Fred L. Pundsack to Dr. Irving J. Selikoff on Estimating Past Dust Levels at the Manville Plant (1972)

A one-page letter of January 4, 1972, from Fred L. Pundsack, J-M's vice president for research and development, to Dr. Irving J. Selikoff of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, confirming that J-M would estimate dust levels in departments of its Manville, New Jersey, plant for 1940 to 1960 and 1961 to 1970. He invited Selikoff's colleague Duncan Holaday to take part and named Hugh Jackson, J-M's director of employee relations and management development, as coordinator. Selikoff had offered the union's own estimates for the same stations, but Pundsack wrote that it "would be very informative for all of us if we made our estimates before we see the estimates of the Union."

What it shows

The estimates were for Selikoff's study of the Manville plant, which the local union had asked him to make (Selikoff's request to J. B. Jobe, Jobe's agreement). Blind copies went to J. B. Jobe, A. B. Marchant and F. J. Solon at J-M headquarters. The letter shows J-M agreeing to reconstruct thirty years of dust exposure at its largest plant for an outside study, while keeping its own figures separate from the union's until they were done.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Letter from Pundsack to Selikoff, dated 1/4/72, in which he agrees to assist in estimating dust levels in various departments of the Manville plant for the periods 1940 through 1960, and 1961 through 1970. "We have made arrangements to estimate these dust levels, and we will furnish you our estimates as soon as they are completed."

Pundsack invites assistance from Duncan Holaday, and explains that Hugh Jackson is coordinating J-M's program of estimating historical dust levels at Manville. Pundsack contemplates that J-M will arrive at estimates and will eventually exchange them for independent estimates to be made by the local union.

Related documents

• Dr. Irving J. Selikoff to J. B. Jobe Asking for Data on Manville Plant Workers (1971)
• J. B. Jobe to Dr. Irving J. Selikoff Agreeing to Provide Manville Research Data (1971)