Document gaJX5gZ7zwNwQo7jpZ2jzYEje

24 October 1972 Dr. J. F. Cole, Lead Industries Association Inc., 292 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017, US. A. Dear Jerry, I thought you would like to know that we looked after Vincent Guinee when he was here last week and although I couldn't go with him to the meetings which we had arranged with our Government people in London, he told me afterwards he had had very interesting talks with fairly senior people from the Department of Environment, Department of Health and Department of Employment (Industrial Hygiene Unit). As you probably know, he spent a day in Birmingham and I thought you would be interested in the enclosed report which appeared in the Birmingham Post. Also enclosed is a transcript of a short radio broadcast about his visit. I think Dr. Guinee enjoyed his stay in England and I hope that what we did will help you in your relations with him. Kind regards. Yours sincerely. sah/ pm LIA-75011 BIRMINGHAM POST 20 October 1972 e. xrpert*, tell. s & m children at peril in old By Hl|^N ylRTiC Birmingham Pest Municipal Correspondent Up to 80,000 <3ffc dwellings in Bir^hgham cqfd hipve e: , young children to the danger of lead poisoning, one oMffie wor foremost experts on the pjdblem said yesterday. . Dr. Vincent Guinee, Director M the of Lead Poisoning ConA in the New YorfcCity health service adminiiwation, now heads a department that spends 5812,000 a year on screening 10,000 children a month for lead poison ing -- caused chiefly by children bein^g^contact withjaunt containipsrlead. 'SHaterday he dMfcin Blrndhiham at the aNBation of the Medical Officerof Health, Dr. E. L. If.. Millar, andi,the Health Committee. &pe visidE'houses in parts of the city worth and St James's--and 1 gave a lecture to doctors and scientists at the Institute of Child Health. Since he started the pro in New York QBx in about 280,000 oBNren been screened. Sore 5,500 of them, aged be etle and four, Jnve t found to have significant levels of lead in thnjr blood. Dr. Vincent Ottneu, Director Dr. Guinee expUsed that his depaMtoent's wms is con fined to UKlarge older houses of the dty necause it was in these fliat large quanMptes of lead paint were uaSpF Poisoning Cofftrel in the Maw administration, p*nts,ant to Dr. ] The houses, nwLf multiIDBak^Birminf- occupied, afte. a sd6e of ham's Medical Ofleetj* He la Handswerth -- where new paint* Been cnippen an s*. can be chipped off, rtny, ex- t has been exposed. posing the old paint Eight days In New York, evuBrjUme a ungerous property 4* -found, the owners are gfvto eight days to fk it right It they do not*fill city moves in and dote tbewfcrk. Dr. Guinee pointed out that American paint manufac turer! had themselves ruled in JJRS that pS&t for interior ufmnould contain only, one per cent lead. > , Paint with a higher lead lepfK than this had been banned in New York sinew 1959, but over the list two years, tins of paint with as much as 23 per cent lead had been fawnd. Particular colawn rifectedpwer* yellow, orange and green. -- He added: "In mtou&-of Birmingham. I have seen many areas similar to those m New York, and I feel sure that if you screen childrmt in this city, you-fwill dtertter cases of lead poisoning, it is bound to exist" Danger had been found in other items, such as Christ mas tiaiet, paint on penefii and even dinner-wane, im ported from Etunse. `Spa had given off lead qwhen # mild acid such ss vinegar had been used. . Pilot scheme Coomtp'Jjoohn Charlton, chair manl ZTJjmK the Birmingham HeatlittifrcCoommittee saif last night: " The Health com mittee has decided to start a pilot screening scheme in one of the olderjarts of the city, "If, as r"suspect we dis cover cases of lead poisoning, wajtope to carry out a much larger scheme in conjunction with the hospitals." Attending yesterday's lec ture by Dr.; Guinee was Dr. D. N. Baine, chemical pathologist at the Children1* Hospital. He him been trying for^four yean to secure funds to. buy the equipment to screen children. The equipment would cost about tt.000 and the ntaff to operate the screening In the initial stages, aboutl,90Q~a year. \ ... * There art 75,000-80,000 older houses In Birmingham'> urban renewal programme, which should be dealt wim i by 1981. -------------- -STS LIA-75012 ANXC'LTJCZP.; 'Jr ct ~ ~ * *' --^ r. '' tr * ; t *t .'..c s '.'c -- rt *-. ^ ^ ^ v viti'~ ?? vi?i~ * ^ roT.or vi 1' ?.' r t ^o *" * '"/i*- - * \v ***7^r. .*-ll^TCr* V 1 'J prr ' COCl"r*f'-* Tl.'i rtor'iin^ vr. I.*. b-r. iti." rc"jL2r' .? Fstrrci?? c:' hou^ec' 1.2 T~t^rri r? gHa ?t loc:-c at some oi- the Mansers of lead for biaself Bob Varan baa been finding out -bout the fuaericar exnert Brow Birmingham'a Medical Officer of "ealth !hr. inest, Millard. T)r yillsrd* l-r. Guinea hop done some very important work in the United States particularly in New York on the lead levels ir the blood ot young children there. It has been found that a small proportion of children, round about 2t. have had really qnite extroardirarv levels of lead ir their blood and although for the most oart thev don't onoear to have become ill through this, we have a very serious feeling i'1 our mindr the t c. child with these high lead levels could be deteriorated mentally, eg`ye going to concentrate Darticuloriy or the older houses wher ir. oil orobe.biiitv the wall? have been minted because many of the walls. ce**tr.inlv it?, thev were me re I v tainted bric.ke ate th*.` to flake of." tor' r.r. v p ?. ci*"cu.mrtr.tcea ns, no*t plastered Q r *0 ci*us* the mint n *- "Sa ti1T*2d r o:. mconn^ *m * nc oo 1 eA.o' r" p Vo o ~* ^ *^<7 /C ar icc r.cctLcv o? LIA-75013 ri i'c^uru x tne ct-~- ol factories vrcare lead is taec, out m i'aet. left*. AS &li. oves. in ta*- envircangni a an mis being- anoisoncu* tiUiklutCb not only pOlarwnona iiwl, a CuSulbilVv pOibg&t: Htt Wc bocy i&Ke& it ia and jjcX- rH- Ca -.'- *1 bb 4^tlCi* aJT. &!&' ii tase 6. . a t in and tais Zuerflam i " "`v - ... . gaa^t-is,, mat v aoec to*ooi into very1 very carefully iaaeefl^ 24 October 1972 V Now York City Health Department, 377 Broodway* Now York* N.Y. 10013, U.5.A. Door Vines, *2*2* {*ncio,`d> <* * thTt broadcaot on Bi 5f*rri** * 7"* visit. It is much shorter than X was believe but I hope you Bad it iateresttag nevertheless. Xt