Document jN8JvJvq9GzG8vaXgYmwL2vN9

REPRODUCED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES REGISTERED D eppe Mo to rs C o rpo ratio n 151 C H U R C H S T R E E T N E W YO RK CITY. U. S. * A. boPERHEATED GAS Engines P a t e n t s Is s u e d an d P end in g Mr. II. F o s t e r Bain D i r e c t o r Bureau Of Wash i n g t o n , D . C & November 15, 1924. Dear Sir: V?v; \ \ ' Please note the attached article from the New York Times of November 13, 1924, entitled! "TETRAETHYL LEAD f IN VICTIM'S BRAIN". The facts outlined in the article once again confirm the observations of all physicians familiar with the subject of lead poisoning. Lead Compounds are poisonous, cumulative, toxic and fatal when lethal doses are reaohed. Lead poison steadily absorbed by the human tissues even in minute amounts, tends to superinduce other complications before the fatal proportions are reaohed. Any dopes for fuels for gas engines should avoid such poisons as lead compounds, I am sure you will see why I have so vigorously opposed the use of Ethyl Gas produced and sold by the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, General Motors and Dupont interests, on the grounds of protecting public health and welfare primarily, aside from the fact they are only suggested because of refusal of motor works to properly equip engines for fuels fixed by the U. S. Government Specifications. REPRODUCED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES N' VIES, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13. 1924.' \U : ERRUPTS REENWICH ner With Pistol TETRAETHYL LEAD body through the skin. From the bones 53.4 m illig ram s w ere ta k e n . In chronic cases of lead poisoning, such as painters IN VICTIM'S BRAIN and other lead workers suffer, the lead Is g ra d u a lly absorbed into th e body a n d sto red a w a y In th e bones, th e bad ef '. \ fects m aking their bones have been appearance after the su p e rsa tu ra te d With NEW ladder With- the m etal. The am ount of lead in the blood stream has not yet been de Analysis Reveals 1 iy 2 Crains of term ined. ot-. " T ills is one of th e m o st d iffic u lt of Load Compounds in Body of m an y d iffic u lt in v e stig a tio n s of th e kind which have been carried on a t this lab 7 Y ork Tim es. Standard Oil Worker. oratory," said D r. N orris. "This w as the first w ork of its kind ever done, so N o v . 12.--W ith a fa r as 1 know. D r. G ettler had not only l ag ain st his ribs to do'xth e w o rk , b u t to In v en t a c o n sid P a u l R . B o n n e r EXHAUSTIVE tenwlch, a leath er TESTS MADE erable p art of the. m ethod of doing it. " It w as impossible, from this Investi g a tio n , to te ll how m u ch lead v a p o r Is son of D avid Bon- enough to kill a person. There w as an blisher, w as gruf$lar to go dow n line blown o u t/' 'll* w e re a t d in n e r l steps in a room Medical Examiner Says Amount of ,the Metal Absorbed Was " Astonishingly Large." astonishingly large quantity of the m etal in the b rain and body of this m an, proving the high absorptiveness of the gas. D ead lin es* D isco v ered in 1854. Id them . Follow ed " The fa c t th a t it Was read ily absorbed and M rs. Bonner and highly poisonous has been known tlgate. H alf a m illigram of tetraeth y l lead ever since tetraethyl lead w as,d isco v iis ro o m , M r. B o n - h a s b een re c o v e re d in th e ch e m ic a l l a b ere d In G e r m a n y 'I n a b o u t 1854, a nd It a young: m a n w h o o r a to r y of th e C h ie f M edical E x a m in e r 's h a s n o t been u se d In I n d u s try d u rin g id w ho pressed th e office, it w as announced y esterd ay , from m o st of th e sev en ty y ears, since th en be e r 's c h e s t a n d o r.rs. T he B onners plied w ith the orr escaped through a lad d er he lmd front porch. Mr. ?ht th at as far as the brain of W alter Dymock, one of the S ta n d a rd Oil em ployes a t E lizabeth who died a fte r breathing the so-called " looney gas." A total of seven and tw o-tenth grains cause of Its known deadliness." Dr. N orris said th a t this investigation, w hile it show ed th e