By Brian Arndt, BEng, Shift Operator from early 1965 to late 1975, New Zealand Refining Co, ,
with references added by Elizabeth O’Brien, BSc, The LEAD Group Inc. NB: LID refers to the Library ID number in The LEAD Group’s Library database.
In a phonecall from Brian Arndt to Elizabeth O’Brien on Friday January 7, 2022, Elizabeth made the following contemporaneous notes of what Brian said but was unable to keep pace with noting his conversation so requested that he email the full story:
I’ve had a death threat. My dr told me I’d better pull my head in. My forthcoming review has been postponed – ACC’s lawyer Buddle Findlay was going to attend the court which is unheard of. I’ll send you the email. The email said they [my Buddle Findlay legal team] had not filed further evidence by the original deadline. Now it will be filed in mid-February. A US document noted that NZ had more lead in petrol than most other countries.
Buddle Findlay charge like wounded bulls so I’ll be sunk if I get their costs. I’m living continuously with a standard pain level of 3-4 out of 10 in my stomach from the tri-ethyl lead poisoning which Gil Newburn said 4 mths ago was causing ruptures in my stomach. I get spikes of pain to 6-7. My dr Bruce Pitchford gave me some tablets for the pain but when I showed them to the local pharmacist she said they’re to treat syphilis and would kill me. Octel had a man out to NZ in the 1970s to promote TEL to our government. Innospec got fined $50m in US and 12.5 pounds in UK for bribery and corruption. Octel was banned from manufacturing TEL in the 1970’s. NZ Customs and Oz Customs are based on UK Customs Law and they are supposed to keep records since 1984 but in 2000 NZ Customs were going to trial a 7-yr record keeping trial so all records of TEL imports have been destroyed. NZ soil lead levels are twice Roman soil lead levels and Ananda Hills Laboratory which says that petrol lead was high near her back fence supports that.
John Horrocks’ father [ELO deleted this in the final edit for LANv22n3]
When you walked in the refinery you could smell lead, benzene, toluene etc. I can’t say how many days I did on the white oils or any other area, like marine oils – I did 21 shifts over every 28 days.
The amount of lead in air was 4 times the standard when it was monitored at the Jetty when the leaded petrol was being loaded for shipping around New Zealand (not at the Lead Plant where I mostly worked where 100% TEL or TML was constantly in the air) after I finished working at the Refinery.
I’m very scared of Buddle Findlay. NZ has always had the highest car ownership in the world per head of population.
[Reference: A screening-level risk assessment of petrol exposures in New Zealand – A report to the Institute of Environmental Science and Research, Ltd. By J. Fowles and E. Silver, Laurelton Research, Tox-Logic Consulting, LLC. May 2015 https://www.esr.cri.nz/assets/HEALTH-CONTENT/MoH-reports/FW15029-Petrol-Risk-assessment-FINAL.pdf states:
“New Zealand consumed, per capita, 508 kg of petrol, measured in oil equivalents in 2011 (World Bank 2014). In terms of country rankings, this figure places New Zealand at 10th out of 136 countries for which data were reported for that year…”NZ has the highest rates of cardiomyopathy and neurological issues like Alzheimers, Parkinsons, etc and this is now known to be as a result of us having higher lead in petrol and higher car ownership than other countries. In an email sent: Saturday, January 8, 2022 1:12 PM, Brian Arndt wrote to The LEAD Group: It seems that there has been Files removed that relate to the early formation of the EPA and its directives to “Clean up the Pollution of the Environment”. However I have found this page amongst some of my past Research, as above. In 1972 the EPA stated that the ongoing lead levels were going to be 0.2 gms/US Gallon and reducing to 0.1 gms/Gallon by 1975. There was an outcry from the Oil Industry which resulted in delaying Litigation which dragged on for years. During this period Production was banned in the USA and manufacturing was “sold” to a “Paper Company” which established a new plant at Ellesmere Port, England. (I believe this was also a Licensed Customs Bonded Plant). To avoid similar scrutiny here in NZ a similar License system was used and I think you will find the same happened in Australia, hence the limited amount of records. Of note I spoke to a Chap a few years ago who had come to NZ from this Ellesmere Port area of the United Kingdom and when asking him about Octel/Innospec his comment was “No bloody way did you go anywhere near that Place – it was called the Poison Area”. I hope this