Document jyXYzqLMeJGa0ERzqMoDdLgOQ

Memorandum Concerning a Telephone Conversation wjith nr. ten Penrose out of Toronto on Tuesday, hay 25, 1954, about 3:30 P.M. This is related to the memorandum made way >f concerning also a telephone conversation with Hr. Penrose, Dur ing tn i s conversation, Hr. Penrose stated tnat It. of the l10 men who had ,been working since May 5 on the Sun Oil tank, Pocated on their tank farm out of Toronto have stated that they cf<6 not feel well, the principal symptom being "butterflies in thei:r stomachs." These men started work on the 35,000-barrel floe ting-roof tank after all cleaning operations had been completed. The lead test on the air of the tank after cleaning showed a concentration of 1 microgram, of lead. Most all of the work dons 1r'P'b has been done on the roof of the tank and from t he outside, although there have been instances where men were for short periods of time within the tank.. The work consisted of paint- burning, wir-e-brushing, cutting and welding. Tijiis work has been proceeding for the past three weeks. Of the ten men involved in this work, only four have had any physical complaints. The men who have complained are <i age It? age 21, age 31, and a ?e 30* On casual questioning by Mr. Penrose no symptoms other th in the gastric disturbance could be elicited. They apparently had no insomnia, no loss of appetite, no nausea, and no colic, men had no complaints whatsoever. 3fx of the ten I There is certainly very little likelihood that the symptoms of these men are due to lead absorption. There is certaj!inlwV I a possibility, however, that they may have abso rbed somei lead from their paint-burning operations particularly. Especially because cf the attitude of the men and bf their Immediate ?- supervisor it was thought advisable to have them seen by a physician. Therefore, a call was made to Dr, Frank Rj| Op iffin v Ii of Toronto who has done preemployment examinations for1 us and he was asked to make an examination of the four men. Mr, renrose has some sample bottles in storage in Toronto and these will be used not only for the collection of xirine s sjm'oles Tom the complaining men but also on the other men of fhe group of ten who do not haxre any complaints. Dr. Griffin will renort his findings to iis ano sena u unstained blood films from the complaining men. Lester W. Sanders, M,