Document o9rZdvqB7ZvvmMB1d2vd0kZxE

April 30, 1945 ?. .. womss?, Secretary Lead Industries Association 420 Lexington Avenue Lew York 17, 4. . bear Hr. eorrasar: appreciated receiving yaur latter of ths 27th, and. will be very glad to arrange to meet you when you are out her this suaaer* I still fuel that ths research should be done in connection with ths points brought up in ray loiter to you of the 12th* As ths infestation out here has bocona heavier, and the probability has been that codling moth have built up a resistance to lead sprays, the use of oils and.stickers in the spraying program has becane heavier and heavier* This greatly increases the difficulty of remov ing the spray to a .05 tolerance. unb seizure was nade this year where the resi due ran five times ths tolerance. I a not too certain that an. earnest endeavor was c&ds to clean the fruit below tolerance, but nevertheless that was ilia analysis that the food & Irug found when they made seizure. If further research is not mad and facta dotsrsdnoct in connection with the points X wrote you about (and. there are probably others) 2 aa quite sure that after the war we will end up with a set tolerance of probably not to exceed .05 or .06. ;,b should luive a tolerance that would enable the growers to remove the residue without damaging the fruit* regardless.of th spraying program they use -and which they find necessary to secure control* If there were any question of the toxicity of lead arsenate in connection with toe spraying of apples and pears, then of course the matter would be one to consider a little differently* However, since there has never been any damage to public health frota the ingestion of irsenate of load residue on apples mid pears, it mma to se that we should be entitled to a very liberal tolerance. we were instrumental in getting the labile Health Service to make the sur vey boro feich is covered in their Bulletin !3o. 26?, copy of which you of course have. I believe it was a very thorough study, but It does not cover some of the phase that I think it should, and 1 know that it is not given any more credit by the Food L 'rug administration than they can help. I was recently advised that a food & rug attorney stated in a recent case that it was just another cue of tnose government jnuaphlcta, of which there are thousands, and riidnit amount to anything, end that no notice should bo taken of its content in connection with the matter. Kg' 0008465 Sincerely yours, N9720 COFI LEAD INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION 420 Lexington Avenue New York 17, N.X. Clinton H. Crane, President ?. H. 3rownell, Vice President F. V;. Rockwell, Vice President Felix Edgar Wormser, Secretary and Treasurer April 2?, 1945 Hr. C. Chase, Secretary Washington State Apple Commission 'Wenatchee, Washington Dear Hr. Chase: I 'nave read with deep interest your letter of April 12 on the spray residue problem and your thought that it might be desirable to engage in some additional medical research in the lead and arsenate field. As you know, we became interested in the spray residue problem some twelve years ago or so. At that time our industry offered, to share the cost of any scientific investigation the apple industry needed to protect its future ,,here our products were involved, but nothing ever came of our offei-. Subse quently, however, the apple growers interested the U. S. Public Health Service in their problem, quite wisely I thought, as it is one of deep public interest, and I an impressed with the thoroughness of the various reports made by the oervice. In fact, so adequate has been their study of the problem that I really do not see the necessity of any further work at this time, in defense of your interests. It strikes me that the report of the U. 3. Public Health Jervice is a complete answer t,o the "hysteria" that had surrounded the spray residue problem in the country. Incidentally, ,,may I point out that our organization has never hesi tated to enter into any research relating to the public use of its products for fear that the results might be detrimental to the continued use of its products, whenever we have sponsored scientific research it has been with com plete freedom for the investigators to publish their results - good, bad or indifferent - to the public. Vie have only asked for scientific accuracy. I am sorry that some one may have given you a contrary impression and I hope that you will be good enough to advise your informant that they have a mistaken notion of our policy. I expect to be in the northwest late this summer and perhaps we can arrange to meet at some mutually convenient point and go into the entire subject in greater detail. Sincerely yours, ?. 3. WORMSER Secretary j J \ I K E" 0008466 N9720.01 April 12, 1945 F. L. woraser, Secretary Lead Industries Association 420 Lexington Avenue Not? Tiork, N.. Dear Hr. Wormaer; As you may know, I have bad considerable to do in connection with arsenate of lead tolerances during the past eight years, and consider able credit has been given us Cor having secured liberalisation of the old tolerances, in spite of government opposition. Quite a number of seizures have been made this season. However, seizures were never made unless the residue exceeded double the administra tive tolerance of .05. The Food & Drug ainletr&tion is quite anxious to call a 'nearing under the Food 4 Krug Act and plad the tolerance on a definite basis. You of course realize that after this is done it will only be necessary for them to prove that the residue exceeds the tolerance in order to insure conviction and seizure of the fruit. In other words, they do not 'nave to prove daiimge- to public health. We have resisted the calling of a hearing in tills connection, and will continue to do so, at least until a year or two after the war. one reason for this of course Is that It would be almost unpatriotic to attempt to get certain scientists to testify uivo are already overworked in war ac tivities. Another reason is that we do not believe we are ready for a hear ing. There arc several things, that should be determined first. For instance, r/e should determine to what extent, if any, the combining of lead and arsenic affects the toxicity of each, he believe the combination reduces the poisonous elements, or in eoae way minimizes them as far as public health is concerned. Furthermore, it should be determined to what extent the toxicity of lead arsenate is affected by weathering; that is, during the period that spray is on the fruit (which, in most cases, averages several months) just what occurs to the poiconcur properties of the combination? It should also be determined to what extent apples and pears are an antidote to the load arsenate, Research which has been mad would in dicate that animals fed lead arsenate in a diet consisting of the elements contained in apples ware damaged very little, although the lead arsenate F. h. \ k>xm er, Seerst&ry Lead Industrias Association 420 Lexington Avenue ikn" Yo rk, i i . I , April 12, 194 Page 2 I n writing you this largely irosa thu standpoint of & layman who has had. * great deal of experience with it but does not have actual scientific knowledge of the product* I have been in famed by several scientists that you have felt that your organisa tion should not enter into any research of this kind., Sealing that it Eight be detrimental to tbs use of the product by the industry. X do not bell; ve this is correct* I feel that you could very easily sot up research on the three points that 1 him; nentloned (and there re probably eevarei others) to determine the scientific facts, and that the results would be given full, consideration at any hearing regardless of tir* fact that your organisation had sponsored, the research. luring recent years there has been considerable change in the spraying out. here, partiesdariy to fluorine, Ino itmu-syivaaiu. eaj.t ccrap&ny end tno Altaainusa Cesapany have sponsored a great deal of research in connection with fluorine. Is, as an industry which uses groat quantities of lead arsenate, are enxioua that soaething be done along tide line. It seesus to as that it would be a sianufacturer1s project rather than one of tiK- industry* Certainly if .you sere to secure th-. services of man like Lr. Lshos of the lettering laboratories or ..z. Ruth of the university of Illinois, at Urbana, 111*, and other very prominent ami nationally icnom scientists, to do tn.is work, their findings would not be questioned or frowned upon by the governmentor the industry. Vid would greatly appreciate your serious consideration of thie matter, and would like to hs&r from you at ars early date. Yo urs v e r y t r u l y , CKQ:e C. .;..., CtAh , hecretary^lanager c c : Dr. W. A. Ruth Dr. Robert A. Kehoe Samuel Fraser Walter Hebert John Chandler Rr 0008468