From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Reprint from The Lancet titled 'The Acquittal of Ethyl Petrol' alongside a foreword to a Q&A booklet on motor fuel.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 150\1\ scan0300 | |
| Date | 12th April 1930 | |
| Reprinted from The LANCET, April 12th, 1930. THE ACQUITTAL OF ETHYL PETROL. WHEN an enterprising firm put on the market of this country a motor spirit containing a small quantity of tetra-ethyl lead, they encountered a considerable body of opposition. Alarm was expressed freely in the press and in Parliament lest the new fuel should liberate, if its use became general, a sufficient quantity of lead to endanger the health of the public, and the popular suspicion thus fostered had the unfortunate result of compelling the manufacturers to cease distribution before the question could be determined scientifically. The Minister of Health set up in April, 1928, a Departmental Committee which published an interim report in July of that year¹, but their provisional findings, though favourable were not sufficiently positive and did not attract wide enough publicity to counteract the popular prejudice against ethyl petrol. The final report of the Committee² states in the most conclusive terms that the general use of ethyl petrol—we are not concerned in this country with the manufacturing hazard—would involve no danger to public health whatever. Their experiments have proved that the quantities of particular lead in the atmosphere would not be great enough to endanger the health even of drivers and policemen on point duty. The ordinary London dweller inhales about one-tenth of a milligramme of lead in a day; the lead inhaled even by those most exposed would not exceed twice that quantity and would still be negligible as a source of danger. Moreover, the hazard from exhaust gases and spillage in a well-ventilated garage is equally minute, and even in badly ventilated garages is not serious; probably nothing like as serious as the risk of poisoning from the carbon monoxide which is common to the combustion products of all fuels. Even those whose skin would be constantly exposed to the liquid would undergo no danger, for it caused no ill-effects whatever even when applied continuously to the shaved skins of rabbits for four months. These results agree with those obtained in America and amount to a discharge of ethyl petrol without a stain on its character, although, to make assurance doubly sure, the Committee recommend that the fuel shall continue to be dyed, and all cans and pumps containing it shall be labelled, and that the amount of lead tetra-ethyl should not exceed 1 part in 1,300 by volume or 650 by weight. It remains to be seen whether, with this evidence at their back, manufacturers will reintroduce ethyl petrol. It undoubtedly has certain advantages and seems to harm engines as little as man, though its outstanding merits are chiefly apparent in engines with a much higher compression ratio than those of the ordinary motor vehicle. These are the points of interest to the motorist, but the report contains a wealth of accurate information (summarised on p. 826) on the apparent universality of lead, when sought by delicate tests, and on the processes of absorption and elimination which will engage the attention of the toxicologist and medicolegal expert. (1) Cmd. 3159. (2) Ministry of Health : Final Report of the Departmental Committee on Ethyl Petrol. H.M. Stationery Office, Adastral House, Kingsway, London, W.C. Pp. 91. 1s. 12 FOREWORD WHEN a new product for general use is placed on the market, numerous questions and doubts arise. The questions and answers in this booklet are framed to anticipate the queries of the Engineer, the Chemist, the car dealer, even the mechanic and the man at the pump, and above all, the actual users of motor fuel. If these questions and answers do not cover the particular point upon which you require information, we shall be very happy to help you in the matter. | ||