In the middle of the media frenzy over Ernest Oelgert’s poisoned workmates, the report landed. It gave tetraethyl lead a clean bill of health. And the public greeted it with skepticism. Under pressure, the U.S. government organized a conference in Washington, D.C., in May 1925. It was a showdown. In one corner: Frank Howard, vice president of the Ethyl Corporation—a joint venture of General Motors and Standard Oil. He called leaded gasoline a “gift of God,” arguing that “continued development of motor fuels is essential in our civilization.”6
