Dr. Paul Kotin to F. L. Pundsack on Waukegan's Failure to Report Occupational Disease Cases to OSHA (1979)

A memo of April 17, 1979, from Dr. Paul Kotin to F. L. Pundsack at Johns-Manville headquarters, forwarding J. W. Szcygielski's report that the Waukegan, Illinois plant had not entered its pneumoconiosis cases on the logs required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). "The seriousness of the situation cannot be overstated, particularly since Waukegan is involved," Kotin wrote. "The decision not to report occupational disease cases as required by OSHA, until proven otherwise, must be regarded as a conscious one made in 1972 when the regulations were promulgated."

What it shows

Kotin went on: "It is incontrovertible that Johns-Manville is in violation of OSHA regulations and, further, it appears that the violation is willful, which has not happened before. At the very least, the situation could be terribly expensive; at the worst, it could result in prison sentences." He rejected keeping Waukegan's procedure or contesting the rule on grounds of medical confidentiality, and wrote that the only real option was to "Submit the accumulated list of occupational disease cases immediately to OSHA, along with an explanation for the failure to comply." Two days later J-M's associate general counsel recommended amending the logs without telling OSHA (Markusson's memo). Waukegan's handling of its "red slip" pneumoconiosis cases had been an issue since at least 1963.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Paul Kotin desribe the serious situation which arose at Waukegan to F.L. Pundsack, 4/17/79, as follows:

1. The decision not to report occupational disease cases as required by OSHA, until proven otherwise, must be regarded as a conscious one made in 1972 when the regulations were promulgated.

2. Responsibility for the decision can only be surmised; however, investigation of the situation must begin with the employee relations manager and plant manager at the time.

3. More immediate is the necessity for responding to this potentially explosive situation. It is incontrovertible that Johns-Manville is in violation of OSHA regulations and, further, it appears that the violation is willful, which has not happened before. At the very least, the situation could be terribly expensive; at the worst, it could result in prison sentences.

Kotin states that he believes the only option available to Johns-Manville in responding is to submit the accumulated list of occupational disease cases immediately to OSHA, along with an explanation for the failure to comply with the regulation.

Related documents

• G. L. Swallow to J-M Plant Managers on Counting Stations at the TLV as Under It (1971)
• V. J. Liotta's Proposed Survey of Respirator Use and Job Rates at the Manville Plant (1972)