Dr. Kenneth W. Smith to D. E. Van Farowe of the Michigan Department of Health on Marinite (1959)

A one-page letter of October 26, 1959, from Dr. Kenneth W. Smith, Johns-Manville's medical director, to D. E. Van Farowe of the Division of Occupational Health of the Michigan Department of Health in Lansing, who had asked about J-M's Marinite products. Smith wrote that Marinite contained asbestos fiber along with calcium silicate, and that continued inhalation of asbestos fiber in sufficient quantities over a long period may cause some lung damage. He recommended proper material handling, good housekeeping and ventilation at the source of the dust, and, where the dust could not be controlled, respirators approved for pneumoconiosis-producing dust.

What it shows

The year before, J-M had debated whether to put a caution label on Marinite (the 1958 Marinite label memos). Blind copies of this letter went to H. M. Ball and C. P. Weber.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Letter from Kenneth Smith to D.E. Van Farowe, Michigan Department of Health, 10/26/59, in response to a request for information concerning Marinite Products. Smith discusses the risks of excess exposure to asbestos fibers generally and advocates appropriate handling.

Related documents

• Johns-Manville Memos on a Caution Label for Marinite (1958)