Document x58paqZoMQJqz0GZ0kKegar3Q

! !. t LEAD INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION, INC. ** ma o k o m Avihut NfW YOKK. K. Y. tOOlT TfltAMOMt ~ iMA COCA Alt Kore*fctr 12, 196^ ; To All Xesfctr* of tb Health tad SAftty Coeultt**! Tht Aitachtd rtport d a/ ba of lotarttt to you And foe vfctt it It vortb htrt It * copy. It la MLrt*4 'C0KTIED.T1/U* tracing that wt bop* It vlll oot bt u**d outtlit our loduatry. Vtry truly youra, /Qf-n Jf Qrrurii^- ' i Doo 0. fcwltr, 8*rttAry Ktalth aod 8*ftty Coaalttaa COrtad Coe. *'>*** U*t y*y, Vim1 .. -m,.,. ^"Y* . -u. i'iyuuyp.~*Ai-u j.fr-- 'tirwnay yJ,Wk"J\*W**y*!*Xt\Jr -"' ,,l,:'V^"arvmw*^ LIAMsS.96 !W..WfPi9ivi!i^Pij J*: o LEAD INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION, In c . ! MAOIION AVKNUI n c w rornt, k . r. 10017 ni4MM -- 1|1 (99f 9I| 041 MAM CCffncarTIAL Eoveaber 10, 19^ KWCPSAR VISIT BT HEALTH A.TO tUrTTT DIRECTOR Geptesber i5 - Octctar 7, 1564 This report cover* three-week rllt to four countries In Europ*--Italy, Germany, Franee, end England. The purpose of the vlelt vet to eontaet the lead trade association* In each of the*e countrle* end discuss with then problems of health and safety In their particular area] to visit automobile production facilities In these countries sod observe the precautions that these facilities us* to keep lead hatarde under c octroi. Autcoobil* plants vleited ver* flat, Xirafiorl plant, Turin, Italy; Volkswagen Verhe, Wolfsburg, Geroany; Renault, Parla, Trance; and in Jhiglsnd, Vauxhall (General Motors owned), Luton; Ford Motor Company, Dagenham; Pressed Steel, Oxford, Cowley. Several other offices and facilities ver* visited and vlll be Beet1coed In the appropriate country vrlt*-wp. General Consents The slngls noet Important lepressice received from ssy visits to the several manufacturing plant*, and from conversatlooa with their engineering and medical personnel, is that the great espheala being placed In Europe on diagnosis and treatment tend* to dlsccwrege In every Instance the use of lead. The over-elaborate medical progress used everywhere give plant management the false Impression that lead tezerd c octroi Is ext ready costly and that the best thing to do Is to engineer the use of lead out of the plant. V* her* In America have loeg ago learned that prevention Is the best approach to the control of any plant hazard, and that engineering Is the best means for providing effective control. I found that Europeans vlthout exception take vh.at la essentially a negative attitude toward* lead hazard control In that tacit eaeuarptloo Is made that ther* vlll be poisonings and that, therefor*, they had better be set up to diagnose end treat then. Our vlev In America Is essentially a positive approach, which ve cake by saying that v* vlll engineer the hazard cut of the process, and Install a medical control program which vlll operate as aa adjunct to tha engineering phase. This thesis can best be illustrated by the fact that American medical con trol program# in the autc*oblle Industry universally us* the quantitative blood lead analysis Instead of thoea methods such st stipple cell, urlnsry porphyrin, delts-aalnolevullnlc sold, etc., nov used by the Europeans. The essential difference between thee* tvo measure* 1* that the quantitative blood lead analysis allows co* to predict, long In advance of eny adverse effect, whether or not absorption Is taking pises. Tha European method* are meaaures of the effect of lead on the hiaan body, and do not give poaltlv* results until absorption has ^taken place. In other words, our American method* operate on a quality control lee* AS+++4 ft Lmsd ug.>*y I r. ` N 414.01 'iiiijiwratifflipi \wnmviw LIA11597 i -a- philosophy of ncasurlng, la a very sensitive Banner, vhat la happening to the can having a potential lead expoeurei and ve are able to tale action to prevent that exposure free bcccnlng exceaalve, long before the European oethod* vould have alerted the physician. The large nu=hr of Bed leal peraconel ecplcyed In plant* such aa flat, Renault, end several of the others I saw, are an additional Indication cf the European stress oo dtegsos 1a and treatment for poisonings. Another Indication of this fact la the rather sloppy engineering of control erasures that I saw to the several Erltlah automobile plant*. There le a paradox here In that the loppy engineering tends to become excessively fancy and expeoalve In the deelgn of solder grinding booths, especially vhere difficulty In lead control Is being experienced. Pressed Steel at Oxford, and ford at Dagenham are Instance* of this. Expensive down-draft