Proceedings of a conference to determine whether or not there is a public health question in the manufacture, distribution, or use of tetraethyl lead gasoline / Prepared by direction of the surgeon general.

  • United States. Public Health Service.
Date:
1925
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Proceedings of a conference to determine whether or not there is a public health question in the manufacture, distribution, or use of tetraethyl lead gasoline / Prepared by direction of the surgeon general. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    tion of ethyl fluid through the medium of the small ethylizer, which did away with these 17,000 small. ethylizers. From that time on until May 1 of this year, there have been in operation about 3,500 installations selling ethyl gasoline throughout, approximately 27 States, embodying the territories of the oh iii which I have mentioned. The cut down from V7; 000 small ids to 3 500 service stations was due to the fact that the material was in in bulk through a bulk mixing device, the ethyl fluid being shipped in steel drums to the bulk stations and to the refiners; the gasoline being. then treated by these bulk pumps and hauled by tank wagons to the service sta- tions for commercial consumption. » About 300,000,000 gallons of ethyl gasoline have been sold from February 1,.1923, to date of suspension, May 5, 1925. The. Cuairman. If there‘is not anything further along this lne, Twill ask Dr. Gilman Thompson to give us a bird’s-eye view of the conditions under which the experiments are carried on. DR. GILMAN THOMPSON Gee of Medical Investigation Committee representing the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, the General Motors Co., and a HB. I du Pont de Ne- “mours Co. “It will be of interest to state briefly the results of the experl- ments. It was suggested on July 27, 1924, by the president of tne General Motors Co., that it ‘w ohie be well to have a medical committee appointed ee of representatives from the three companies interested in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of tetraethyl lead and ethyl gasoline. This committee was constituted with a membership of three, Dr,.A.. K, Smith, representing the E. I. du Pont de Nemours Co., of Wilmington, Del.; Robert A. Kehoe, representing the General Motors Co.; and myself representing the - medical department of the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey. The committee was given carte blanche to ascertain all facts obtainable — at that time in regard to tetraethyl lead and ethyl gasoline. The first thing that the committee did was to visit the several plants that are interested in the manufacture and distribution and find out what already had ocurred in the way of fatalities and sickness among the employees at the plants, look over the general method of production of the material, and then after visiting those several plants the com- mittee determined on a line of experimentation. _It occurred to the committee at once that the best thing to do to get the facts in the matter from the experimental side was to appoint two impartial bodies that could conduct the experimentation, and this committee could keep in touch with the work and coordinate it. It seemed desirable to the committee to have one department of