E. M. Fenner to D. B. Wingerter on Which Insulation Products to Label (1969)

A one-page memo of August 7, 1969, from E. M. Fenner of Johns-Manville's Environmental Control Department to D. B. Wingerter of the Industrial Insulations Division at Manville, proposing a rule for which of the division's products should carry a hazard label: "Only products that during handling, fabrication and/or installation generate asbestos fiber or crystalline silica containing dusts in potentially harmful quantities shall be labelled." Under that rule Flexboard, Ebony, Transite, dry cements, Colorlith, Chalkboard, Marinite, 85% Magnesia and Thermobestos ("presently labelled") would be labeled. Wet cements, Albaseal, Navaseal, fire brick, Ceraform, Duxseal and Insullcote would not, and millboard, Thermomix, asbestos felt, asbestos paper and Min-K were in a "grey" area needing individual review.

What it shows

Of the products on the "to be labelled" list, Fenner marked only Thermobestos as already carrying a label; J-M had argued internally for years over whether boards such as Marinite needed one (Coggins to North, 1968). Other asbestos-containing products were to stay unlabeled or wait for review. Fenner's list set the terms for the labeling work that followed: W. M. Deutsch's search for a legal definition of a hazardous product (September 1969) and the December dispute over the wording of the Marinite label (Standel, Sheckler).

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Memorandum from E.M. Fenner to D.B. Wingerter (Manville), dated 8/7/69, entitled "Hazardous product Labelling, Industrial Insulations Products." Proposes guidelines concerning which types of product will require labeling based on their capability to generate potentially harmful quantities of asbestos or crystalline silica during handling. The group includes Flexboard, Transite, dry cements, Thermobestos ("presently labeled"), Colorlith, Marinite and 85% Magnesia. Also lists products which definitely will not require a label and those which fall into a "grey" area.

Related documents

• R. W. Dobson to C. P. Weber on Health Hazard Labels for Marinite and Other Sheet Products (1969)
• M. W. Burleson to A. Pocius on Warning Labels for Marinite (1969)