> Curtis Burisch <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> ...But tonight I was reading a very
> interesting article on the
> use of lead additives to petrol in the USA, and I
> thought there were some
> very interesting parallels with the whole DDT issue.
> Damn interesting site, too, with great articles.
>
> http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=932
Even worse than the tobacco industry, no?
"...Following the death of one worker and irreversible
derangement among others at an Ethyl factory in
October 1924, the chief chemist there told reporters,
"These men probably went insane because they worked
too hard." Within days, four additional workers from
the plant died, and thirty-six others were crippled
with incurable neurological damage. The plant, it
seemed, had employed many hard workers...
"...As demand for Ethyl additive increased across the
country, the US Surgeon General launched a series of
public inquiries regarding the health risks of leaded
fuel. In response, Ethyl voluntarily withdrew its
product from the market for the duration of the
investigations. The details of over a dozen
Ethyl-related deaths and hundreds of manufacturing
injuries were revealed, but per usual these events
were blamed on worker's carelessness and horseplay...
"...Upon learning that automotive fuel was the source
of the contamination, Dr. Patterson began to publish
materials discussing the toxic metal's ubiquity and
its probable ill effects. In order to demonstrate the
increase of lead in the environment, Patterson
proposed taking core samples from pack ice in
Greenland, and testing the lead content of each layer–
a novel concept which had not been previously
attempted. The experiment worked, and the results
showed that airborne lead had been negligible before
1923, and that it had climbed precipitously ever
since. In 1965, when the tests were conducted, lead
levels were roughly 1,000 times higher than they had
been in the pre-Ethyl era. He also compared modern
bone samples to that of older human remains, and found
that modern humans' lead levels were hundreds of times
higher...
"...The Ethyl corporation allegedly offered him
lucrative employment in exchange for more favorable
research results, but Dr. Patterson declined. For a
time thereafter, Patterson found himself ostracized
from government and corporate sponsored research
projects, including the a National Research Council
panel on atmospheric lead contamination. The Ethyl
corporation had powerful friends, including a Supreme
Court justice, members of the US Public Health
Service, and the mighty American Petroleum
Institute...
Hmm, no parallels to global warming and certain
researchers either... The possible link between crime
and lead levels is intriguing; articles on lead's
harmful effects particularly WRT children have been
posted previously, so I won't add any.
<O quit cheering!>
Debbi
TEL *And* CFCs -- Quite The Resume Maru!
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