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.

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    COMMANDER E. E. WILSON Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Department Mr. Chairman, I regret that I have not been here all day, anid I may discuss something that has already been discussed by the conference. The question of tetraethyl lead and the use of ethyl gas as fuel for the engine in aeronautics is one that is very important, and one that_ will be increasingly important as the quality of motor gasoline falls off. | In the aircraft engine, of course, the question of power is every- thing, and the question of fuel economy 1s everything, because the weight per horsepower of the engine and the weight of the fuel re- quired for a given range is reflected back in the weight of the structure. | During the last two years we have been very much interested in the development of fuels for high power. We have tested “doped” fuels and have been at work in the development of special fuels of high nonknock value. : Among these special fuels we have tried two which were manu- factured from crude oil by special processes differing from that of straight gasoline. These have been used in the service, and the re- action of the personnel to these fuels was very unfavorable. The odor was very bad. The toxic qualities were supposed to be very bad, and the net result was that we had to withdraw those fuels from the service. | On the other hand, we have used large quantities of tetraethyl lead with complete success, and so far we have had no reports of any difhi- culties. Last year we ran some 10 endurance flights during which we used 750 gallons of ethyl gasoline per flight. This was “doped” by the men themselves. The gasoline was doped to three or four times the normal strength for commercial gasoline. There were no reports of any difficulties at all on that, although the men knew that a certain amount of danger was to be encountered. Two weeks ago I made a 10-hour nonstop flight, in which we used tetraethy] lead in aviation gasoline, and during the 10-hour flight we were leaning over the fuselage with the exhaust gases coming over our faces. We felt no bad effects. After that flight I was physically examined very carefully, and the medical report was that the doctor hoped that I was not as unin- teresting in every way as I was pathologically. This particular nonknock fuel, aviation gasoline with tetraethyl lead, is the only satisfactory fuel that we have at the present time.