systecs, plus expensive and unnecessary air filter systems arc Installed, or are being Installed at these plant*. Both of these refinements are unnecessary, and result In an overly coatly Installation. This of course reacts In a Banner definitely unfavorable to lead by giving management the Idea thet a good control program la expensive. These tvo situations, namely, over* elaborate eedlcal progress for diagnosis and treatment, aryl over-engineering of sooe of the controls for lead hsxards, tend to prejudice management against the use of lead, and result in a definite nevement towards designing lead out of the canufacturlng process. I believe this Is the Boat Important point to be covered In our conversa tions vlth our friends In Europe. Certainly these managements with when I dis 0 cussed the control approach that we have developed In America were soft Interested, and requested from me complete details oo our methods of operation. Snog and Air Pollution A quick and general Impress Ion of the prevalence of smog and air pollution In those section* of Europe I happened to vlelt was that their probleas are In general greater than ours. Since European Industrial areas and city areas are nor* physically congested than ours, it Is logical that ssog and pollution vould tend to be vorse than that we experience. The Puhr Valley Is a good exasgila of Industrial air pollution that Is excessive by any standard and that looks to be quite uncontrolled. There le also a considerable awareness of this fact, a* examples of articles in the press Indicate. The ITUMOUCER AUGEXETKE ZEmSO, a bltfily respected German paper, carried a veil-written article on aoog fron autoooblles. Including a su-nnry of the latest California development*. Another article on aoog fresa a dally paper In Milan, CORK I EKE LOMBARDO, was a little bit nore sensational In It* trestaent of ssog and the autcsaoblle and called for action now. These are but two examples that Z happened on, and are by d o means Isolated case*. OMART 1. A general expression of Interest la receiving the material from our Lead Information Program vae expressed by all four of the trade association office* visited. This material will be made available aa It 1* developed here. Details Involving distribution, number of copies and coat# will be worked out aa we go along. S, Wfmm jw* aw.** LIA11598 **S -3- 2. Tbs Increased Interest found In our health and safety activities by our European counterpart* haa been engendered by an Increasing activity on the part of the general public, the preta, the government end lctereatcd medical people In Investigating potential adverse affect* of lead. Therefore, It vould sera to be In our c canon Inhere at to work along these line* vlth our friend* everyone re. 3. Special emphasis should be placed In these actlvltle* on the safe use of lead In Industry, In order to help *tea the potential decline In lead t usage, and to provide a positive attitude on the part of Industry tea'srd nev and Increased ua of lead. Tor Instance, In the automobile Industry, we propose to work through Interested trade associations, and disseminate pertinent engineering and medical Information on the coctroi of potential lead hazard*. A tart ha* been made, and such Information la being sent to the 1XA In London. k. Smog control *nd other actlvltle* relating to air pollution la Europe should be followed, and concerted action should be taken where necessary to cant*t allegation* of lead's contribution to air pollution, and to provide such Information to trade association* and other* as sees* necessary. ITALY Istltuto Itallano del Ploebo * dello Zlaco br. tleaer Vsrady Lead usage In autcecfclle production here 1* at a minlmta *x>4 appears to be diminishing every year. For Instance, only Haseratl and Ferrari use tern# plate for gasoline tanks; all others are using galvanized steel. Auto body solder usage is also diminishing, and wherever possible stamping* are being designed so that solder Is not needed. TEL usage and production are Increasing, although problems are being reported end experienced from poisoning* In cxvnufacturlmg plants. This Is apparently due to inexperience on the part of manufacturers. Several report# have appeared In the press of poisoclng* among the general population living adjacent to TEL manufacturing facilities. Ky schedule did not permit visit* to sny of these facilities. An Instance of the concern felt here about lead la gasoline 1* the fset thst warning signs are not posted co gasoline pnsps as they are In America and moat other placet. Dr. Vsrady said that manufacturer* la Italy