica t io n have been apparent among th e w or ker s. Furnace b u ild in g (B) is another source o f p o t e n t ia l d iffic u lt y . The d e t e r io r a t e d , roughened flo o r s cannot be washed because o f poor d r ain age and th e danger of w ettin g m elt p ot c o ils . Excess m oisture in slu d ge and e r r a t ic fu n ctio n in g o f d r yer le a d to a d d it io n a l con tam in ation . Un t il improvements are made, s itu a tio n .s is b ein g d e a lt w ith by use o f d u st m asks. Air va lu e s have been below 0 .1 5 mgm./ M-^, u r in e s range below O.U mgm./ L, find fe ce s a t 1 .2 mgm./ sample co n s is t e n t ly . Allo y b u ild in g (C) is n ot pr ovid ed w ith adequate v e n t ila t io n , and d u st is w id ely d is t r ib u t e d . Caster s are in need o f over h au lin g and le a k b a d ly. Boots are as u su a l in co n tin u a l need o f m aintenance - the p r o visio n o f s u ffic ie n t new r ep lace ments is d i ffi c u lt . Hopper f i l l i n g is a con tin u in g problem as a r e s u lt o f n itr o ge n b low -o u ts. Men ar e now p r ote cte d by b a ffle s , b u t th er e is fr eq u en t con tam in ation o f gen er al a ir . A s p e cia l cle a n in g gang has been assign ed to t h is o p e r a tio n , and co n d itio n s have improved o f la t e . Fe ca l le v e ls which were p r e vio u sly above 1 .0 mgm./ sample are now about 0 .9 / sam p le. e . Stor age - A s p e cia l problem is cr eated by the accum ulated stor age o f ap p r oxi m ately 5,000 u n se r vice a b le drums. Sever a l hundred o f th ese in va r io u s sta ge s o f decay ar e p ile d up in th e p la n t a r e a . Owing to th e acu te sh or tage o f drums, the s t o ck p ile has been sor ted over a t tim es in the hope o f fin d in g us d ale co n ta in e r s . A program fo r d is p o s a l o f the lo t w ill be in it ia t e d . 5 . Tr an sp or tation P r a c t ic a lly a ll shipments ar e in la r ge drums - 10 g a l. shipments b ein g n e g lig ib le . Most go by r a i l , a few by haulage co n t r a ct o r . There is good su p e r visio n o f outgoin g m a te r ia ls b u t no system atic co n tr o l o f r e t u r n s . One d r ive r who had r etu r n ed a fu ll le a k e r e xh ib ite d some symptoms and had a u r in a r y le a d e xcr e tio n o f 0 .1 5 m g./ L. Leaking drums are a con sta n t problem . Most le a k s ar e about the bungs which are now b ein g s e a le d . Drums now su p p lie d by Br aby, L t d ., appear n ot to be s u ffic ie n t ly sto u t and d u r a b le . In n er bungs commonly le a k -- one r e p o r t from Abadan sta te d in n er bung f e l l ou t fo llo w in g rem oval o f ou te r bung. Drum sup p ly is in ad eq u ate. Most new 12 gauge drums go abroad -- some o ld lii gauge are used fo r dom estic shipments and would be con sid er ed u n ser vicea b le by our sta n d ar d s. Some may have s u ffe r e d e a r lie r condemnation. 6 . Blen d in g Th ir teen p la n ts in B r it is h Is le s now in op er ation ver su s n in e a t begin n in g o f y e a r . Fu r th er in cr e a se a n t icip a t e d . A ll s a le s to la r ge companies in U.K. No jo b b e r s . No h ygien e problem s. P h ys ica l stan d ar d b len d er s p r o gr e s s ive ly im proving sin ce the war by gr adual replacem ent old cr ew s. Average number b len d er s each lo ca t io n is s ix . These are examined ever y 3 or k months depending upon fr equ en cy o f b le n d in g. No ca se s o f suspected p oison in g. ?* Tank Clean in g Twenty-nine cases t e t r a e t h y l le a d in t o xica t io n w ith th r e e deaths in 19k5* No cases in p a st two y e a r s . Ca r e fu l in d o ct r in a t io n o f tan k cle a n e r s done by Dr . Davison . Crews - 1*~ Memorandum - As s o cia t e d E t h y l Company, Lt d . 19 Octob e r 191*8 examined th r ee t o fou r tim es per y e a r . Some la r ge r e fin e r ie s ( e . g . . Avonmouth) have crews o f 20 or 3 0 . Spot samples w ith in normal lim it s . L it t le tan k cle a n in g now being done. A system o f r e p o r t in g is p lan n ed , and sludge and a ir samples w ill be taken u sin g th e two le a d a n alyzer s on hand. 8 . Commerce No r e p o r ts o f u n au th or ized use in U.K. No claim s or r ep or ted ca s e s . Four sus p ected ca se s r ep or ted from Suez in 191*6 determ ined t o be b ilh a r z ia s is . The Swiss ca se s have been r e p or te d . 