Document jmR0aYemVekp7b9k1bBJeEXY5
S3AIH 3HV TONOIiLYN 3Hi v asonaoaasH
JL k ^ i ^
!'<=( Z 3 ( o / & G 1
New York, N.Y. A p ril 1, 1925*
C ol. R. R. Sayers, Bureau o f Mines L a b o ra to rie s, Forbes S tre e t, Pittsburgh, Pa.
I.ty d e a r C o l. S a y e rs:
I th in k i t would be w ell fo r our Committee to have an o th er m eeting a t th e Bureau o f Mines in th e n e a r f u tu r e .
Dr. F linn is finding considerable lead in h is experim ents in th e e x c r e ta o f th e v a rio u s a n im als and some o f th e an im als a re showing p a ra ly s is . I th in k our animal experim ents, as fa r as they ooncem the skin a p p lic a tio n o f Ethyl G asoline, have dem onstrated the c e rta in ty of i t s absorp t i o n th ro u g h re p e a te d lo c a l a p p lic a tio n and i t seems to me t h a t t h i s f a c t , once e s ta b lis h e d , i s a l l t h a t we need to know on th e e x p e rim e n ta l s id e , from th e p u b lic h e a lth p o in t o f view , I t would be o f g re a t in te r e s t , o f co u rse, to f in d th e maximum and minimum dosage, e t c . in d i f f e r e n t a n im a ls, b u t a s f a r a s th e p u b lio i s concerned, i f a g arag e man g e ts any le a d in h is system , i t i s c o m p a ra tiv e ly im m a te ria l how lo n g he has been exposed o r what do ses he may have had. In any event, those fa c ts would be d i f f i c u l t o r im possible to determ ine in a given case.
I b e lie v e t h a t more ex am in atio n s sh o u ld be made o f g arag e men and o th e rs who may have been exposed f o r a y e a r o r more to th e h a n d lin g o f E th y l G a s o lin e . I am, th e r e f o r , p e r s o n a lly , d isp o se d to a b b re v ia te f u r t h e r anim al experim entation and concentrate our observation, as fa r as p o ssib le, on a l a r g e r number o f human b e in g s . Mr. M idgley i s in a cc o rd w ith t h i s view . I f your experim ents coo rd in ate w ith those of P ro f, F lin n up to d ate, i t may prove b e s t to ta k e t h i s a c tio n .
T his i s why I th in k we should have a n o th e r c o n fe re n c e i n P ittsb u rg h a t an early date, but I w ill abide by your advioe in the m atter.
S3AIH3UV TONOIIY N 3 iu j ,v a s o n a o a a s H
i-<Sr 9 -0 Q .
____ / 92 3 / >-1 % ^ C1
.W i v A
i(iu r
I AMa-I-i
i/n
FORETOLD HIS ATTACK
n O N LEADED GASOLINE
'f.[ V ~ .
-
Dr. Henderson Says Company
Didn't Employ Him When He,<
Indicated Adverse Finding.
" N E W H A V E N ' C onn.,.'A pril 23.--D r.
Tandoll Henderson, ' Professor \of Ap
plied Physiology, .at, Yale, w ho altthcked
th e ju s e 'o f leaded gasoline as likely to
causey v a s t '`num bers, of tho population
to contract, chropic' lead poisoning, -re
plied to d ay `to .th e sta te m e n t of T hom as
M idgley J r . ; :th a t ho h a d so u g h t a re*
taln in g :fee ito 'b o engaged, as an inves
tig a to r of .leaded ethyl gasoline. , > i ;
r, " T he sta te m e n t of M r. M idgley,''. he
said, "th a t I so u g h t: a retainer from
Lihe'; E t h y l .G as C orporation, a n d desired
' to make; a n rinvestigation for them, puts
Lthe -fa c ts e ax tely backrTa^d.^They w rote
m e'1tw o o r three, y e a rs ago a sk in g it ;I
wo^ld, like to m ake a n investigation^fof;
:them. AI replied S th a t l vyould' <do'rsd,
b u t 't h a t .I believed th e -re s u lts o f `m y
investigation could scarcely fail to show
t h a t'.th e .-.public use of leaded gasoline
would involve an intolerable hazard to
public, h e a l t h . ' ' , | ' . ,-i' \
'M*`The^wOrdin^ of m y le tte r ^vas closely `
similaV tp ;the rem arks on th is-'su b ject,'
'w hich I included in m y a d d ress before
the S afety Council Tuesday', night. rA p -
nn
U
-----1 / l i . - * * i - . ---- -- -- ` i
' - * '
.................................. *v. j . .tia c iicai U llUUllIlf;
, fu rth er- from them . ',1 have since learned
sth fity they, h a d closely , sim ilar, replies*,
from several oth'erifc'sanltaryf'<experts. !