feel there Is nothing to be gained by pointing out to the public, through sign* 00 every pump, that gasoline contains lead. The use of lead stabilizers In plastics la litcreaslng and Dr. Yarady reported that one company alone Is producing >00 ton* per year, for which the min market 1* plastic cable sheathing. There appear to be no restrictions on the us* of lead stabilizers for potable vater piping, but this 1* academic sine* there Is little or no market her* at the present time. Among other lead stabiliser usage of note 1* In the plastic housing* for out-board motor*. The first subway In Milan will start operating on November 1 but will us* rubber-tired cars, and Dr. Vsrady anticipates no demand for lead asbestos antl-vlbrattoo pad* due to It* operation. i , '* i ' LI A1 1599 V ' ..... Io I asked Dr. Varady If he had received any concent* about the recent Italian report of anlcal teete linking lung c sneer vith the uee of galvanlted water plpee. Tbl# report has been given vide publicity throughout the vorld. Dr. Va.ro iy Is of the opinion that no action should be taken at this time by the Industry to ccxstat this publicity. Dr. Varady Is Interested In receiving froo us material developed under cur Lead Inforaatloo Prograa and vlshes to participate In Its distribution la Italy, although he feels that Italy Is not ready as yet for a vldespread diotealnatioo. flat, Hlraflcrl Plant, Turin leroots contacted; Hr. Stratieri, Expert Department, who acted as translator Kr. Chelxa, Plant Engineering Departaent Professor Erlggatl, Chief Medical Officer This is a large, very veil organised and operated autaoehlle manufacturing plant that has been her* for 6$ years, and which has a current production capacity of 3POO cars per day. Auto body solder Is sparingly used at four placet on larger bodies only. Sixty percent of their production usss no body solder. The solder used la a 60/tO Fb-So and vt.cn I asked vfcy such an expensive alloy Is used they explained to ns that Professor Brlggatl had conducted a feeding experiment on dc^s and had proved that less poisoning occurred In the degs vhen the low lead solder waa used. I realized It would be fruitless to point cut the fact that cca who use these solders do not eat thea, and that our American experience with solder* containing percent lead has been quite satisfactory In every respect. Par solder Is used for filling and repairing In body production, finishlng of such areus Is by hand filing only. There la obviously no hazard hers to the workers and d o engineering control measures are needed. Bo solder Is used In the electrical wiring system; mechanical clips and posts serve. There Is coe other production lead application and that is the dipping of the full-flew oil filter element In solder before It Is asseahled. In a discussion with their engineer about body production I learned that they use a method whereby long eeons, which are ccnsotvly filled with solder Is Aserlcan auto production, are Instead tuzned out, the edges crlcped, spot welded and then covered vlth decorative trim aa part of the de#lgn. This Is a neat way for getting around the use of lead, but In the opinion of American engineers It la a eore expensive method, and has the added disadvantage that It restricts the body designer too such. H*dlcal -- is spite of the fact that there la no real lead hazard is this plant, I'rofessor Brlggatl'a department conduct# a full and continuous (Surveillance of the men by teetlng each worker every three soothe with a urinary porphyrin examination. On occasion their laboratory also sake* quantitative test# for lead In blood and urine, but Profess or Brlggatl dcee not regard the blood teat ae a satisfactory Indicator. Be feel# porphyrins are a store sensitive measure Of the lead hatard. All lead workers are gives vltanln-fortlfled silk at nine o'clock In the morning dally, formerly all were gives T2Jtk tablets, but this has recently bees stopped. The mtdlcal program here 1* much like that td.tch we found Is Other European Industry, that it, placing undue stress on diagnosis and treatment of disease, rather than e^ftaatttng prevention. \ t \I $ \ <WWPgjg*^7W)Wp!i LIA11600 1 1 ! * -5- ltth fialooe Xr,tfraatlccale dell Teenies, Turin o I visited this trade expc* 111 oo for the octal and relate! Industrie* sod vss greatly impressed at lta all*, arraattarnt and general aesthetic appeal. The Exposition*, their exhibit hall, la at least aa large aa Ccbo Hall In Detroit, la very modem and such tore tastefully arranged for both exhibitors and those In attendance. For instance, there is a moving sldevalk cf at least a <juartr Of die In length to spare excessive valklng. Kany American manufacturer* Including US/, DuPont, Minneapolis Hooeyvsll, exhibit here along with European fires such as Pirelli and CEAI. ogwmr Plelbcreturn E.V., Dusaeldorf tilpl.