Tetraethyl Lead Production in the 1930s at Frose (Saxon-Anhalt) and Gapel-Döberitz near Premnitz (Land Brandenburg)

U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey: Oil Division, 2d ed. - United States. War Dept 1947

Table A15
Tetraethyl Lead and Ethylene Dibromide Production Available to Germany (Approximate)
(Metric Tons per Month)

		Tetraethyl Lead				Ethylene Dibromide
		Gapel* Germany	Frose# Germany	Paimboeuf France	Total	Tornesch Germany
	Capacity production	100	300	200	600	500**
1942	December	100	300	44	444	235
1943	January	100	300	42	442	362
	February	100	300	53	453	406
	March	100	300	94	494	434
	April	100	300	76	476	167
	May	100	300	117	517	236
	June	100	300	54	454	278
	July	100	300	120	520	210
	August	100	300	36	436	30
	September	100	300	60	460	380
	October	100	300	61	461	0***
	November	100	300	38	438	0
	December	100	300	87	487	66

For 1943 total 5638 metric tonnes.

5638 * 2204.6226 = 12,429,662.2188 pounds.


CW DISPOSAL IN THE FORMER GDR    p. 185

There were production facilities for the nerve agent lead tetraethyl (anti-knock) at Frose (Saxon-Anhalt) and Gapel-Döberitz near Premnitz (Land Brandenburg).  These facilities were included in the munition disposal activities in the GDR owing to the fact that, in the 1930s, the British considered lead tetraethyl and other lead-organic compounds to be potential chemical warfare agents.  The USSR demolished these two production plants in a crude fashion, leaving behind destroyed facilities contaminated with extremely toxic lead tetraethyl and equally toxic by-products¹³, but detailed information of these activities is not available. A 300-400 tonnes sludge residue, consisting of lead oxide and 1-5 per cent lead tetraethyl, is estimated to have remained.

The difficult and dangerous work of detoxification and removal was carried out by specially trained workers.  Chemical breakdown of the contaminated matter in the drainage conduits, pipes, settling tanks and soil was achieved with a 1:1 mixture of sulphuryl chloride and kerosene.  The resulting pasty sludges of lead oxide, lead sulphide and lead chloride were deposited in a landfill.  One of these former production sites is again in operation producing leaded fuel compounds for civilian use.

4. Lohs, K. Synthetische Gifte [Synthetic poisons], 1st edn (Verlag des Ministeriums für Nationale Verteidigung: Berlin, 1958), 4th edn (Militärverlag der DDR: Berlin, 1974); Lohs, K. and Martinetz, D., Entgiftung und Vernichtung chemischer Kampfstoffe [Decontamination and destruction of chemical warfare agents] (Militärverlag der DDR: Berlin, 1983); Stöhr, R., Die chemischen Kampfstoffe [Chemical Warfare Agents] (Deutcher Militärverlag: Berlin 1961); and Chemische Kampfstoffe und Schutz vor chemischen Kampfstoffen [Chemcial warfare agents and protection against chemical warfare agents] (Militärverlag der DDR: Berlin, 1985).

13. Müller, K., 'Zur Kasuistik der Bleitetraethylvergiftung' [On the cause of tetraethyl poisoning], Zentralblatt für Arbeitsmedizin und Arbeitsschutz, vol. 3 (1974), p. 9. See also Lohs (note 4), pp. 179-84.

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OK. 12.4 million pounds of tetraethyl lead, much of it burned in the engines of aircraft which spewed their exhaust like lead crop dusting all happening in a country maybe the size of Texas, not to mention storage and distribution done under desperate conditions. Did anybody get any lead poisoning from all of that mess?