Document pmEvbeQMkQNpb2eGRvV1ED6V7

iH E ASSO CIATE D E T H YL CO M P AN Y LIM ITE D Jlej/isteredOffice: T H E A D E L P H I , LO STD OU , ~W. C. 2 ^.dddress all communications untilJiirther notice to: ARTILLERY HOUSE, ARTILLERY ROW, LOYDOY, S.W1 J elcp tu m e.- a b b e y 3 9 7 4 - IJeh'tjm m s: e t h y l p o r t , s o w e s t , l o n o o n d ir e cto r s.- N. ,, hA. GASS f11 j J . S. AUG. KESSLER (NETHERLANDS, S. LECH JONES f. g .c. mo r r is R. H. PORTERS R.W. SELLERS D. A. SHEPARO <U. s. A.) A. J. SINGLETON t . R. a . b e v a n sjlfanaaznj?j OUR REF. ST/4 YOUR REF, 17th May 1946 Dr. R,A. Kshoe, Blattering Laboratory, Col]age of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, GING E T ATI, OHIO. Dear Bob, Many thanks for your letter of April Both in reply to nine of the M t h on the subject of a suspected case of fatal lead poisoning nnongst men engaged in the cleaning of rail tank wagons in Norway, It is, I believe, appreciated by all concerned that the infomation available in this particular case is insufficient to determine with accuracy the cause of death; as you say, however, it is wise to assume, because of our situation, that the man died as a result of exposure to tetraethyl lead vapour ,, In a letter on tank cleaning regulations which was mailed to you some two or three days ago, I mentioned that the practice in this country and, I believe, in a number of European countries, including probably Norway, is to empty rail tank wagons by top suction, and not, as in the United States, through bottom outlets. This may have some bearing upon this Norvregian incident, particularly if, as you suggest, the Germans were using rail tank cars for shipping gasoline with an exceptionally high lead concentration. With kind regards, T.R.A. SEVAN i c April SO, 1946 M r . T . I;. A. Sevan Associated Ethyl Company Limited, Artillery House, Artillery Row, London 8.W. 1, England. - Dear Rayi . I have considered the letter from Shell Petroleum attached to your letter of April 15, and I think that the following comments can be regarded as based on fairly good information. In any case, these are the best judgments that I can arrive at on present information. It is entirely possible that the casualties reported in association with the cleaning of rail tank-wagons resulted from undue exposure to tetraethyl lead. From the information given it is not possible to arrive at any definite conclusion. We do not know the position of the gasolines to which these individuals may have been exposed, and the circumstances associated with these exposures have been so incompletely reported that one would be foolhardy in the extreme to draw very definite conclusions. On the other hand, the fact that one of these individuals died following exposure to gasoline is rather suggestive. We may not properly assume that his death was due to gasoline intoxication. In fact, we can he rather certain that it was not. It could have been due to the absorption of tetra ethyl lead, and because of our situation it is probably wiser tc assume that it was than to try to explain it by other means . By this I only mean that it is well for us.tc assume the worst, so long as we have to make any assumption at all. Granting then for the sal-re of the argument,that these men suffered as the result of lead absor-ption, and that one of them died, we still have no rational cr valid evidence for the belief that rail tank-cars involved in the ordinary commercial distribution of leaded gasoline can give rise to situa tions of this type. Frankly I find this situation wholly unconvincing. Our experience in this country, and the evidence of a rather large series of observations, is ail to the contrary. I am sure that we need not concern ourselves with the serious likelihood of the occur rence of tetraethyl lead poisoning among men who carry out the normal operations associated with the cleaning and repair of rail tank-wagons used for the distribution of ordinary commercial leaded gasoline. What then is the explanation of this situation, if we make the assumption previously referred toV I have had an opportunity to review a fair amount of information obtained in connection with German operations in connection with the handling of their fuels. Quite apart from the fact that the chemical composition of their fuels is somewhat unpredictable for a given field of military operations, I feel reasonably certain that gasolines con taining quite high concentrations of tetraethyl lead were shipped K ? 0007275 Mr, T* R. A. Bevan (2) - April 20, 1946 here and there, and subsequently mixed vith other gasoline at more distant points. I cannot prove "this, but I think I shall have better evidence when I have completed the translation and examination of all -the:available information* My best evidence lies in the fact that the precautions that were taken in connection vith their handling of gaspline from certain areas, vere excessive in the extreme, unless they"vere dealing vith decidedly concentrated mixtures of tetraethyl lead i .With the information that vas available to them, and vith their general point of viev, I do not believe* these precautions vould have been taken or advised unless there vas good cause. therefore, I strongly suspect that the problem of dealing vith their rail tanks .vas: Something quite different from any that ve have had to meet as the .result of .commercial oprations This same thing holds in the case of tank wagons used on motor roadways. I believe, therefore, that these casualties can be charged to bircumstances which grev out of the var and vhieh have no necessary or likely"relationship to normal opera tions., . We have had a number of difficulties in this country vhieh have arisen outvof unusual circumstancesand although ve have had no serious incidents or casualties, ve have had a number of situations vhieh ve have learned.about in advance and have undertaken to control. you will realise that vith our personnel and facilities for the con trol of. these situations in this country, ve have had a decided advantage. When I consider the number of possibilities for unusual situations and difficulties among,the Germans, I cannot but dismiss incidents of this type as having little relationship to normal condi- -tions. As you vill remember, ve-always had some difficulty in convincing some of the Germans of the necessity for some of the pre cautionary measures which ve recommended. Some of their more intelli gent people grasped the ideas and also accepted the fact that ve vere dealing vith them not only in good faith, but -also out of rather -extensive information and experience. Many of their people, I knov, did not take what ve said too seriously. I feel quite certain that under the,pressure ofnthe var they engaged in many practices which ve .would not have approved and which ve were able to avoid, only because bf. the close cooperation which came to be possible at a fairly early date-between the responsible people in this industry and governmental ..and military personnel .