-Ing. lieuser Rerr Eeuser Is veil Informed about health hazards and public health allegations la Germany. He mlctalns contact vdth Professor Kaursan at the University of Eerlln, vho la aa expert In the field and has helped hla la ths past. There are no restrlctlocs In Geresmy on the use of lead stabilizers la 1 plastic piping, although the market la not a very large one at the present time. Lead pigment* are not permitted In palate used oo the Interior of houses and apartments. Harz, a tovn here, has passed an ordinance prohibiting lead In vater pipes, but others have Dot yet followed vlth similar restrictions. There Is d o ttrrs plate cade In Genaioy. Ths first TEL plant la under construction and should be In production In about a year or so. Herr Eeuser feels thst our Lead Infcreation Program vlll be of value to him and be plana to distribute such material rather vldely. for Instance, be vlll consider scolirg copies of the Lettering Abstract* to soae sixty or seventy health department* in cities and the federal government. Such distribution vlll depend on the Initial reaction that is made to the asaterlal when It arrives. All Gertsen automobile production facilities us# body solder, vlth the i exception of VolXsvagen; and I understand that ths Opel and Ford plants us* the solder In such the same vay a* ve do In America. Volbtvy.ea V<rV. Volfsburg tvrson* contacted) Pull Hslett, Public Relation* Kr. Moenck, Technical Translator This plant la the largeet tingle autoeoblle manufacturing facility in ths vorld tod" having JO,000 employees, and a plant that la coe-mll* long under oo* t roof. It has a capacity of oe>a and a half alllloo car# per year. It 1* the Most highly autcz*t#d automobile plant I have ever seen, vlth practically all material handling by conveyor systems, using autexsated and controlled transfer points throughout. Very frv ln-plant trucks are used and rone outalds ths plant. All rav material la brought Into ths plant by rail or barge, and 90 percent of the it finished products are shipped out of here by rail. A supply of rav aaterlal* sufficient for three accths' production Is kept here at all tine*. There 1* no lead used la production of these cars In soy vay. They are using a vter*di*pers*d paint for the body prise cost and ths body is dipped completely. This vould be a good place for our wv lead pigments, but they aesured d * there vat no lead In this paint. Even so all vorksrs In this : y. !* r W*P|Bgj!y^WHBM( <'AW LI A 11601 ltWta*ep.JS'UI> r $ \ 1 3 -*- depert*erjt are given a dally quart of Bilk. In the finish Coat departoent they proudly stowed ta the first successful application lo the eutonobll* Industry of sutoeatlc electrostatic paint spray for the cccplet* tody. Thla plant 1* a wonder ofthe Industrial world and 1* undoubtedly the Boat Bodern end cost efficient production facility of It* kind now In exlateoct. msat Centre D* Ir.forentloo du Plcttb, 10 Piece Venice*, Perl* l*r X. J.P. Chauvln X. Chauvln hae been aade forcibly aware thle paet year of lead poisoning allegation* by a recent gcverraent action ordering a ban on the uae cf lead In veter plpee. Ee haa an aaeoclate who la working full-tine on thle problea and fee la that they will eventually be eucceeeful In lifting thle baa. Be ha* an Interest In our Lead Infonset Ion Prograa although he feele at thle tine It would not be vlee to sake a vide dletrlbutlon of the Kettering Abstracts co lead toxicology. He would prefer to aake a Mall Initial trial of the katerlal and gauge rrench reaction to It. Ve held e conference with two rrench phyelclane--Doeteur He laInger, who le oedlcal consultant to Penarrcya, and Prcfeeeeur Bcwdene, of the University of Parle. Theee Ben are well Informed and are conversant with our Aaerlcan oedlcal procedures for lead hatard control, although both of the* disagree fundaoectally with Dr. Kehoc's approach to the use of blood lead dele micat lone, and feel that any caeea cf poisonings would be Biased by the use of the Krhoe criteria. Specifically they clain to have teen several cases of poisoning where blood veluet were In the order of 60 nlcrogreme/lCCg; Keboe etatee that no poisonings occur under 60 Blc regress/lOOg. Vhlte lead carbonate la not allowed In paint by lav In Prance altbou^j considerable aacunte are still used for other purpceee. Plastic pipe* #tab 111ted with lead are used although there