9 . Med ical Department Ac t iv it ie s a . Scope (1) Three hundred men a t Northwich p la n t , 200 o f whom are examined a t th r ee-w eekly in t e r v a ls -- 100 a n n u a lly. (2) Two hundred b len d er s a t 15> lo ca t io n s w ith h igh tu r n over . (3) Sixt y to seventy tank cle a n e r s. (1*) Labor ator y w orkers, en gin e t e s t , and in cid e n t a l 90 w ith h igh tu r n over . (5) Su p er vision and m aintenance o f r e la t io n s w ith about $0 co n su lta n ts ou tsid e En glan d . These are s ca tt e r e d w id ely and an a d d it io n a l 20-30 w ill be r e q u ir e d . (6) Maintenance o f co n ta cts and esta b lish m en t o f r e la t io n s w ith in d u s t r ia l hygiene le a d e r s , s t a t e p h ys icia n s , and th e lik e , in var iou s co u n t r ie s . (7) Co n su lta tio n on in d u s t r ia l hygien e m atter s w ith p u b lic h e a lth a u t h o r it ie s . (8) Clin ic a l in v e s t iga t io n s and esta b lish m en t o f base lin e d a ta on le a d exposure ojr p op u lation o f U.K. (9) Su p er vision o f a l l s a fe t y a c t iv it ie s . (10) Ove r a ll su p e r visio n . (11) Medical program o f bromine p la n t s . b . Ad m in istr ation - Sa t is fa ct o r y o r ga n iza tio n w ith a ll m ed ical m atter s heading up under Davison as c h ie f m edical o ffic e r . c . Per son n el -- Davison' s a s s o cia t e , P a r r y, is le a v in g . Is n ot g r e a t ly in t e r e s t e d in the work or in the s ca le o f pay o f llOO/ y e a r . Two s e cr e t a r ie s and two te ch n icia n s are on hand. There is no o v e r a ll s a fe t y o r ga n iza tio n ou tsid e th e p la n t . There are two s a fe t y men w ith in th e p la n t . K 0010155 y / Memorandum - As s o cia t e d Et h y l Company, Lt d 19 October 19^ 3 d . Space and equipment - Space was d esign ed fo r wartime op er ation s and has adequate p r o visio n s fo r one d octor and one t e ch n icia n . Ad d itio n a l space is b a d ly needed. The m edical department has no X-r a y fa c ilit i e s and no e le ctr o ca r d io gr a p h . Four m edical jo u r n a ls a r e taken by su b scr ip tio n and the sup p ly o f m ed ical books is adequate. A la b o r a to r y is proposed fo r study of p u b lic h e a lth prob lems and fo r c lin ic a l r e s e a r ch . Th is w ill a ls o do some b ioch e m ica l work and ca r r y out th e r o u tin e an alyses fo r th e p la n t s . I .C .I . a t Winnington have been d oin g 90% o f th e r o u t in e , and Dodds about 10%. The ca p a cit y o f th ese fa c ilit ie s has been exceeded by th e lo a d . 1 0 . A c t iv it ie s o u tsid e U.K. In ge n e r a l the r e la t io n s h ip w ith m edical and. op e r a tin g per son n el ou tsid e U.K. is ve r y lo o s e , t h is b ein g a r e fle c t io n o f the ge n e r a lly in d eter m in ate r e la t io n s h ip s between th e managements who are d evelop in g working agreem ents. . a . Germany - The underground p la n t never op er ated . The Ru ssian s removed the o th e r . Marketing in Germany is under way. I t is not a n t icip a t e d th a t the German p la n t s w ill be r e s t o r e d , b u t Flu id w ill be su p p lie d by Associated^ b . France - The m edical departm ent has had no co n ta ct w ith Coste or th e French p la n t . Coste rem ains d iffid e n t and seems t o p r e fe r keepin g m atter s in h is own han ds. Davison , t h e r e fo r e , has n o;su p e r visor y co n t r o l, and has n ot y e t been ca lle d upon fo r a d v ice . Re la tio n sh ip s between Asso cia te d Eth yl and Kuhlman have n ot been e ffe c t iv e ly r e -e s t a b lis h e d sin ce the w ar. Asso cia te d , which pr e sumably s t i l l has jo in t ownership o f th e p la n t w ith Kuhlman, would lik e very much to see the p la n t r e sto r e d because o f Asso cia te d E t h y l's p r esen t in a b ilit y to meet demands fa r F lu id . The French p la n t is op er atin g fo u r au toclaves and producing ap pr oxim ately 180 tons/ month ( t h is is b e lie ve d t o be an o p t im is t ic fig u r e ) . Raw m a te r ia l sh or tages are th e cu r r e n t lim it in g fa c t o r . I f more German e t h y l ch lo r id e and sodium becomes a v a ila b le , p r od u ction is exp ected to in cr e a se . ' Aid. cu r r en t d e liv e r y by drums t o th e 15 b len d in g p o in t s , 10 o f which ar e opera t in g r e g u la r ly . Eigh t b len d in g p o in ts w ill be con ver ted t o tan k ca r h an d lin g in th e near fu tu r e . No r e p o r ts o f t r o u b le from tan k cle a