- ' Incidentally I am making every effort to collect all of the informa tion I can from all the sources that come to my notice, concerning the difficulties associated with the military handling of leaded gasoline. .I shall attempt to put all of this information together in the form of a rather full report. Therefore, any matters that come to your attention through any avenue, even though they may be hearsay, vill be qf-;interest to me . 1 I have just had a call -from David Roffey. I am planning to see him before he leaves the country. He was good enough to transmit your -personalgreetings to?me which I was very pleased to receive. I have-just a bit of feeling of being in somewhat more direct contact with you after such an experience, Borne days ago I talked with Mr. T. R A. Bevan - (J>) - April 20, 19^6 Batchelor, ftoffey, and Ken Lloyd, and had an interesting and also pleasant time vith them. Also my recent conversations vith Hugh Possett have brought me in a bit closer touch vith some of your problems. In this connection I have just vritten Cassells a long letter, in the course of vhich I raised the question of his plans, and the possibility of his accepting much broader responsibilities for medical advice to Associated Ethyl. I am not sure just vhat your intentions are in this regard, but I am beginning to feel that it is advisable not to delay too long getting our general house in order. The problem of medical consultants elsewhere is a difficult one, and as commercial activities come to be restored in various parts of the world, ve shall need to be properly represented and assisted professionally, I have also vritten Keith Fairley at some length, tentatively raising the question as to the means by vhich he and I might have an opportunity to sit down and discuss various matters. There is, I think, much to be done to clarify our position on more or less of a vorld-vide basis. Travelling is difficult, expensive and time-consuming, and as you very veil know, I vant to spend as little of my time out of this Laboratory and this country, as is necessary, nevertheless there are things to be done, and I shall not shirk from doing vhat seems to be required. I am planning to get together another book vhich vill Include vhat vas formerly embodied In our volume for medical consultants, but vhich vill include other things as veil. Such a volume, in my opinion, should include a rather complete discussion of the difficulties vhich came to light as the result of military conditions. I have no doubt you vill have some Ideas on this subject, and I should certainly appreciate having your suggestions as to the extent to vhich you consider it advisable to disseminate this kind of information. You vill probably realize, in this connection, that I have a great deal of Information, vhich is not very readily available to anyone else, and which in large measure should become a part of the public record, at least to the extent cf properly informing medical people on all of the aspects of this significant vorld-vide industry. I can scarcely avoid feeling that I have a professional responsibility in this regard, but I am at a loss to see just hov I can best fulfill it. In any case, I vant to be of as much help as I can to you and your associates and would very much appreciate an expression of your views on any of these matters . Vith kindest personal regards, Sincerely yours, RAK ef Copy by air- mail. 0007277 Robert Vi.''ehoe, M . D . THEASSOCIATED ETHYL;COMPANYLIMITEDv ARTILLERYHOUSE, ARTILLERYROW;LORDOH,S.W .l ST/4 Dr. R.A. Kehoe, The Kettering Laboratory, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, CINCINNATI, Ohio. 15th April 1946 Dear Bob, . . , I should greatly appreciate your comments on the attached letter I have to-day received from Shell Petroleum which, as you will note, relates to a suspected case of lead poisoning amongst men engaged in the cleaning of rail tank wagons. . ' ; - '. . - : The evidence is most incomplete, and in view of the circumstances it will not, I;am afraid, be possible to obtain further data. ; -, , Si T.R.A. BE7AN THS SHELL PETROLEUM COMPANY LIMITED ` ' St. He l e n a Court," ` _ London, E.C.3.;;.; 'v - ' Tho Associated Ethyl co.LtdiV 'Artillery:House, , Artillery Row, . '- London, s.W.l. Our ref. , . r ". ' ENGIKEERING/H 11th April 1946 For the attention of Mr. Bevali . , - Dear Sirs, - , CASUALTIES IN HANDLING LEADED GASOLINE - NORWAY One of our engineers visited Norway recently, and was told that a fatal casualty had occurred during the German occupation among men who had been engaged on the cleaning of rail tank wagons which had contained leaded gasoline. Vie havo been able to gather a eertain amount of information on this matter, which we are sending you herewith. In our opinion this case requires very careful study, since the casualties and death occurred through the cleaning of rail tank wagons, which are normally considered to be free from dangerous sludge. The symptoms described in the attached medical reports appear to us to be the all too familiar ones of poisoning from lead tetra-othyl - Unfortunately, under the conditions then prevailing in Norway, it was not possible for any lead determinations to beraaade on the patients, so that the evidence is not as clear cut as one .would wish. We should very much like to have the opinion of your medical experts on thi3 matter, as it may possibly be. necessary to tighten up the existing regulations regarding the cleaning of* rail hank cars which have contained leaded gasoline. -;;. ; . .. v W ; Yours truly, ., . _ ' For, The Shell Petroleum Go. Ltd i>, O '"! rt uU (( N7841.03