are govertseect regulation* covering thle use which have not been tyiallfled sufficiently. vn with the ban on lead In water pipes previously aentloned, a considerable Increase In lead tonnage for piping occurred last year. Octal, 8 Rue Bellini, Parle 36 (TEL producer) RTxichel Redds X. Hedde le well lnforaed regarding air pollution la Pari* and tb* rest of Prance, and feel* that In general there le not an acute problea at the present tine. The govemcental unite having Jurisdiction are active and appear to be well lnforaed i they have cade no special studies of lead In the atecs phere, and have nooe planned. There le a government air pollution cosaalttee and a Sub-eosnitte* c the Autcxsoblle, which la called UTAC, under the direction of X. Chapou*, 19 Rue Xarcel Bonnet, Cshon-Selne, Parte. There le alao a well-inforaed toxicologist, Profeseeur Henri Hourvu, vho It 41 recteur de Laboratolre Municipal 111* de Parle, 3V tie rue de Dantslg, rarlt 1>*. I did cot Beet either of these gentleBen, but X. Redds offered to arrange a conference with the* at ton* future date. These laboratories conduct continuous Surveillance of the sir In large cities vlth a special attention being paid to Parla, which contains PO percant of Prance** people and ear*. Co far they find csrtxn Borosld* to be of the utmost Importance end the concentration of CO l* Increasing regularly. In *# district* their test* show CO values of 60 part* per Billion and hl>*r. r- f VI'.'J 'fWJWU , I, pyvu ,iiyu ijy-pwiu; \ SR1fwi.wgroaniji1 *-wjk 4i ^ '/ LIA11602 WfiWJW (t'fl `i%s& / gjj& -7- CoplB of our BRI report on 1**4 In th* atBO*pfcere were sect to X. Eedd* *t bis request. Renault, Inc., Blllaocourt, Seine 1*reoca coutactedj Docteur Kegrl, responsible for hygiene Industrie!!* Hcr.sleur Cuyot Jeaurjnln, Toxicologist I u accompanied oo this vie It by Mots leur Chauvln who parfaraed * very necessary translating aervlc*. This plant 1 on* of th* largest autcacbll* c&rrjfacturlng plants In franc* nod 1* wholly government owned and operated. It h*s plant population of 35,000 employee* (Including oo* American, *n Apacb* Indian naaed Kennedy). lher* 1 very little auto-body older u**d In product loo her*, cost Of It b*lng used for repair oo the production line. When thle occur* th exce* *older 1* filed off by tend, thu* creating no le*d hazard. Xo *peci*l control oeosure* are u*ed or needed. Hevere r, I vne *bl to *ee noet of tb* Other production u*e* of le*d In thl* plant; and theee oocur *t radiator soldering, electrical connection soldering, by me-an* of dipping the vlre* In lead bath at 350%, which 1* similar to such of our American practice, gas tent naaufactur* lng fren terne, and ooe or tvo snail miscellaneous Jobs, such aa dipping th end of the battery cabl* In a lead hath. All of these operation* ver* conducted With good engineering control*, and usually with excellent local exhauat ventilation, one of which la aora sophisticated and of greater complexity than that used la Anerlcan plant*. for lnetance, I saw a very stall exhaust ventilation unit piped to a apot wider which mi tachlng support bracket* on to th* gM tank. This 1* a reflnenent that w would not consider necessary. They use no lead In their paint*. They nak* their oxi priaer which 1* s black enamel type Into which the whole body la Sipped. This create* quit* a Mr* batard, and I asked the* if they would be interested In a water-dispersed, leadc or. tain leg paint for this Job, but they explained to ne that this would be iepoaslbl* due to th* fact that they dry sand this priaer before th* final top coat* are placed on th* body. I aav this Job and ogre*. In smeary, th* plant spjsars to b very wU operated and th*lr potential lead hazard* ara under excellent engineering control. Hrdlcal -- Their nedical department ha* twnty-flv* full -1 l*e physician* plus a full*tie* toxicologist, and a laboratory. There are 1J0 employees who hav* aoea sort of lead expoe-ir* and who are monitored and tested with an *xc***lv* thorough* Dess. Lead-exposed eeployees are given blood stlppl*-cll test*, q-ewotllatlra lead In urine and blood, red cell counts, test* of delta-selnolrvullnlc acid la urin* end urinary coproporpbyrlna. All of th# abort tests are given to aach employe* as part of bit pire-ecploynent examination and frea then ext at two-siocth Interval*, until fix Booths hava elapsed, and than every * lx Booth* thereafter. Hot all of th* t*ta ar* given on a rout In* basis but they feel that the delta* aminolevulinic acid In urln* 1* th* best test. Incidentally, for th*lr lead la blood evaluation they us* bO aitcrograa* percent a* a Judgnent criterion. Just a* w* do. In addition they hav* a teat of the lr own devising, and of which they ara vary proud. This consist* of seeking an employ**'* hands at th* and of th* shift In a weak solution of acatlc acid, and then analysing th* solution for It* lead content. These results ara carefully tabulated, record* ara kept of then, and Z was assured that they ara vary useful. They also perform lead in air evaluatlcm* but not oo a routln* basis. wsHWgMi* agiE g j|i,i iigi 1 U^l!)