Asbestos Textile Institute Air Hygiene and Manufacturing Committee Minutes (March 1959)

Two pages of minutes of the Asbestos Textile Institute's Air Hygiene and Manufacturing Committee for March 5 and 6, 1959, signed by its chairman, A. E. May of Keasbey & Mattison. Four of the nine members present were from Johns-Manville, including H. M. Jackson. One member company reported that its insurance carrier wanted "a very elaborate dust test and control program," far beyond what the National Safety Council recommended, and members discussed recirculating dusty air to save on heating, dust-counting instruments and respirators. The minutes end with a list of each member's X-ray and health examination practices, with the companies named only as A through F.

What it shows

The medical practices listed range from a pre-employment X-ray, a yearly State X-ray, lung capacity tests and annual examinations at Company A to a single yearly chest X-ray at Company F. Only Company A's entry says that employees were told of positive findings ("Employee & Company notified of positive cases"). The minutes also note that one state barred recirculating air that held more than 200,000 to 250,000 asbestos particles per cubic foot.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Air Hygiene Committee, 3/5-6/59; member reports its insurer requested dust tests and a control program more stringent than that of National Safety Council. Discussion of use of recycled air for heating, some insurers approve practice, report on comparison of midget and standard impingers, poll of x-ray and exam procedures of members.