Document wKrX9z33pV8KgK3NBarqBNbyE

June 30, 1964 Mr. D. V. Van Gordon 1510 Terrill Road Scotch Plains, New Jersey (07076) Dear Mr. Gordon: Let me first disabuse your mind of the idea that there is any connection between this Laboratory and the Kettering Foundation except that the name of Charles F. Kettering is associated with both. The Foundation, which has its headquarters in Dayton, Ohio, is concerned with the administration and allocation of the funds which Mr. Kettering set aside in this manner for investigative and educational purposes. This Laboratory was named in honor of Mr. Kettering, for the primary reason that a series of problems of industrial and public health, which developed out of an idea of his and its product (tetraethyllead), was the issue that brought this Laboratory into existence. It has since continued to investigate hygienic problems brought to it by industrial organizations that are in trouble or in fear of trouble, in matters of industrial or environmental hygiene. I am enclosing a memorandum in which the test procedure which you requested has been described in some detail. Some slight revisions of the "write up" have been written in by long hand, but I hardly think these will be obscure. With respect to the standard of acceptability in this relation ship, the answer is not so readily made. So far as we know, there is no word on this which is more authorative than our own. (There are no official regulations in this country, so far as we have been able to learn.) We have made certain investigations and have developed certain views on the subject. We expect to record these in the form of unofficial recommendations to industry in the near future, and I would not like, here or elsewhere, to anticipate our action in this matter, since those who have consulted us are entitled to have the first word from us. I can tell you, however, that in our present opinion, the glazes on tableware in general use should not give up lead, under the test conditions described in the enclosed memorandum, in excess of one or two parts per million. Just where, within this range, the maximum concentration will be set in practice, and just what deviations from this standard might be found, under appropriate circumstances, to be acceptable, are matters on which I would not like to issue a pronouncement. I believe, however, that there are good reasons, in both hygienic and commercial practice, for adopting a standard approximating in severity the general.level which I have indicated. Very truly yours, RAKtvr Robert A. Kehoe, M D. Enel. - Memorandum Method for the Determination of Lead Extracted from Glazed Ceramic Surfaces.