A 'gift of God'?: The public health controversy over leaded gasoline during the 1920s.

The intent of this paper is to show that as early as the 1920s public health experts, government officials, scientists, corporate leaders, labor, and the public were acutely aware of the dangers posed by the introduction of lead into gasoline. A spirited and often heated controversy arose with debates centering on issues of health and public policy that remain current today. By examining this controversy, the authors of this paper illustrate how, at every stage of the debate, the political, economic, and scientific issues were inextricably intertwined.