!|!|i|l Wlc'lp" JIR Mil.. mNH^ui Jil.VS9igSBl!liSP LI A11603 8- - There has not been a cu< of lead poisoning sines 15-52 la this plant, and I aa certain that It Is becsuee there is d o real exposure to lead here. I was told by Dr. Heart that acet of their lead expoeure ccsocs frees eating and a&chlrvg and net fren the stneephere. However, lead la not of great concern to them. They are nrjch core concerned about the solvent hatarda In their plant. After teeing the extensive body prlaer dtp tank* I aa rather Inclined to agree. EC LAID Lead Developesent Association, Loodon Person* contactedt Messrs. Morgan Davita Barry Veetco Pobert Snlth Roe a QtObbs The IXA la quite lntereatel In caking use of the oaterlal that we ara producing under our lead Infornatico Program. We plan to atart distribution of the Kettering Abstracts on Lead Toxicology here at the aene time aa our American dlatrlbutlon li initiated. There are recent and continuing allegations cade In the press about lead poisonings in Industry and elsewhere. for Instance, s recent sedlcal Journal has published an article about childhood poisonings, the nature of sdslch Is similar to those which ve experience In our country. There appears to be a great use for poeltlve oaterlal on lead toxicology In this country. During y visit In England I was given Invaluable assistance by Kc. Morgan Davlee and the other asentloned oeebers of his Staff. Vauxhall Motors Ltd., (General Motors) Luton Persons coctectedi" Dr. Thenpeon, Chief Medical Officer Dr. de Kretser, Assistant Medical Officer Kr. Waldron, laboratory Technician This Is s good-sited automobile plant employing 22,000 people and tdileh In nost respects I found familiar, since It Is operated In xatch the aaae Banner as an American plant, and looha very ssuch like an American plant. The big difference la the slow pace at which they operate here, production being about half the rate of our plants. Body solder Is used In about the seas extent as we use It, althcui X think they get by with a little Mt less per car, mainly because they seen to be nore cartful In their manufacturing processes, and therefore do not need to fill up ae aany holes and cracks. Bolder grinding booths are used, and thess are based partly on Aaerlcan design, although they are auch saaller than we find necessary, being not over four body lengths In site, and being operated with four to six aen In s booth. Each booth VU ventilated by utie of s down-draft ventilation system trfslch works out to bs quite costly. X am obtaining, for theea people and other* who are Interested, representative print* of the latest Aaerlcan designs for such facilities. Our deaths represent a coat of not mort than 15 or 20 percent of theirs. is;.`3'gtS<*WMS^i*-ar,`i;-r *I5>, LIAl1604 m^jssww j t j j | 1 0 9- The lead cpcretloo he re la il-itlr^lhi by the lack of a reasonable and enforceable control program. TheLr treat conero with medical diagnosis and treatraent procedures secs* to ultimate against better engineering control. Til* 1 reflected lo the laxity with which all employees regard safety precautions, for Instance, here, as elsc-g'.ere la England, I observed the foreman, other employees, and even the doctor walk Into the solder grinding booth without wearing a respirator, or vlthout being the least bit concerned. Medical -- Thera are 600 nea exposed to lead, and all are routinely chocked for braogiobin count, stlpple-cell count, qualitative urinary coproporphyria*. their laboratory la not equipped to do routine lead In blood or urine, hut they hare perfomed these analyses oo occasion. Hcneere r, they do not feel these tests are needed. Each nan la given one quart of silk a day, even though Dr. Tbocpecc doee not feel It Is necessary. Every can is checked by the laboratory at least every three months, end Dr. Thccpooo says he hat not seen a cate of lead polecolng la eight or nine years. Pressed Steel, Oxford, Ccvley Persons contacted; Kr. X. S. Boggoo, Research Engineering Dr. V. Reynard, Chief Medical Officer This Is s very large plant devoted wholly to the manufacture of autcooblle bodlee for a cumber of auto