Poison in the Panhandle

In Texas' panhandle last fall, herds of cattle suddenly sickened and died of a strange disease. Calves of sick cows were stillborn or died shortly after birth. The symptoms (watery eyes, sores and a leathery-looking skin) indicated a vitamin deficiency. But doses of vitamin A did no good. Veterinarians at first called the sickness "Disease X," finally diagnosed it as hyperkeratosis,* a poisoning caused by chlorinated naphthalene. It was traced to cotonseed feed pellets made by Fort Worth's Traders Oil Mill Co.

Traders, which had changed the lubricating oil on its pelletmaking machinery last fall, had failed to notice that the new oil, containing chlorinated naphthalene was seeping into the pellets. By the time it did, the company had sold 6,800 tons of the feed. Ironically, some ranchers, short of plain cottonseed meal, had even stood in line to get the poisoned pellets.

By last week the poison in the panhandle had killed or sickened 3,000 head of cattle in Briscoe and Hall Counties alone, many of them valuable breeding stock. Cattlemen fear that at least another 1,000 head may be contaminated. Some county agents believe that cattle in parts Oklahoma and several neighboring states may also be in danger. In Fort Worth's stock pens, federal inspectors were carefully checking all cattle for hyperkeratosis letting them be slaughtered if not too sick. An estimated 10,000 with hyperkeratosis have already gone through the yards.

Though Traders put the blame on a third party (presumably the lubricant maker, whom it declined to name), it promised to make good any "fair and reasonable" losses to cattlemen. Up to last week, they were estimated in the millions.

The disease, sometimes called "borny skin," was first recognized in 1941. Chlorinated naphthalene was proved to be a cause in 1949. Because the chemical is a common ingredient in petroleum products, cattle have been poisoned by merely rubbing against oily tractors, combines, bulldozers, etc.

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