Volkswagen Emissions Scandal Has Historic Parallel In Clair Patterson's Fight With The Lead Industry

Volkswagen is in hot water as it faces severe penalties for falsifying emissions data. Some 500,000 cars are affected by the scandal, with the carmaker earmarking close to $8 billion to cover potential damages. In some ways this echoes an auto-related environmental scandal that took place 50 years ago, when geochemist Clair Patterson discovered that lead was poisoning America.

Before the 1970s, leaded gasoline was common. Tetraethyl lead (TEL) was used as a gas additive to prevent engine knocking and boost octane levels. Patterson’s research was published in 1965, but the dangers of TEL were known as early as 1924. Workers at the Standard Oil Refinery in Bayway, New Jersey, who handled TEL experienced severe mental deterioration but were assured the product was safe, according to Wired. Soon, 32 workers were in the hospital and five were dead.

New York City, Philadelphia and New Jersey banned the sale of TEL after the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office autopsy ruled the deaths were due to lead poisoning. General Motors, Standard Oil and other manufacturers called for federal oversight. Not surprisingly, the manufacturers were able to resume the sale of TEL with no health warning.

Patterson, born in 1922, was an unlikely environmental crusader. The geochemist’s work focused on determining the age of the Earth using rocks and meteorites. In 1956, Patterson determined Earth was 4.55 billion years old by counting the amount of lead in a meteorite sample, according to California Institute of Technology. The geochemist was very good at isolating lead, but he soon found it everywhere.

In his 1965 paper, Patterson and M. Tatsumoto, from the U.S. Geological Survey, analyzed lead levels in the ocean off southern California. Their research concluded lead levels were much higher on the surface but decreased with depth. The study concluded leaded gasoline was to blame and “current lead blood levels suggest that the average American is being subjected to severe, chronic lead ‘insult.’”

The discovery that leaded gasoline was polluting the environment and poisoning humans did not lead to immediate reform. Patterson had to deal with the same industries that pushed for the sale of TEL, which led to loss of several lucrative contracts. Dr. Robert Kehoe was the lead industry’s champion, with numerous studies showing the relative safety of the additive based on a formula weighing the immediate benefits of lead compared to possible health effects in the future.

Patterson’s dedication to determining ancient lead levels won out. The Clean Air Act of 1970 was passed, phasing out leaded gasoline. That act is the same one VW is accused of violating by using a “defeat device” in 2015. Patterson's work was recently popularized in Fox's "Cosmos."