ex trem e h a z a rd in the m an u factu re of the gas, did not throw an y rlig h t on the question w hether the tetraeth y l lead w as still dangerous w hen d iluted w ith 1,000 p a rts of g a so " .30 minuits from 5th A nnue" * a s c e r ta in n o th in g o f le a d w a s re c o v e re d fro m th o body, lin e an d b u rn e d in m o to rs. T h is is a. wo weeks, three reenw ich residents and it w as estim ated th at a full analy sis W ould 'show ab o u t eleven a n d one- source of acute danger to the general public, according to D r. Y andell H en derson, Professor of Applied Physiology Jew elry valued at arold Lloyd Rock$10,000; G eorge S. h a lf grains of lead In the tem a t the tim e of death. m a n 's s y s at Yale, b u t ex p erts o ,the S tan d ard Oil Com pany Insist th a t no danger is in volved in it a t all. The use of gasoline 'rcsly N. G uthrie, T his investigation, w hich w as neces mixed w ith lead Is barred from the NEW I fA N S IT A W 'S A ;s w ere all d tirin g r BEFORE 30. t cutor In the W ill nja m in . ,i th e c o n d u c t %a n d to m a rry before ultlvate friendship a, w ere am ong the 1 of M ax B enjam in, S u r r o g a te 's C o u rt, *1 a ls o c o n ta in e d to th e d c c e n d e n t's ling an investm ent state in realty , and sa ry to establish the cause of death sclentim lcally, was, one of the tw o m ost difficult and exhaustive w orks ever re q u ire d o f th e C hief M e d ical E x a m in e r 's laboratory, which is constantly a t w ork unraveling sim ilar problem s in hom i cide, suicide and accident cases. The other Investigation of com parable length an d d ifficu lty w as in th e case of a m an who died from on overdose of a complex synthetic medicine, composed largely of arsenic. The analysis required three weeks of practically continuous effort by Dr. A lex an d er O. G ettler, C ity C hem ist. H undreds of steps w ere required in the chem ical procedure which recovered the lead. A v ariety of lead com pounds were streets of N ew York City, from all .parts SPE ND T H E W IN ' of New Jersey and Philadelphia a t pres T H E MOST JIK ALT) ent, pending conclusive findings as to the danger or harm lcssness of this product. The findings of the New Y ork City laboratory will be furnished to the G rand Ju ry a t E lizabeth, N. J., which is investigating to discover w hether c rim in a l negligence w a s involve] in the JCA; W E ARE NO\ WI NTBTl SB ASON ; ATE -RATES-: SPEC MANBNT GUESTS A BLE ROOMS. RE MODERN CONVEN DISTANCE. PHON HOTEL HANSI!AW. death of five m en who breathed this i NEW JEU SF gas. A bout fifty others have be^n un-1 HOTEL SIcler tre a tm e n t. All of th e se h a v e been I, released as cured w ith the exception of I thirteen, who* arc still patients a t the R econstruction H ospital in this: city. t th e Boardwalk* ' Disney Gets Conservation Post. A L B A N Y , N . Y ,, N ov. 12.--T h e a p pointm ent of F rancis X . Disney of E l m ira as D eputy Conservation Commis sioner was announced today by Conser ; a business. The i is not reported, p a rt to the widow, iinin, an d a daugh- found in th e body. T hese d eriv ativ es of of tetraethyl, lead represented tho ef forts of the body to m etabolize, or digest, the poison. vation Com m issioner A lexander M ac D onald. T he s a la ry is $7,000 a y e a r. M r. D isney served eight, y ears as. Secre ta ry of the Public Service Commission, B o d y P ro d u c e s Rom B en d . ^ Second D istrict, and for two years has s old, all of w hom 1 Street, Brooklyn. * w as a realty in- N'on, w h o Is n a m e d tru s t fu n d of $15,000 ' of him self and his "income for h e r edu'includo a stu d y of 1 daughter m arries .000. T ills fu n d , th e ould be invested in A bout one-fourth of a grain of the original tetraeth y l lead w as found, the rem ainder being other lead Compounds produced by the reducing agents of the blood stream in th e effo rt to pro tect the body against the deadly Invader. F ro m th e b r a in a to ta l o f JO.O m illi gram s of lead substances w ere taken. A bout the sam e Quantity w as taken from the lungs, indicating th at the been head of the Conservation B ureau in th e q/fice of the A ttorney G eneral. Case Postponed f o r Football Game. P O R T L A N D , M e., N ov. 12.