Arnold J. Lehman

Dale Stirling*,1 and Suzanne Junod{dagger}

* Intertox, Inc., 2819 Elliott Avenue, Suite 201, Seattle, Washington 98121; and {dagger} Food And Drug Administration, History Office, HFC-24, 5600 Fishers Lane Rockville, Maryland 20857

Dr. Arnold J. Lehman is a true pioneer of American toxicology. Although born into humble surroundings, on a farm in Good Thunder, Minnesota, his life's work was anything but humble. Lehman obtained much of his advanced education from the University of Washington (UW). He earned a B.S. degree in 1925, an M.S. degree in Pharmacy in 1926, and a Ph.D. in 1930. At that time American toxicology was in its infancy, so his thesis and dissertation appear removed from his toxicological future. His master's thesis was entitled Washington Wild Parsnip and his doctoral thesis The Leaf Oils of Washington Conifers. After his time at the UW, Lehman received an M.D. from Stanford University in 1936.

Following several other academic positions, Lehman moved to the nation's capital, where he was appointed Professor of Pharmacology at George Washington University Medical School. Meanwhile, in 1935, the Food and Drug Administration established a Division of Pharmacology. Although the agency had employed pharmacologists since 1908, it was not until just prior to passage of a successor to the 1906 Pure Food and Drugs Act, the 1938 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, that a formal division was established. The division grew rapidly under the leadership of Dr. H. O. Calvery until his death in 1945. In the early years of the new Division, scientist O. Garth Fitzhugh recalled that he and his colleagues had drawn up a short and simple list of substances that needed testing before being used in foods and drugs. Following World War II, however, a chemogastric revolution in foods, as well as the chemogastric revolution in drugs, forced the agency to confront a brave new regulatory world, and Fitzhugh himself gave up his listing of new chemicals and materials when it exceeded 10,000 entries. In 1946, Arnold Lehman was hired to head the Division of Pharmacology, which then included more than 22 scientists, and it was Lehman who organized and led the Division's efforts to confront this new chemical regulatory world. By 1947 manufacturers had proposed no less than 500 different chemicals for use in food products. Lehman began the precedent-setting practice of sitting down with industry representatives to discuss the kinds of tests that would be required by the agency to demonstrate the safety of any new chemical for use in foods. He also extended the scope of the testing to include packaging materials used with food products. Lehman, in collaboration with the Division of Food, obtained information on the proposed use, outlined methods for determining the amount, and described the toxicological studies that should be carried out to establish a safe level of the chemical materials or their components that might enter food. In 1949 the Division scientists, with Lehman as principal author, published what soon became known with affection in regulatory circles as the "Bible" of toxicology: "Procedures for the Appraisal of the Toxicity of Chemicals in Foods." This publication began to codify the practices Division scientists discussed with industry representatives when they met.

Throughout the 1950s, as a select Committee of Congress chaired by Representative James J. Delaney (D-NY) met to consider amendments that would impose pre-marketing controls over pesticides and color as well as food additives, Lehman and the Division scientists were outspoken in their opposition to the widespread peacetime use of DDT, as well as the more acutely toxic persistent pesticides aldrin and dieldrin. Although a stronger pesticides law was passed in 1954, it was not until 1958 that a Food Additives Amendment was enacted, followed by a Color Additives Amendment in 1960. Both amendments imposed pre-marketing testing requirements and forbade approval of any substance shown to "cause cancer" in man or animals. Although scientists, especially toxicologists, were skeptical of these so-called "Delaney clauses," they did insure passage of the legislation.

On the heels of these landmark pieces of legislation, Lehman began to extend his service to the toxicological community. In 1961, he cofounded the Society of Toxicology (SOT). Lehman followed up his cofounding of the SOT with direct participation. Named honorary president 1961–1962, he also served on the council from 1962 to 1964. Thereafter he served on a variety of important committees. Lehman made another important contribution through his role in toxicological publishing. He cofounded Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology in 1958. In 1961, as SOT was forming, discussions were held to consider having the journal become the official scientific publication of the society. It came to pass in 1962 with the approval of the publisher, Academic Press.

Lehman continued to educate and influence the toxicological community with his extensive writings. He was especially prolific between the late 1940s and 1960s. He often published articles about chemicals in food for such journals as Advances in Food Research, Journal of Nutrition, and the Journal of the Association of Food & Drug Officials of the United States. He was also a key figure in the publication of the National Research Council Committee on Toxicology's Principles and Procedures for Evaluating the Toxicity of Household Substances in 1964.

Lehman's importance to American toxicology does not go unnoticed. His original research, professional activities, participation in the SOT, and mentoring has been passed down to those in the toxicological and allied professions. Indeed, one of the coveted annual awards presented by the SOT is the Arnold J. Lehman award that is "presented to recognize an individual who has made a major contribution to risk assessment and/or the regulation of chemical agents, including pharmaceuticals." An award of this stature may be the ultimate tribute to this pioneering toxicologist.

NOTES

1 To whom correspondence should be addressed. Fax: (206) 443-2117. E-mail: dastirling{at}intertox.com. Back

SUGGESTED READING

Cribbett, J. R. (1992). "The Division of Pharmacology: Its History and Functions." In The Formative Years, Selected Speeches of Historical Value, 1956–1967. (T. K. Shotwell, Ed.). FDA History Office. Shotwell and Carr, Dallas.

Fitzhugh, O. G. (1980). Oral History Interview with Pharmacologists, 1980. FDA History Office and National Library of Medicine Manuscripts, Rockville, MD, p. 123

Hays, H. W. (1979). Obituary of Arnold J. Lehman. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 51, 549–551.[Medline]

Hays, H. W., and Carleton, F. M. (1986). Society of Toxicology History 1961–1986. Society of Toxicology, Reston, VA.

Hutt, P. B. (1990). The 1940s: Initial implementation of the new statute. Food Drug Cosmet. Law J. 45, 21–30.

Klaassen, C. D. (2001). Casarett and Doull's Toxicology: The Basic Science of Poisons, 6th ed. McGraw Hill, New York.

Lehman, A. J., and Laug, E. P., et al. (1955). Procedures for the appraisal of the toxicity of chemicals in foods. Food Drug Cosmet. Law J. 10, 679–748.

Parascandola, J. (1988). The beginnings of pharmacology in the federal government. Pharm. Hist. 30, 179–188.[Medline]





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