n in g. P r io r to 1939 lead ed o n ly premium and a via t io n - now a l l fu e ls . Journeau d evotes fu ll tim e t o s a fe t y m atter s and atten d s tan k cle a n in gs from tim e to tim e . c . Sp ain -- St a t e co n t r o ls o p e r a tio n s. No m ed ical lia is o n or su p e r visio n . Flu id su p p lied b y Asso cia te d . d . It a ly - Mon tecatin i p la n t s t i l l d isp e r se d . Other p la n t back in op e r a tio n and su p p lyin g government. Asso cia te d w ill d is t r ib u t e to It a ly . e . Sw itzer lan d - F a ir m ed ical lia is o n . No one from Asso cia te d has seen th e m ilit a r y m ixing in s t a lla t io n s . The s it u a t io n w ith r e s p e ct to Pr ofessor D e t t lin g and the suspected cases has been r ep or ted . /< 0010156 -6 Memorandum - As s o cia t e d E t h y l Company. Lt d . 19 October 19k8 f Ar gen tin a - A two or fo u r au toclave p la n t w ill p r obably be b u ilt $0-50 w ith TTp Tf I Pavlovsky w ill assume m ed ical r e s p o n s ib ilit y . He is * however a d o u b tfu l q u an tity sin ce he does not want t o do the work b u t may su p e r vise . g* Formosa - The Chinese are op e r a tin g a p a r t ly r e sto r e d Japan ese p lan t the le a d b e in g shipped from En glan d . The on ly m edical co n tr o l is a Ja p a n e se -tr ain i fir s t - a id man. * h . Tr in id ad - Con sid er ation is b ein g given to the co n str u ctio n o f a two to fou r a u toclave m anufacturing p la n t . i . Saudi Ar ab ia (Rustannia Pe r sia n Gu lf) - Con sid er ation is b ein g given t o a two to fo u r a u to cla ve m anufacturing p la n t . j . T r ip o li - Some co n sid e r a tio n has been given to co n str u ctio n p la n t a t th e end o f th e pip e lin e . a m anufacturing k . Ellesm er e - In lie u o f a l l the above, excep t the Ar gen tin a p la n t , there is a p r op osal under co n sid e r a tio n fo r co n str u ctio n o f a 32 au toclave p la n t in the Ellesm er e p or t a r e a , Mersey. The cu r r e n tly a n t icip a t e d B r it is h p r od u ction is / ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 pounds/ year. Very much la r ge r q u a n t it ie s o f Flu id are needed and i t is a n t icip a t e d new p la n ts w ill be b u ilt somewhere t o meet the r eq u ir em en ts. 1 1 . Comments a . Davison is u n u su a lly cap able and e n e r ge tic and any su ccess th a t has been achieved in m ain tain in g h ygie n ic co n tr o l is la r g e ly due to h is e ffo r t s . b . The p o licy in o r ga n iza t io n a l r e la t io n s h ip s in which he op er ates are good. More complete understanding o f th e h ygie n ic problem throughout the o r ga n iza tio n is needed, i f Davison 's fu ll ca p a citie s are to be u t iliz e d . c . Ad d it io n a l per son n el and a s s is t a n t s fo r th e m edical d ir e ct o r are r e q u ir e d . In the p ast two year s Davison has covered th e Middle Ea st and Europe (excep t Fr a n ce ). He r e q u ir e s competent a s s is ta n ce to ca r e fo r the work at th e p la n ts and in th e B r it is h Is le s i f he is t o have tim e t o e s t a b lis h r e la t io n s h ip s w ith th e m edical co n su lta n ts and governmental a ge n cie s. d . Davison 's p r esen t s a la r y ( approxim ately^ >1750) is not adequate, nor proper to h is p o s it io n . There is fu r t h e r a c e ilin g ( s ic ) o f^ 2000 quoted fo r department h ead s. This means t h a t Davison has l i t t l e t o look forward t o i f t h is p o licy e x is t s and is pursued, and con seq u en tly th er e is no assuran ce t h a t Asso cia te d Eth yl can r e t a in him . Our own op in ion is th a t he is q u ite w illin g t o e n t e r t a in oth er o ffe r s . We recommended t o Bevan th a t se r io u s co n sid e r a tio n be given t o h avin g an understanding w ith Davison and e n te r in g in t o some lo n g term arrangem ent. e . The h ygie n ic s t a tu s o f th e m an ufactur in g p la n t can be d escr ib ed in sim p le terms as one in which th e p h y s ica l equipment is b o r d e r lin e , i f n ot dangerous, and t h a t s a fe op er ation has been made p o s s ib le on ly by e xt r a good m edical su p er vision and e xce lle n t housekeep in g. Under th e p r esen t system o f a llo ca t io n o f m a t e r ia ls , we b e lie v e th a t i t w ill be at le a s t a ye a r or two b e for e a l l th e m echanical improve ments can be made. 0010157 Yitmd Vii l l a rd Machie, M. D.