--F o o tb a ll had Its day in court today. ' W hen a liq u o r c ase w a s c o n tin u e d to Nof\;. 22 the counsel for the defense said that w as the day of the H arvard-Y ale classic^ fo r w hich he h ad tickets. " I guess it is a good excuse w hen it is offered in *-^ ** J ;y'9, HOTEL ?>rn "Hr and th e p ro p erty m ain source of intake of lea^ w as the tim e," Judge Peabody com m ented as he lu n g s, a lth o u g h p a r t of it* e n te re d tho s e t tidal f o r a n o th e r d a t e .' St. Charles A T L A N T I^ BUSINESS RECORDS C a p a c ity 500. c r [^. Culnlne unexcelle SCHOENTHAL 4 mC* PROCEEDINGS. B a ld w in , W m .--M a so l R e a lly C o rp . .$2,774.70 B ro g a n , C h a rle s --J . V a n K e e n ......... $35.052.09 " ............. ........ . ed* G ro s s m a n , A le x . R .--F . B . M c F a ll ....$1,357.00 H a o k b a r th , A lfre d C .--A . K r im o t.........$401.52 d-- A g a i n s t C o h e n , L o u is J . --A m e r ic a n T a x im e te r Co. J u d s o n , S id n e y , S a m u e l L e ib o w itz & M o rris IB R D Si BRO .. silk s, $707.01 G u id ln --U n ite d P la n & S h a r in g C on> .. $439.42 oy M . J a n o w itz on a C a s o , A n to n io --C . 12. C h a l m e r s ; c o s ts .$110.24 M a rin o , L o u is A .--P u r e 0]1 C o.................. $137.55 am H. Brady was ap$o,000 bond, by Ju d g e a b o u t $2y,U00; a ss e ts , silk s a n d w oolens, (57 klyn, by N oam ! Wol-* In c., dyem akers, tooln a c h in is ts , 120 A tk in a by, B e d fo rd P la t in g VpiXiitan I r o n F o u n d ry ,, V- $1,600. C aso ,. B a s ti a n o , b y g d n --C . E . C h a lm e r s ; c o s ts ............................ $118.24 C ru m p & L u n g r e e n , In c .--t l . A . K o u n .$183.55 C h e a te r. .'G e o rg e R .--E n c y c lo p a e d ia B r it a n n ic a C o r p .......................................................*. .$149.32 C o h en , J o s e p h --O . E n g l a n d e r ............. ,.$ 2 7 3 .0 6 C a n n o n , J a m e s J . --C e n tr a l C ig a r M fg . Go. ' ,* T . $138.45 C h a n g , I l e r u r --M . B e r k e t a l . . A . ...$ 1 8 5 .9 0 C ia n aio M ills C o, I n c --H a r r i s B ro s C o rp ; c o s ts ........................ $121.15 N ew R iv e r L u m b e r Co.-AA. I I . E llio tt, $1,402.77 .Same--L . W a r re n ......................................$1,810.23 R o g a lin , .I s a d o r e --B o rd e n s F a r m P r o d u c ts C o................................................. $874.45 S id o C a r V e h ic le M fg . C o.--T o y s ..N o v elties P u b . C o.......................... ...............i$314.20 S te f f e n & B r a h a m C o., I n c .--G r a m a t a n C oal ' Sr. S u p p l y Co ..................................................... $247,03 U n ite d B ric k Co. o f N . Y.,i I n c .--K p v a te s ' & K n a u b o r Iro n W o r k s , _ Jn c.................. ..'..$ 3 3 1 .0 7 W g laa,A d o lp h --C l t ^ c ^ ^ S Y . . . . . ; . . . . $ ! 4 7 . 4 5 . . Accoun, inv A c c e wU '"'ai irgea C o rp -- Tt+rrZ REPRODUCED AT THE 1 NATIONAL ARCHIVES SCI ENT ifi c A M E R I CAN THE JOURNAL OF PRACTICAL IN FO R M A TIO N S cientific American (ESTABLISHED I45) P u b l is h in g C o m p a n y M unn Sc Co. WOOLWORTH BUILDING 2 3 3 Br o a d w a y N e w Y o r k October 21. 1924 PU B LI SHERS OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECH N I CAL BOO KS D r . R. 3. S a y e r s , Chief Surgeon U. 3. Bur eau o f M i n e s , W a s h i n g t o n , D. C. Q^ ` `t ' Iviy d e a r Dr . S a y e r s : I am g r e a t l y o b l i g e d to you f o r y o u r k i n d l e t t e r of the 16th i n s t . , with regard to T etra-ethyl Gasoline. Of c o u r s e , we w i l l k e e p t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n e n t i r e l y c o n f i d e n t i a l . I may say t h a t t h e r e s u l t s w h i c h you a r e g e t t i n g seem t o me v e r y s u r p r i s i n g . A n a l y s i s o f e t h y l g a s , made i n d e p e n d e n t l y by o u r c h