Document gqd81QjayZQBqgwYDaRgRVd9

April 1st, 1955 Captain C. W* Dingman Station Dispensary Wright Field Dayton, Ohio Dear Captain Dinfmiani I have your letter of March 27th suggesting the advisability of an examination of one of the men . at y/right Field* Fr'.m time to time over a period of years I or one of ray associates have examined various members of the personnel at Wright Field. Just a fen . days ago I wrote to the Chief of the Engineering Section Indicating that I should be willing to have one of my associates visit Wright Field in the near future for the repetition of such examinations as seemed advisable. I have no doubt X shall hear from him shortly and that Br'. Schradin will be visiting Wright Field soon for"this purpose. I shall ask him to get in touch with you at that tim and I shall lot you know in advance of his coming in order that he may' see Mr. f l I H k & n d discuss . the matter with you. If there is any urgency about the matter, of if by chance you would Ilk to send Mr.. Fogle to Cincinnati to see me, this can be done any time at your convenience. M r . ^ f l ^ c a n find me at the College of Medicine on practically any day of the week. However, it would be wise fco let me know in advance of his coining. . ' - Without any prejudice to the case in question, may I point out to you that in the period of ten years or more in which leaded gasoline has. been used, there have been no cases of poisoning and it Is now quite certain both from experimental and .clinical work that no lead absorption occurs as a consequence of the normal use and handling of gasoline containing tetraethyl lead* I have no idea what peculiar circumstances may have been effective in the case of M r . ^ m ^ ^ b u t unless there have been unusual circumstances it is extremely unlikely that he has absorbed any lead as a result of his handling of leaded gasoline. In fact it is almost a certainty that he has not. I should be very ranch pleased If you wouldaehd me a notation indicating the character of his exposure, the preblse nature of his work, the duration of his exposure, an $ . the cdmplete history of his Illness, and the clinical findings* It will be possible to determine from the examination of samples of blood and excreta the approximate magnitude of his lead exposure and absorption If his exposure has not been discontinued for too long a rMr C* VV. Dingwall 2' . period In view of the rather close relationships which have existed between this laboratory and the official personnel at *7righte Field,' I am somewhat surprised that I was not inforiaed of the existence of such a case as soon as the question arose. In connection with the exposure of this man, it is pertinent to inquire whether or not he has been handling gasolines which have contained more than the commercial amounts of tetraethyl lead* There was a time when gasoline containing up to 6 ccs* of tetraethyl lead per gallon was being used at Wright Field It was particularly because of thi3 fact that we Instituted and maintained for a time periodic examination of the men who wore engaged in work which involved some degree of contact with such gasoline* Very truly yours, RAK:is Robert A. Kehoe, M.D*