cabers including Jaguar, Rolls-Royce, and British Motors Corporation. There are 11,000 employee* at this plant, and total etployraent la 6,000 la three plant#. There are bOO employees la this plant exposed to lead. I vas told that lead control has teen greatly improved over the past tea years by the Installation of solder grinding booths patterned after American design. However, control of the lead haxard oo the whole le very poor, due lr.rt'.'ly to the lack of control cf their employees vfco disregard safety precautions anywhere, and oo all possible occasions. The solder grinding booths are fairly well designed, but lack the Important refinements that we have found to be necessary. Tor exasple, we believe la exhausting acre air per booth. X will sake available up-to-date prints and specifications for solder grinding booths. The amount of lead used oo some of the car bodlee Is very high, ranging fren shout 9^-100 pounds per body for the Rolls-Royce, to 30*35 pexunds per body for the Jaguar, and tero for a new model being soda for British Motors Corporation. Aaong the points discussed with their eaaagement (Mr. JVcggcn has been assigned the lob of providing engineering control measures for the lead operation) Is the fact that employees Ignore the use of respirators; solder grinding takes place outside of the booth ares, exposing everyone In the plant to lead dust; any employee can and does walk Into the solder grinding booth without respiratory protection; and In general a total lack of control of employees by management. When this Inst ltea vas discussed with managecent they enlarged on the difficulty of working with union aen. Before the eerlous lead hsrard bre can be controlled, appropriate engineer* leg of the operations will have to be made and Installed, ssuxageaent must explain to employees the reasons for the engineering control measures and enlist the lr cooferatlcn, and a sound medical program vlll have to be provided. Hdlral -- The lead-expoeed employees are given etlpple-cell counts, urinary coproporphyrln tests, hemoglobin counts and blood pressure measurements. Dr. Reynard sees thirty men per day and thus keeps up a continuous surveillance. With these , .l n rig n LIAH605 KfVs- **v.: 10- isethods of surveillance I would expect It to be Impossible to operate a lead control program, ana such ia admitted to be the case by Dr. Reynard aod hi# uiger,t. It 1 obvious that the trsployee* also ar* avare cf this situation. Bo far thla year tvo adder grinding booth employee* hare died--one froa hypertension and one frcn peritonitis following constlpeticn and perforation of the bcucl. the estplcyeea evidently believe theee wre lead poisoning caaea even though the ccerper.catloa courts' rulings vers Indeterminate. A great deal of publicity In the local preae vaa given to these tvo caaea. Ve learned free other autcncfclle plant medical officer* that Dr. Reynard had bee.2* *o upeet about the tvo deaths In his plant that he had called a sveetlng of automobile plant physician* and seriously proposed that each of thea agree to ban all use of lead In automobile body esanufacturlng In England. Beedie a to say, bis proposal vaa not seconded by any of tbs others. Ford Kotor Corrpany, Dngeahsa Arsons contacted: Dr. Creseal, Kedleal Officer D. K. Hlcklsh, Industrial Hygienist K. S. etagg. Plant engineering Kr. Dattlaoo, Plant khnagtr This plant again strocgly remind* ooe of an American automobile manufactur ing facility, but la operated at about half the production rate caexsoc to our plants. This Is probably ut,t keeps then froa having more trouble vlth lead. They use body solder In about the sane amounts and In the earns way that Q ve do In cur plants, although they express a strong desire to design the need for lead out of their canufacturing process. the design of their solder grinding booths la a poor lnltatlcc of our American booths and 1* quite inadequate. This inadequacy apparently 1* hncvn to their engineering staff for Hr. Gtagg discussed vlth us his plans for a oev grinding booth of excessively sophisticated design which would be very coetly. I pointed out to bin our reasons for simplifying the design, quoted him s o d * cceqxjratlve cost figures, and be seemed to be very much Interested in having the benefit of Our recent engineering developments. X plan to aend hla a set of American print* for these facilities. Here also safety precautions ar* Ignored universally; solder grinding takes plac* anywhere the employee vlshe* to perform the operation, aad anyone cay enter or leave the solder grinding booth at vl 11, After our plant tour and visit