A pilgrimage into the archives of nickel toxicology.

It is my great pleasure to address this assem bly of learned scientists on the occasion o f th e F o u rth In te rn a tio n a l C onference on Nickel M etabolism and Toxicology. W hen I seriously sat down to prepare rem arks for this evening’s program , I becam e aghast as I pondered upon the title that I had submitted. How could I presum e to cover such a colossal subject in the course of a brief address? It is true tha t the hazards of exposure to nickel and nickel compounds have been recog­ nized only within recent decades; how­ ever, the num ber of research contribu­ t io n s a n d p u b l ic a t io n s on n ic k e l toxicology that have appeared during the past three decades has been substantial. In my ponderings, I harbored the wish th a t I cou ld call for h e lp from my e s te e m e d frien d s and sc ien tific co l­ leagues of World War II who instigated many of our early interests in the toxicol­ ogy of nickel. These em inent scientists are now deceased. At this time may I pay tribute to them and to the early pioneer­ ing contribu tions of the In ternational N ickel C om pany espec ia lly th ro u g h their Medical Director, J. Gwynne Mor­ gan; to the U.S. Atomic Energy Com ­ mission and the Rohm and Haas Com ­ pany, — th e two organizations w hich supported our research studies; and to