e m i c a l e x p e r t s , i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e t r e a t e d g a s o lin e as used in the engine c o n tains approximately 2 grams of m e t a l l i c l e a d p e r g a l l o n o f g a s o l i n e . T h i s l e a d h a s to oome o u t s o m e wh e r e , and one would e x p e c t i t t o come o u t i n t h e f or m e i t h e r of powdered carbonate or powdered oxide. Both o f th ese powders a r e w e l l known to be e x t r e m e l y p o i s o n o u s . T h e r e f o r e , i t seems to me v e r y r e m a r k a b l e t h a t you h a v e had no symptoms o f p o i s o n i n g i n yo u r exposed a nim als w ith the amount o f e x p o s u r e to the exhaust g a s e s whi ch you have u s e d . Of c o u r s e , e x p e r i m e n t s a r e the f i n a l t e s t , b u t h a v e you any i d e a a s t o t h e r e a s o n why t h e p o i s o n i n g h a s not been obtained? 1 may s a y a l s o , a l t h o u g h t h i s I must a s k y o u , i f you w i l l , to k e e p c o n f i d e n t i a l , t h a t I am i nf o r me d t h a t a number o f t h e g a r a g e e mp l o y e e s o f t h e S t a n d a r d Oi l Company i n n o r t h e r n New J e r s e y a r e s h o w i n g symptoms o f l e a d p o i s o n i n g , due p r e s u m a b l y to the f a c t t h a t the company i s u s i n g the e t h y l g a s i n t h i s d i s t r i c t . 1 have n o t c o n f i r m e d t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n , b u t i t comes to me r a t h e r d i r e c t l y , anu 1 am i n c l i n e d to o r e d i t . i t . Of c o u r s e , t h i s f a c t ^ e v e n i f t r u e , d o e s n o t n e c e s s a r i l y mean any t o x i c i t y o f e x h a u s t g a s e s , a s i t m i g h t be e x p l a i n e d by p o i s o n i n g due t o c o n t a c t o f t h e e'thyl gas with the skin. I have d e c i d e d t o go i n t o t h i s whole m a t t e r o f t h e e t h y l g a s v e r y d e f i n i t e l y . I t seems t o me t h a t t h e r e i s a d i s t i n c t danger o f a widespread poiso n in g , and t h a t i t i s the duty o f REPRODUCED AT THE I NATIONAL ARCHIVES D r . H. K. S a y e r s : -2- t h e S c i e n t i f i c A m e r i c a n t o g e t a t t he e x a c t f a c t s , and t o make them p u b lic . Since you are in v e s tig a tin g the thing, I think I would l i k e to t a l k over the whole f i e l d w ith you, and to look o v e r y o u r e x p e r i m e n t s , i f t h a t i s p o s s i b l e . Of c o u r s e , we w i l l a g r e e n o t t o q u o t e you o r t h e Bureau i n any way, o r t o make any use o f your r e s u l t s , except With your complete and s p e c i f i c a p p r o v a l . W]aat I r e a l l y want i s t o be p e r f e c t l y f a i r a b o u t t he whole t h i n g , which means t h a t 1 want to g e t a l l the p o s s i b l e fa c ts from every possible source. Are your experiments being c a rrie d out in Washington o r e l s e w h e r e , and would i t be a g r e e a b l e to t he Bur e a u to h a v e me meet you somewhere, t a l k over the whole th in g and look over the experiments? In case Dr. Bain i s s t i l l a b sen t, and you should w i s h some a s s u r a n c e o f my c o m p e t e n c e and h o n e s t y , I may say t h a t a number o f the Bureau o f Hines o f f i c i a l s a r e more o r l e s s a c q u a i n t e d w i t h me, a s a r e Judge F i n n e y , ( A s s i s t a n t S e c r e t a r y o f the I n t e r i o r ) , Dr. George O tis Smith, of the Geological Survey, D r . C h a r l e s A. P a r s o n s , o f t h e Ame ri c an Chemi cal S o c i e t y , and Dr . Geor ge A. B a n k i n , o f t h e Ch e mi ca l W a r f a r e S e r v i c e , e t c . EDI1: LD REPRODUCED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES Ootober 16, 1924. Md/sJD Mr. E. S . Frggu,-- SOIOTTMO A U E R ' ^ ^ ^ i ^ | i ^ f r ! f 0VT'''forfc. SUBJECTi Tetra-ethyl gasoline Dear Mr. Free v-; Tour le t t e r to Dr. Bain, who is away from Washington, has been referred, to me for reply. The Bureau of Mines has beon carrying out some studies to determine the possible to x ic ity of exhaust gases from an