Kr. Dattlsoo requested a conference vlth us; and ve outlined for his briefly our thoughts In tfc# natter of lead control. Be vas most interested when ve pointed out the fact that a good control prograa is an efficient control prograa, reduces cost* and will take avay frcn the essployee bis chance of being exposed to excessive amount* of lead. Medical -- Here again ve find the European approach to lead cootrol--pl*c ing excessive eephasls on diagnosis and treatment rather than prevention. Dtlpplece 11 counts and urinary coproporphyria* are ths sol# scans used for gauging lead absorption hare. Dr. Cresssl vas aoet lr.trstad la bearing about cur method# which Involve a single determination of lead lr, the blood. This laboratory it one of the largest of it* kind la Europe and Is engaged la toxicology and pharmacology research. Dr. Vordea is interested la expanding Into s -gwgj .lug,..uyr!-w.awiwia'ugwii1'1 , W tUWinsm "".tlM Wllgl `"r -'-Wr- Ty<^,irt?wgn.,4l,,|, --LM.3e UUMLWW^.,1^ LIA11606 -n- sorvlce to lniuntry vith a program for blood lead analysis. Since there Is no laboratory In England at the prscect tine equipped for this analysis ve felt It advisable to tali to then and give then whatever assistance ve can. Dr. Worden 1* concerned about whether or not there would fc* a desand for the fcl<x>d lead service If he should sane the necessary Investment and obtain tha equipment needed. It la our cplnlcn, and that of the IXA, that thle would be an excellent way In which to provide thl* eervice for England and possibly tha Continent. Dr. Worden understands our view that European eethod* for Beajurlng lead absorption are 20-50 year* behind tha tlaes, and that until blood lead analyse a are Dade available to Industry there la a strong possibility that Industrial load hatarda will recaln prevalent and out of coctroi. Warren Spring laboratory. Gunnels Wood Road, SteverAge, Persona contacted! Dr. C. C. Ball, Director Dr. Rotlnaon, Assistant Director Dr. Peed, Air Pollution Hr. Sharpe, Air Pollution Berta Thli le a large gova recent laboratory presently engaged la research in a nuaber of area* of science. Oor lntereet vaa In tha air pollution evaluation program which the laboratory la at present carrying cn officially for the Brltlah government. Thl* evaluation la la aany reepecta elcllar to that which our U. 8. Public Health Service cooduct* In America at the present time. Air samples are taVeo dally at 1100 separate sonltcrlng *tat Iocs In selected areas throughout the Prltlnh Isle*. Routine aeaauretaents of total particulate* plus DOj are made. Aa night be expected seme of their particulate oeasures ara very high,' in the range of 200 to *>00 nlcrograaa per cubic eater* of air. I waa Impressed with their competence and energy and the extensive program which they are operating. For Instance, they are sampling free a greater n'-esber of station* in their snail country than we are la our large country, and the result* are ecctlnucualy progressed Into a computer for quich' read out and presentation. At the present tine they are convinced that lead In the air 1* not a public health probles and they are not ceasurlng It. W* saw no laad data although Hr. Davies is attesptlng to obtain copies of whatever data they have on lead. Hr, Elliot ffillpp. 9** Harley Street, London Hr. Phillpp 1* a local Obstetrician who had requested fund* for a laad study fre* the IDA. Kr. Davies and I stet with bin to dlacuas his proposal. Sines Kr. Hi 111pp Is a respected Deater of hi* profession and s*d* an earnest approach to u* we felt it would be well to have this conference with bla. Aa a result of bis Obssrvatlcn* during bl* practice at the Oldchurch Hospital located In a low socio-economic area near lnduatrlal district#, he gained the Impression that lead wortera and thslr children suffered a greater number of abortions, stillbirth# and physical snceaallet. W# learned that Mr. Ihlllpp ha# no data to support hit conclusion and we vero able to point cut to hi* that even If a study of these birth deferts were desirable, the difficulty in setting up s scientific evsluatlon would be Insuperable. Kr. Ihlllpp finally mwmyj. yyiijuiu. --iiiii n r I 'MWMjTOP Iff *gfJ!" \ , jif yfi--jpy njMUm w*mI'jnyjiMwfiwys^girwr *!wr.av*T-j p '-'-'.ti--,a;"^ay* .... .. WMMi;!g^^yggPt ?w1> *??r,i*| L 11607 " i ''*&& ? -12- i i agreed vlth ua that valid reeulta vould be aloet lspoeelble to obtain In any practical elte grc^jp of ora and voeco, and that it vculd ba advisable to poatpooe \ consideration of any project until practical wane of arriving at antvtri can be found. DOfind > Don 0. fender