Arthur L. Fisk Jr. to Caledonia Electronics on a Skin Rash from Quinterra Type 5 Paper (1952)

A one-page letter of May 19, 1952, from Arthur L. Fisk Jr. of Johns-Manville's Legal Department to Caledonia Electronics of Caledonia, New York. A woman at the customer's plant who handled J-M's Quinterra Type 5 paper had developed a skin rash, and the company asked whether the paper could be the cause. Fisk replied that the product combined asbestos fibers, polyvinyl acetate and triphenyl phosphate, and that "Never in our experience have any of these components caused dermatitis." He added that J-M had never before seen an allergic reaction to the product, citing advice from Metropolitan Life Insurance Company's Industrial Health Section that some people will be allergic to any substance.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Letter from Arthur L. Fisk, Jr. dated 5/19/52 to Caledonia Electronics responding to inquiry on Quinterra Type 5 paper and possible skin irritation. Advises product contains asbestos fibers, polyvinyl acetate and triphenyl phosphate. "Never in our experience have any of these components caused dermatitis."