Bliley RJReynolds
Memorandum Concerning Scientific Research Prepared by RJR Scientist in Anticipation of Litigation Providing Confidential Information to RJR in-House Legal Counsel to Assist in the Rendering of Legal Advice and Copies to RJR Scientists.
Fields
- Author
- Colby, Frank Gerhardt, Ph.D. (RJR R&D Research Director)R.J. Reynolds scientist. He was employed by RJR as head of then-to-be-founded Scientific Library and Information Division in 1951, Manager of Scientific Information Division 1965-1979, Associate Director of Scientific Information in 1980, and employed by Jacob Medinger & Finnegan as Chief Scientist in 1983.
- Rjr
- Recipient
- Bentley, H.R.
- Imperial Tobacco
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C"O N F'I D E N T I A L
R.J.Reynolds Tobacco Company
Winston-Salem, NC. 27102
,..lune 11, 1979
Dr. Herbert R. Bentley
IMPERIAL TOBACCO LTD.
Lombard Street
Bristol BS99 7JR
England
Dear Herb:
Thank you very much for sending me the minutes of the Brussels meeting
as per Veronica's letter of May 22nd.
I distinctly remember that I mentioned during the discussion of the
minutes, that I would like to have our contribution to testing the ICOSl sampler
mentioned more specifically. You will recall that I sent you a copy of our
report on these test~ well prior to the meeting and that this memorandum was
distributed during the meeting. I would appreciate very much If you could please
make a correction to that effect in the minutes.
Off the record, regarding further work on our part on the ICOSI-Reemtsma
sampler, I am awaiting the progress reports which I hope will be forthcoming at our
August meeting. If, at that time, the ICOSI sampler still should require any sub-
stantial development work, before being usable by a contractor-testing laboratory,
I may want to recommend our working on it again. For the future, I am planning to
recommend that the Stanford machine be used whenever the proprietor of. an establish-
ment, such as a restaurant, etc., has no objections against its use in spite of its
bulkiness, but to recommend the use of the ICOSI sampler for nicotine and the
Carreras syringe for CO whenever such permission for usage would only be given
for such less bulky equipment.
I am enclosing coverpage, etc., of an American Government document, which
has obvious relevancy to our interest, even though the "science" may be questionable.
The full report Ss available upon request. I also enclose some documents on nitrogen
dioxide, which may be relevant to our needs in the future. However, nobody here has
checked these for accuracy, etc.
You may recall that Helmut talked to us in Brussels about a meeting of the
German Cancer Institute in Heidelberg on "Nitrosamines in the Environment" on May
21-23~ I have obtained the following information on this:
Brunnemann reported sidestream values of about one third of those reported
earlier by Hoffmann and Brunnemann. Based on.the data by Grandjean, etc., which
dealt with levels of CO and acrolein, etc. in restaurants and other public places,
conditions became totally intolerable when the smoking originated concentrations of
volatile nitrosamines reached about one fourth of the data reported in the lite-
rature by Hoffmann, etc., for their highest concentration in bars, etc., which were
labeled as being still tolerable. Furthermore, the only other mentioning of nitro-
samines at the Heidelberg ~neeting was made by Neurath, and even that in a rather
limited way. Also of interest was, that the consensus of the meeting was that
*the proceedings will probably be published in a few months
"Oncology"
./,,

C~FIDENTIAL
Dr. H. R. Bentley
June II, 1979
Page two
under conditions prevailing in Germany, the total nitrosamine intake is over
60% from beer, fresh meat and sausages about 15%, various cheeses about 5%,
cigarette smoke about 20%, and the remainder miscellaneous. This does not,
in any shape or form, consider endogenously formed nitrosamines. At present,
no reliable methods are available to even provide ballpark figures, estimates
varied by several hundred percent.
The thrust of the meeting was - surprisingly - to underplay the role
of ambient nitrosamines. For example, Schmaehl and Preussmann did propose
certain limit values of the volatile nitrosamines, however, the German Govern-
ment Health Ministry's authorities," including those present at that meeting,
came to the conclusion that there was just not enough valid data to justify
that attempt.
The general feeling apparently alsp was, as mentioned above, that
too much emphasis had been placed on ambient nitrosamines in the past and that
the public health significance of nitrosamines - if any - would be endogenously
formed nitrosamines, but nobody at the meeting was able to suggest a practical
"handle" how to investigate this.
Si ncerel y,
FGC/ks Frank G. Colby
encl osures