N one of. u s w ho took th is view w a s em-V
ployed.*.''' ! -r,
' '1
s^Tfifhe u rg e n t need of to d ay . Is foi? the
appointm ent by tho Surgeon-G eneral-of
,th e Public .H ealth,' of a com m ission of
sa n ita ry ! e x p erts 't o ' consider and re-<
p o rt on tho h e alth h a z a rd Involved In!
the general Intro d u ctio n i of ethyl >gaso-i
line.'? .
, J ; '
' . (- ' J
____ '
__
'.fi'V. r n i W & s - : V-V. v >'
gv: f,.
il;.." V
.of'w oV kj
_ discovery) th a t the knockv w as . caused ":b y c crtaln 'j
characteristics of gasoline,
a s every 'o n e knows. Is- th e , only,* ffuel w hich m ay be relied upon a s 1,a per-'
mariont and adequate souroe of supply, for,; the autom obile. I t w a s fu rth e r dis covered th a t the addition of certain rare, a n d ith e re fo re alm ost .unknow n. ,,chem1-
' to g a s o lln o ^ ^ v ro u ^ ^ j^ r^ e n t..ihia.
results of this TeseiarcnwTOrk.were, . ' . ' t . ' , ; ' - ! - f i r e e . y published,*and;have,alroady-beteh rlio m as Midgley. 'Jr".'- V looP resident "o f Im m ense *b e n e fit. tp'Hthe'-.automobile. i.nd. f l e M r o u n . - i , . , . . -of k">wWdi, r-o',, (industry- In . th e b e tt e r u nderstandlngl'o f
who ' a s s e r t e d ^ y logy a t T a le /. received./from .theCexpendlture.-ortithla who -asserted -In ra . speech, on? Saturday'? work w aa-'thd.tiit did.ow n: patont-righta
night! th{it,;tho upo of,doadediethyt* g aso- I covering ' p a rtic u la r J, m aterials / w hich
alVin e-th reateni ed ,. t.o. ',ause:;a*.l a r g e .nnuurmaoboerr'!Lth e desiraeidderde*sutolt.g>^ilot<llhnaes, taon?adc'Ccaonro'npaliyeeh;
';o f'!chronic' lead ',--poison~ing,;-c--a-s-e--'s--?--a-m---o--n-g- 1no. m onopoly of ;tHa-mdre .efflclentityphs
, the general
i?2i*
;; T lie sta te m en t ; d en ied : tho T ale / sclen-,
of m otors Iwhlch '.this new;fuel?w ill! m ake possible. Indeed, such m otors havoVbeen In use with spQclahfuolslXor'many.Vears
g is t's assertion' th a t :the ethyl g as m akers fo r -'raclngi -aeror " '
``
aimed a t a monopoly of the,gasoline!and 'm o to r business 'tind `f;
p o s e s . 1;
are or
-- _ ------
lilt? m ay be of Interest In th is 1connection
i billions - w ere-Involved.'' ; R e ferrin g ; to' to -k n o w , t h a t ' engines- f o r . th e '.a irsh ip
iProfesspr.i H pnderson's: criticism s ,of i Bureau^-of!'M ines' ' 1Investigation,
the Mr?^
(Shenandoah are efficient,;hlgh^compresslon P a c k ard aviation 'motors,*: and v th at the Shenandoah!has for'som e .tlm elpast
.Midgley *a d m itte d 1th a t( the ` corppfatlon been using, v-'and-ds '..'now.'uslng.i'oSihyl
had
s u p p lie d 'p a rt
of
the'
f u 'n d s /fo r/tjik t'
jlgaspllne,;* as*; being -th e fuel 'beathsuited :|lo r th is ' typei'oflElgh-efflCleneymotors.
