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
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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.

    58/128 (page 48)
    DR. ROBERT A. KEHOE College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I have here quite a mass of data which I will not inflict on you at this time. There are a number of items here of experimental work that we have carried out during the course of the past year. The first of these refers to the actual toxicity of tetraethyl lead. Since this is not germane to the sub- ject under discussion, I should like to omit reading it, except to point out one thing. We carried out this study, not only with the tetraethyl lead, but with certain other compounds of lead as well, the chloride and nitrate, and compared their toxicity. It is worth while to say at this time that, considering those manners of ab- sorption which are common to both, the toxicity of tetraethyl lead is of the same order and magnitude as that of ordinary lead com- pounds. The only difference in the toxicity of the two lies in the fact that the one, tetraethyl lead, is capable of being absorbed through the skin. I should lke to bring that out, in order to show that their toxicity is practically identical. The data are presented in this paper covering the actual toxicity of tetraethyl lead with regard to rabbits only. The toxicity of tetraethyl lead for rabbits has been determined for the various methods of administration, and it has been compared with the toxicity of certain inorganic salts of lead. In the case of both tetraethyl lead and the inorganic salts of lead a sufficient num- — ber of animals have been studied to make possible a proper allow- ance for individual variation. If only the lethal amount for a single administration be considered, little individual variation is seen. However, if the toxicity be considered on the basis of numerous repeated administrations, a considerable variation is found. The fatal dosages of tetraethyl lead administered in one dose to rabbits by various means are substantially as follows: Intravenously, 0.014 cubic centimeter per kilo body weight, approximately 0.014 gram lead per kilo; cutaneously, 0.7 cubic centimeter per kilo body weight, or about 0.7 gram lead per kilo; by oral administration, 0.11 cubic centimeter per kilo body weight, or about 0.11 gram lead per kilo; the quantity taken into the body of the animal by inhalation is difficult to calculate for a variety of reasons, but the concentration of tetraethyl lead in terms of lead in the air breathed by the animal which will kill in about three days of six-hour daily exposure is approximately 0.182 milligram per liter of air. In all of these methods death of the animal takes place in from 6 to 72 hours. . , The fatal dosages of salts of lead, such as the chloride and nitrate, are not widely variant from the above figures.