will help in reviewing my position and there is no argument to oppose that the Lead Levels used here in NZ were from 1964 to 1986 at 0.84 gms/liter – one of the highest in the Western World. It is now believed that when poor Octane Ratings were tested in the Naphtha Feedstock this would account for the extra emergency shifts to transfer extra TEL/TML. Jessie Stolark of EESI – Environmental and Energy Study Institute. Washington DC, USA, wrote (March 30, 2016) in EESI Fact Sheet – A Brief History of Octane in Gasoline: from Lead to Ethanol – White Papers [LID 25442]: Leaded Gasoline & Health ConcernsEarly in its use as a fuel additive, health concerns were raised regarding the use of lead in gasoline. In 1924, 15 refinery workers in New Jersey and Ohio died of suspected lead poisoning…It was not until the 1960s, following extensive health research, that the devastating impacts of low-level lead exposure were established…Leaded Gasoline Phase-Out in the United StatesCongress passed the Clean Air Act in 1970, setting in motion the formation of the EPA and, ultimately, the removal of lead from gasoline….Timeline of Lead Phase-Out1970: Congress passes the Clean Air Act. The EPA is formed and given the authority to regulate compounds that endanger human health.1973: EPA mandates a phased-in reduction of lead content in all grades of gasoline.1974: EPA requires availability of at least one grade of unleaded gasoline, in order to be compatible with 1975 make and model year vehicles.Licensed Customs Bonded AreasThe following Harbour Regulations in relation to petroleum oil tanks does not seem to have been applied at New Zealand Refinery in the years 1965-1975. Is this because the refinery was a Licensed Customs Bonded Area?
According to New Zealand: The General Harbour Regulations 1954 [http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/num_reg/nztghr1954386/nztghr1954386.html = LID 25459]:
2. In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,- “Fuel oil” means any petroleum which has a true flashpoint of over 150 degrees Fahrenheit and which is used or intended for use as fuel: 112. (1) Before any oil tank is tested- (a) All residual oil and any sludge or deposit therein shall be removed from any such tank which has contained petrol or petroleum, and where any person is employed in the cleaning of the tank which has contained oil with a flashpoint below 73 degrees Fahrenheit (close test) he shall be provided with suitable breathing apparatus consisting of a helmet or face piece with necessary connections by means of which he can breathe outside air: (b) It shall be thoroughly steamed by means of steam jets for such period as will ensure the vaporization of all volatile oil: (c) After it has been steamed-(i) All covers of manholes and other openings therein shall be removed, and it shall be thoroughly ventilated, by mechanical or other efficient means, so as to ensure the removal of all oil vapour; and (ii) The interior surfaces shall, if any deposit remains thereon, be washed or scraped down. (2) If the oil tank is on a ship, the duty of complying with paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of sub clause (1) of this regulation shall rest on the master of the ship, and, in the case of an oil tank not on the ship, the obligation of complying with those paragraphs shall rest on the owner of the oil tank.Associated Octel / Innospec are liars and cheats and nothing they’ve ever written can be trustedAstoundingly, when Octel falsely claimed in a New Zealand Herald newspaper advertisement “Unleaded petrol and Cancer: Asbestos, Cigarettes, now Benzene” in 1995 that more benzene would be emitted from vehicles if unleaded petrol was used, compared to leaded petrol, the only reason Octel agreed to stop running the advertisement was because the New Zealand Sugar Company complained as follows:Complaint: An advertisement for Octel unleaded Petrol was published in the New Zealand Herald. It contained statements relating to cancer causing properties of unleaded petrol. It contained the statement, “In contrast, lead is a naturally occurring toxin, as are alcohol, sugar and salt.” The Complainant objected to the statement that sugar was a naturally occurring toxin as being factually incorrect. The relevant provision was Rule 2 of Advertising Code of Ethics.[Reference: Octel – Unleaded Petrol Chairman’s Ruling [1995] NZASA 47 (1 May 1995) (re: Octel’s advertisement: “Unleaded petrol and Cancer: Asbestos, Cigarettes, now Benzene”), by New Zealand Advertising Standards Authority (NZASA), http://www.nzlii.org/cgi-bin/sinodisp/nz/cases/NZASA/1995/47.html?query=benzene = LID 25460]