Investigation,1and addodJilV'!'^ !^ !)? '--^iii >T h e /w o rld 'srs p e e a ire c o r(l,fo r` a.utotno-
,!!TVH,,Dr.sHpitderspn'r^Js^cd.',?thqf.public ,'iblles. recently m ade Ibyv.TOmmy fMlUon
-tgtWwtphoaoaaihi'mitn.risldbcothesqh'rnoe;ra1'.l,tfwrffIo-ersVt!o'gIhs/tmIaeuhenrxn''ted'cpestd'eho'urlceaedccsofisc.rtnnG:t-aeewc'dy.edlowsoiuntffdsheuIhiinrl\aoyl,a'.ssynb'Iluc'ty;.,IslMt)-tpeht'in-hoa'c'wttaetoi'ol,onuafrng.lssr''bhc,elCe's-'It.tcuh-nnhoaleedvratupsu.et'smosseatrrat1hr'raelyyeea--:,.'.1fl)]j,imIeofumpnaxfrsocooa^ettevmtCo,uoteoharrprf,olsyli.te,rflohatosshrferg'-einIacs.niaosbaa,odun;unflluvoOii-dlnewatJthlen'wbabetsoylarian.>ngo-pv-mecbBaaasitar'tsuaeiskhlcooodnelhucbg?o.'ls'khttladao'nrtMfiiepjnbnodooyatte>hmontedWoorytps!rrh'.brd'oT'roebyu'ntosiShgiast-u^u.nlhh'io'tscaehlhneyher-e
tlon to m ake'Suc^i a n 'ln v eiitlg atlo n .-iT h e'1 General Motors)" Corporation ' preferred,
iS,---.11J um.'jMii/ s' ' 1
to entrust .such 'a n Investigation" to '.an f i "T ho vS tp n d n ^ d i.O ll^ C p m p a n y i^ ^ p w
!Je rse y i'sta rte d ? o n i the .eam cj:llne;p3rese a rc h 1w ork 'referred,'toia
''In ;h is^ n e r^ ;re p ly { to * D r.'^Ienderep'n,' Mr. 'Midgley? ^r. .spoke, a s 'follow s : : ,??.``,Thp;i m orning rp a p e rs,,parryi'acepunto,
Initiated;?'byi-V tpe^G pne^^W o^oi'^
poratlon'- some A w o ^g a i;s .datpr,^ani?^ol-
: /--a V.1 _ ' -t I _
A U fi. i A k
*
of tho 'speech !of X)rl:;yd^deli^Honderspn` a ttdcklng - tho : E th y l' :GasoiIno^Cpi`ppr-
Un. ;*,lts product,.'stockliol^er/i m ethods' 'ln te resta, o fth 'p se compa
o f1dolng business, a h d m prpis.' T he'.inaln Interest'. ' " '
topic of .D ry iie n d e rg o n 'sJ .speech' Is, .or.! should 'have ,bert,'AtheJ;conslderath)n' of.j the hazard!, to publlo hea)th ar)flhig'from the V se' O f e th y l'g a so lin e J !y?Xtthe states m.t -;had -been confined!- toVam''ekbres-'
ofDr.' H enderson's oplnlom on this
;thls!.-?e~;these:; ---- , ------------ ---- o rganization' of. th e 'E th v l 'G a sq lln q t__ poratlon/aThe*. G eneral. Motof*)c orpora r tlo n ih a d y previously?; entereji|.vlntO!>con tra cts With .manyS.la rg e P o llr e f iners;-,fo i lithe . sale aoftltsi'aiftikndCKt'prpdUQtAahc
S3AIHDHV IVNOIiVN ; 3HJ. v a s o n a o a a s H
r
OFFICE OF THE SURGEON GENERAL
IN REPLYING ADDRE88 THE 8URQEON GENERAL
U. 8. P U BLIO H EALTH 8E R VIC E
TREASURY DEPARTMENT
BUREAU OF T H E PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE
WASHINGTON
May 1 , 1925.
I C r ^ CsfU '
I =7 t - 3 I o/S^lo^
The D ire c to r, Bureau of Mines, W ashington, D. C.
Dear S ir:
The p o s s ib le p u b lic h e a lt h and i n d u s t r i a l h a z a rd s in th e manu f a c t u r i n g o f t e t r a e th y l le a d compound and in th e d i s t r i b u t i o n and u se of t e t r a e th y l lead gasoline has been under co n sid eratio n by th e Public H e a lth S ervice f o r a number of m onths.
I t has been f e l t , however, th a t up to re c e n tly evidence has been la o k in g upon which could be based an i n t e l l i g e n t d is c u s s io n of th e h e a lth hazards which might r e s u lt fran use of t h i s g a so lin e.
Now t h a t a l a r g e r volume o f e x p e rim e n ta l d a ta has become a v a i l a b l e , i t is b e lie v e d th a t a conference a t th e p re se n t time would be p ro d u ctiv e of a b e tte r u n d e rstan d in g of th e whole q u e stio n .
As th e su b je c t i s o f n atio n -w id e i n t e r e s t , I would a p p re c ia te your a tte n d a n c e a t a conference to be h eld by th e p u b lic H e a lth S e rv ic e on
Surgeon G eneral.
S3AIH0HV IVNOIiVN 3h i i v asonaoH dsy
IN ANSWERING REFER TO N o ..
H -G - 9 <b,
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
i / o/
BUREAU OF MINES
W ASHINGTON
A pril 23, 1925.
