Document rxDzvymbrYYYORGyb6V9RX187
REPRODUCED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES 1
((
General M otors Research C orporation
Dayt o n , O h io . December 30, 1922.
D o c t o r H . 3 . Qummi n i S u r g e o n G e n e r a l ,
Bureau o f Publio Washington, D.G.
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Dear Sir: -
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Your fav o r o f December 20th addressed to Hr. p. 3 duPont/has been re ferre d to the w r it e r for answer.
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The q u e s t i o n o f l e a d p o i s o r . i r a r e s u]Lti r g f r o : : t h e u s e o f l e a d o o m o u n d s h a s b e e n g i v e y~i ver VT
s e f . eus c o n s i d e r a t i o n b y t h i s L a b o r a t o r y a l h.oug no
a c t u a l e x p e r i m e n t a l d a t a ha s b e e r t a k e r . Tj e re as on
t ha t r. o e x p e r i m e n t a l d a t a h a s b e e r t a x e r
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m a r i l y :o t h e f a c t t h a t so f a r we ] g e t th e l e a d compounds to come o ut i n t]
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j u s t how s e r i o u s th e problem o f l e a d p o i s o n i n g from ex-
ra: is going to be.
The most co n g e ste d d i s t r i c t ir. the world
cor ta in ir g the greatest percentage of exhaust gas w ill be the v e h ic u la r tunnel under the Hudson- H iv e r . In connection with the v e n tila tio n of th is tunnel, Doctor P ield n er at the Bureau of H ires in d ic a te s that the per
centage of carbon monoxide in t h e . atmosphere r e s u ltin g from the exhaust gas o f in te r n a l combustion en g in es, must be kep t below two o n e -h u n d r e d th s o f one p e r c e n t in o rd er t h a t human b e i n g s may b r e a t h e t h i s atm osphere f o r f o u r h o u rs per d a y and a vo id th e s e r i o u s co n seq u e nce s o f
carbon monoxide poisonin g.
Under these most extreme co n d ition s the q u a n tity o f lead which w i l l be present in the atmosphere as a le a d compound, w i l l be so m in u te t h a t a human b e in g w i l l in h a le o n ly a t o t a l o f one m illig r a m o f le a d in four
h o u r s . T h is le a d compound w i l l be in the form o f a f i n e ly divided dust comparable to cig a r smoke. Consequently,
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REPRODUCED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES g
fr
Generai. M otors Research C orporation
Dayto n , O h io .
2- -
D o c t o r H. 3 . Gumming:
December 30, 1922.
a r e l a t i v e l y small portion o f th i3 m illigra m w i l l be r e t a i n e d by t h e human s y s t e m . D o c t o r Y a n d e l l Henderson co n sid e rs the ab sorption o f one m illig r a m o f l e a d p e r d a y a s d a n g e r o u s . We f e e l a b s o l u t e l y c o n f i dent that under the co n d itio n s th at w il l e x is t in the
v e h ic u la r tu n n e l, th at people exposed to t h i s atmosphere w i l l o n ly absorb a v e r y s m a ll p a r t o f one m i l l i g r a m . The worst co n g e ste d s t r e e t s w i l l c e r t a i n l y be much b e t t e r than the v e h icu la r tunnel; w hile the average s tr e e t w ill p r o b a b l y be so f r e e from le a d t h a t i t w i l l be i m p o s s i b l e to d e te c t i t or i t s ab so rp tio n .
We e x p e c t i n t h e n e a r f u t u r e t o p l a c e a
s m a l l q u a n t i t y o f t h i s l e a d compound on the m a rk e t i n some d i s t r i c t s . There w i l l n o t be enough l e a d used i n
the early stages of th is development to present any
h e a l t h h a z a r d w h a t s o e v e r and d u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d we p r o
pose to in v e s tig a te the t o x i c i t y of these exhaust gases
v e r y t h o r o u g h ly so as to d eterm in e .just what the u l t i m a t e l i m i t to t h e u s e o f l e a d compounds a c t u a l l y i s . 'We hop e to s e c u r e y ea r most h e a r t y c o o p e r a tio n in c a r r y i n g on t h is werl .
si tuation
t h i s I n f o r mat icn r i l l c l y o u r m in d , 1 b e g to ow^ ^^
the
Very t r u ly yours,
m?.f_ Jr-D