Though Thomas Midgley was the creator of the deadly compound tetraethyl, it was Ethyl Gasoline Corporation that began widely marketing it to consumers. The company repeatedly stated that ethyl lead additives in gasoline would not harm the public. The corporation claimed all studies showing ethyl additives to be hazardous to human health were completely false. Numerous stories about the deaths of factory workers were kept out of the public eye to prevent people from realizing the dangers of lead.
"Calling the 15 deaths 'mishaps, so-called messes,' industry representatives argued that tetraethyl lead was 'a gift of God [that] at small cost adds fifty percent to gasoline mileage...'"
-Sharon McGrayne in Prometheans in the Lab
Slideshow of Ethyl Advertisements
Commercial for Ethyl Gasoline