engine using gasoline containing tetra-eth yl lead. We have exposed many animals, including rab b its, guinea p ig s , pigeons, dogs, and monkeys, to the exhaust gas diluted with a ir Just su ffic ie n tly to prevent acute e ffe o ts from carbon monoxide, that i s , so that the a ir would contain from 0.01 to 0.03 per cent of oarbon monoxide. The animals have been exposed in two groups, one group being exposed three hours d a lly and the other s ix hours d a ily . These experiments have been running for about ten months with no symptoms of lead poisoning in any animal. Reoently we have increased the amount of tetra-eth yl lead in the gasoline to fiv e times the amount now rooommended for use in automobiles. This teat has been running for some weeks without any apparent e ffe c ts . We Intend to lnoroase the oonoentratlon of the tetra-ethyl lead in the gasoline to a point where Bymptoms of le a l poisoning are obtained, i f they are not abtained from the above. During the experiments, animals have oooasionally been k ille d to bed. examined for load. Ho lead has been found in th eir bodies up to the present time; none has been k ille d since the higher concentration has been used, so we do not know what w ill be the find in gs. As the study is s t i l l in progress, we do not care to draw d efin ite oonolusiona and i t is requested that none of the above be published. However, there havsbeen many inquiries and demand for published statement of our findings and i t may seem advisable a l i t t l e la te r to get out a preliminary one. If th is i s done, a oopy w ill be sent to you. \v REPRODUCED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES --2-- We are intending to carry out further stu d ies covering the p o s s ib ility of poisoning from tetra-eth yl lead from nay source that would a ffe c t the publio. Of course, such stu dies take time and any statement at present would he a mere guess. Toura very tru ly . R. R. SAYERS Chief surgeon, U .S.B.of U. Surgeon, U.S.P.H.S. / REPRODUCED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES SCIENTIFIC AM E RICAN THE JOURNAL OF PRACTICAL IN FO R M A TIO N S cientific American (ESTABLISHED 1845) P u b l is h in g C o m p a n y M u n n & Co. WOOLWORTH BUILDING 2 33 Broadway N ew York PU B LI SHERS OF SCI ENTI FI C AN O TECH NI CAL BOOKS OUBGEON Q H lF -F October 14, 1924 D r . H. F o s t e r B a i n , D i r e c t o r of U.S. Bureau o f Mines, W a s h i n g t o n , D. 0. D e a r D r . Bain: 924 OCl 16 AM 10 w INTERIOR OEPARI'MENT BUREAU OF MINES WASHIfNGTOri 15.0. I have been somewhat c onc er ne d by t he a c t i v i t y o f t h e G e n e r a l Motors Company, and t h e i r r e l a t e d i n t e r e s t s , in p u sh in g the use o f lead compounds in g a s o l i n e - the so-called "ethyl gas". I t s t r i k e s me, w i t h o u t knowing v e r y much a b o u t the su b ject, that th is is a ra th e r dangerous procedure. Is i t n o t p o s s i b l e t h a t t h e l e a d i n t h e g a s o l i n e w i l l come o u t in the fumes in suctua fashion as to produce lead dust in the a i r , and to r a i s e a t l e a s t a p o s s i b i l i t y of s e rio u s p o i s o n i n g i n p l a c e s l i k e F i f t h Avenue, New Yor k C i t y , whe r e the congestion of motor t r a f f i c is very great? I think th is is^tTkind of thing that the S c i e n t i f i c American ought to watch o u t f o r , and do something about in case the danger is re a lly serious. I hear in d ire ctly f r o m t h e G e n e r a l Mot or s Company t h a t t h e B u r e g ^ o ^ Mi nes h a s t e s te d the m a tte r, and th a t you are about t o ' m a 'v e r y f a v o r a b l e r e p o r t . I f t h i s i s s o , c oul d you w r i t e me ( c o n f i d e n t i a l l y i f you wish) j u s t what the Bureau has done, and what your e n g i n e e r s have c o n c l u d e d ? Of c o u r s e , I do n o t want t h i s f o r p u b l i c a t i o n , b u t m e r e l y t o h e l p me t o f o r m u l a t e my own p o l i c y in the matter. EEF:LD S^ricerjBl/ y o u r s , AFL. y y} E. E. F r e e Ed i t o r A V> 6';' .< yy /\ X