Document gQ40v0JKY0O7wwKqZOq4nagV

May 10, 1938 Mr, Lester B# Boberts C aailla de Correo So* 1704 Buenos Aires Argentina Dear Mr* Roberts** ! I have your le t t e r of April 21st concerning the d iffic u lt ie s ar isin g from the examinetions carried out by Dr* Hernandez in the San Antonio plan t of Vieat In dia Oil Company in Ch ile* sin ce the r e ce ip t of your l e t t e r I have had a le t t e r from Dr. Denno who is th e General Medical Director of the Standard Oil Company and who as such i s ' e sp o islb le for the medical dir ection of the a ffa ir s of West In dia Oil Company* Dr* Denno in quired about t h is sit u at io n in as much aa the report sad to him merely in dicated th at two of t h e ir workmen bad been found showing sign s of lead poison in g* Dr* Denno assumed th at th ese two men were engaged in handling concentrated Flu id and asked i f I had received any r epor t s concerning them. He a lso assumed th at the examinations had been made by our con* su lt an t * On the b asis of your In formation , I was able to inform him about the sit u at ion end I have no doubt he w ill get In touch with Dr, Hernandez, Meanwhile I think you have answered your own problem by supplyin g Dr* Hernandez with publish ed Information on the su b ject of leaded gasolin e and I t s p ot en t ial h azards. Hiere i s nothing fu r th er fo r us to do at the moment, I b elieve, and I sh all not w rite to Dr# Hernandez u n less I am sp e c ific a lly requested to do so by Dr* Denno, You ar quite r igh t in your b e lie f th at microscopic changes in the blood do not provide an adequate b asis in the diagn osis of lead absorption , Microscopic blood changes are not sp e c ific but may a r ise from a var iet y o f other con dition s of the blood. You aye also r igh t in suggestin g th at the danger of lead absorption is qu ite con siderable among men who work in qu arters in which u n ven tilated con tain ers of molten solder are u sed. Con siderable qu an t it ies of vaporized le ad , which i s promptly oxidized, are given o ff frpm molten sold er p ot s. I t is stan dard pr act ice to carry th ese vapors away by means of a w ell ven t ilat ed hood over th ese p ot s. Large-scale solder operation s provide con sid er ab le opportunity fo r lead exposure and one fin ds In pr act ice th at car efu lly design ed and operated ven t ilat in g equ'pment i s n ecessary to prevent lead po'son in g among men engaged in such work* I do n ot think t t I s wise for us to intrude Into other plant act iv it ie s of distribu tin g companies except in so fa r as t h eir lead h azards may give r ise to confusion as to the sources of the lead exposure of men who aife also engaged in handling leaded gasolin e# or mixing Eth yl Flu id * I t i s fo r t h is reason th at I have taken care to say Sin my in st r u ct ion s to our ph ystclan s# th at they should ho car efu l to exclude from our type of work men who are engaged in other types of lead exposure* Obviously where the opportunity presen ts I t s e l f to advance the cause of in d u st r ial hygiene# I should expect our medical con sultan ts to take such action as may not get them in to d iffic u lt ie s in r e lat io n to t h eir sp e c ific r e sp o n sib ilit ie s to us# Only to t h is exten t no I think Or* Coke might be Ju st ifie d In lookin g into th is matter* I have cabled you concerning the appointment of a ph ysician In Saopaulo# and having received your reply# I assume the matter i s at a dead end fo r the moment* I think your In vestigation s# as reported in your le t t e r s of Agr il 21st and 26th * are Quit in lin e with my own point of view as to proper procedure* I recogn ize fu lly th at you may receive bad information and# therefor# you may be un successful in your choice of a ph ysician * However I think you proceed alon g the lin e which we d iscu ssed when sue la3 t talked hver th is matter# end I believe t h is means gives you the b est opportun ity fo r success# Very tr u ly yours# HAKj i s : ; _ __ 1 . kohert A* Eohoe# r'.B co &r* Ctaamplin K 00105