A/f'
Memorandum f o r D r. Lyon.
i ' \ '
D r ^ e n d e rs o n gave a t a l k in New York b e fo re th e A m erican
-- / ^ ....IHim t
1 ...........--'
S o o i e ^ o^f_Safejby,,Engjpifteii.s^and I n te r n a tio n a l S a fe ty C ouncil on Tqxysday
evening, A p ril 21, to which I had been in v ite d . I found, however,
t h a t i t was n o t p r a c tic a b le f o r me to a tte n d . Copy o f th e r e p o r t o f h i3 t a l k , c lip p e d frcrn the NEW YORK TIMES o f Wednesday, A p ril 22, is
a tta c h e d .
I t w ill be noted th a t Dr. Henderson attack ed the Bureau of M ines, accusing i t of " a rriv in g at unw arranted conclusion in favor of le a d g a s o lin e a f t e r im proper in v e s t ig a ti o n fin a n c e d by th e E th y l Gas C o rp o ra tio n ." He a ls o s t a t e d t h a t " th e economy w hich th e Government i s p r a c tic in g j u s t now in v o lv ed th e e lim in a tio n o f many ex trem ely v a lu a b le in v e s tig a tio n s and the c u rta ilm e n t o f funds f o r such s c i e n t i f i c work as is continued."
The Bureau o f Mines c o o p e ra te d w ith th e E th y l G asoline Cor p o ra tio n on th is stu d y , th a t c o rp o ra tio n su p p ly in g a c e r ta in amount o f funds f o r th e w ork. This h as been th e p o lic y o f th e B ureau on many s tu d ie s and is not d if f e r e n t from many of those c a r rie d out in th e p a s t some o f th o s e in w hich D r. H enderson was employed by th e Bureau were c a rrie d out on th is b a s is .
j~~ As to the Bureau a r r i v i n g a t an unwarranted o p in io n , we o f course believ e in and have the r e s u lts of our in v e stig a tio n as a b a sis, w h ile D r. H enderson, to th e b e s t o f my know ledge, h a s made no i n v e s t i g atio n upon which to base h is conclusion.
D r. Henderson s ta te d th a t "th e Bureau of Mines had in v e s tig a te d the danger of the public of acute lead poisoning only and had fa ile d even to take in to account the p o s s ib ility th a t the atmosphere might be p o llu te d to such an e x te n t alo n g autom obile th o ro u g h fa re s t h a t th o se who worked o r liv e d along such s tr e e ts would g rad u ally absorb lead in s u f f ic ie n t quan t i t i e s to p o iso n them in th e course of m o n th s." The f i r s t p a r t o f th e
statem ent is not & fa c t, and the la s t p a rt is covered by a lim ited p o rtio n
of our study.
The Bureau o f Mines h a s made and i s making a s tu d y on th e follow ing:
K'\
1 . The e f f e c t o f e x h a u s t g a se s from an engine u s in g norm al e th y l
g a so lin e , th e r e s u lt o f w hich is given^in Monthly R eports of In v e stig a tio n s No. 2661.
S3AIH0HY TCNOIiVN 3Hi v asonaonasH
2-
2 . The e f f e c t o f e x h au st g ases from an en g in e u s in g g aso lin e c o n ta in in g fiv e tim es the commercial amount of te tr a e th y l le a d .
3 . The e f f e c t o f in h a lin g e th y l g a s o lin e in th e fo llo w in g concentrations :
a . 1 p e r cen t fumes from no m a l e th y l g a so lin e fo r one hour d a ily .
t>. 0 .3 p e r c e n t fumes from norm al e th y l g a s o lin e f o r two h o u rs d a i l y .
c . 0 .1 p e r oent fumes from e th y l g a so lin e f o r th re e hours d aily .
The above c o n c e n tra tio n s were a ls o t r i e d when th e g a s o lin e c o n ta in e d 2-, 3> and 5 tim es th e amount o f t e t r a e t h y l le a d in th e e th y l g a s o li n e . The e f f e c t s o f fumes o f s t r a i g h t g a s o lin e in th e above con c e n tra tio n s were t r i e d fo r com parative pu rp o ses.
d . A pplication to the skin of various animals of d iffe re n t amounts o f norm al e th y l g a s o lin e and o f g a s o lin e c o n ta in in g 10 tim es th e commercial amount of te tr a e th y l le a d .
The r e s u l t s o f th e se s tu d ie s w i l l be a v a il a b le in th e n e a r f u t u r e . The Surgeon G eneral o f th e P u b lic H e a lth S e rv ic e has c o n sid e re d c a llin g a conference to discu ss a l l the inform ation av ailab le on the s u b je c t r e la tin g to p u b lic h e a lth . I t was b e lie v e d b e s t not to h o ld such a conference u n til in v e stig a tio n s being c a rrie d out by the Bureau o f m ines and o th e r o rg a n iz a tio n s were more n e a rly com pleted. I presume th a t the Surgeon General w ill c a ll such a conference in the near fu tu re .
In c lo s u re No 30719