Document mpjq25avXMQQ2jdym3bzNoR3B

December 3, 1962 Mr. Wesley E. Bellwood Vice-President and Treasurer Wynn Oil Company 1151 West Fifth Street Azusa, California Dear Mr. Bellwood: This is to acknowledge receipt of your letter of November 27 and of your Company's check for $1,049.95. I was not concerned by the delay in being reimbursed for the cost of our work on behalf of your Company. In fact I could not have failed to consider this to be entirely in keeping with our own delay in supplying a final and formal report. For the latter I was pro foundly sorry, but I consider^that the letter which I wrote to L>r. Gleason would serve the purpose that would be fulfilled later by the formal report. I had hoped that by this means I had enabled your Company to establish the truth of the statements made concerning the harmlessness of the product from the aspect of lead. I regret that it is your feeling that the investigation served no useful purpose. I do not wish to add to your dissatisfaction by arguing with you, but I am at an utter loss to understand this viewpoint. Our concern was solely for the safety of your employees (who, however, seemed not to be seriously in jeopardy), as evidence of the fact (which, it seems, your customers wished to know) that other handlers and users of the product would not be endangered by the lead compound in your product. There was no other question at issue, so far as this investigation was concerned. I fail to see how a report worth the paper it was written on could have been prepared without referring to this issue - it would have been pure "mumbo jumbo." It appears to me that you do not understand the nature of the job we undertook or the fundamental purpose of our work. I may be mistaken, but it seemed to me that Dr. Gleason had no such misunderstanding. Perhaps that is the trouble - namely, that he did not communicate fully with his associates. Certainly, you now know that your product is safe for its intended use. That is what I . was attempting to find out, and did find out. In any case, our function as a strictly medical organization for research and graduate education in occupational health, in an institution of learning, is to serve industry and its employees as well as we can with informatkon concerning health hazards and advice as to the means (if necessary) of avoiding or controlling such hazards. We do such work at the actual cost to 1 Mr. Wesley . Bellwood 2 December 3, 1962 us of doing it, for although it is a professional (medical) service which could, under other circumstances be charged for at professional rates, we represent a public institution which cannot (or at least should not) engage in professional practice as a corporate entity. As to the Federal Hazardous Substances Labeling Act, while I approve of its intent and consider that some of its provisions are somewhat helpful, I opposed its form and methodology, and I consider that in many respects it represents an amazingly naive and futile attitude of mind. However, it is now on the books, and we shall have to live with it as well as we can. In my view, the responsibility for the safety of one's employees and one's customers should be put directly and firmly on business management, who therefore, may be expected to find out what needs to be known about their products in order to maintain industrial and public safety in such matters. From this viewpoint we have, 1 believe given you some useful information, and I trust that you and your associates will not regard our efforts on your behalf to have been a total loss. Very truly yours, Robert A. Kehoe, M. D RAK:ss 0005001 ED GEW OOD 4-2908 CABLE A D D RESS' W I FPO O FFICE O F THE VI CE- PRESI D EN T AN D TREASURER 1151 W EST FI FT H ST REET AZ USA, CA LI FO RN I A November 27, 1962 (Dictated 11/21) Robert A. Kehoe, M. D. University of Cincinnati The Kettering Laboratory College of Medicine - Eden Avenue Cincinnati 19, Ohio Dear Dr. Kehoe: I must apologize for the delay in handling your invoice covering the report on the work which you performed to determine the potential hazards to those handling our products. The trip to Europe which Mr. Hold and I undertook removed virtually three months from our life, and from our work at V'ynn Oil Company. This is in partial explanation of the delay. There was further delay in that we have spent many hours in trying to determine just how we can use the findings. Now certainly, Dr. Kehoe, we don't mean to indicate that the problems involved were all one-sided. I think we must go back to the date the project was initiated. It is apparent that Dr. Gleason did not clearly tie down the assignment or the time limit for completing the assignment. At the time of the study, and for a considerable period thereafter, we had many uses to which we could have put a report. The delay, however, in receiving the written report has resulted in severe limitations on the use to 'which we can put the report. As a matter of fact, we have not been able to determine a way in which the report can be used at all, other than from our own internal standpoint. Now we accept full responsibility for this croblem, because we did not, at the time the assignment was made, indicate the amount of time which would be provided for both the study and the report. Another point which somewhat limited the usefulness of the report insofar as external use is concerned was the reference to the specific ingredient, lead compounds. I know this presented a problem for you because quite naturally you had to in some way identify the material; but the identification of the specific material made it difficult for us to use the report, because our products are secret formulas and according to our attorneys, if we by our own actions permitted the disclosure of one or more of the ingredients in the products, we could well be construed as having weakened our own position by disclosing some of the secrets of the formula. Well, as you can see, Dr. Kehoe, we have had our problems, and I think that they will help you to understand some of the delay in remitting to you our check for $1,049.95 in full payment of your invoice dated July 19, 1962. Cur check is enclosed herewith. As a point of interest, the Federal Hazardous Substances Labeling Act, which we discussed way back when you visited us in Azusa, has certainly taken shape, 0005092 N 7234.01 To: Robert A. Kehoe, K.D Pape 2 of 2. November 27, 1962 hasn't it? I wonder whether all manufacturers have experienced problems similar to those which we have experienced and are still experiencing, in trying to comply with the letter of the law. WEE:pag Enclosure - Check CC: Mr. G. E. Hold P.S. Dr. Kehoe, I regret that through an error our check was mailed to you in a separate envelope today. However, you should receive it this week. W.E.B. HE 0005093