Arthur J. Vorwald and J. P. Woodard on Shipping Asbestos in Burlap Bags (1950)

Two letters. On July 25, 1950, Dr. Arthur J. Vorwald of the Saranac Laboratory passed on to J. P. Woodard at Johns-Manville a remark by Dr. C. F. Shook, medical director of Owens-Illinois, that packing and shipping asbestos in burlap bags "is often very troublesome as a possible source of an undue amount of dust," since the fiber stuck to the bags and they had to be turned inside out to recover it. Paper containers like those used for diatomaceous earth, he suggested, "would be better." Woodard replied on July 28 that the packaging problem "has always been a big one" and that burlap bags were a large expense.

What it shows

Woodard wrote that J-M had done considerable engineering work on other containers, baling, and shipping loose in boxcars, but "so far the burlap bag has not been eliminated; and I believe this same method is used by all producers up to this time." He passed Vorwald's letter to A. R. Fisher, head of the Fibre Division.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

Johns-Manville's own chronology of what the company knew describes this document as follows:

On 7/25/50, Vorwald wrote Woodard to suggest J-M wrap asbestos in paper (as was being done for diatomaceous earth) rather than burlap. Vorwald suggested the use of paper containers for asbestos fiber, comparable to those used for diatomaceous earth, as an improvement from a hygiene perspective. Problem was brought to Vorwald's attention by medical director of Owens-Illinois.