G. P. Loubert to J. R. Ariss and J. P. Power on Employee Questions at a Toronto Plant Meeting (1979)

A memo of March 19, 1979, from G. P. Loubert to J. R. Ariss and J. P. Power, enclosing the 23 questions employees asked at a communications meeting at Johns-Manville's Toronto plant on March 16, taken from a tape made by Tom Patterson. Employees asked why new employees were "not advised of health hazard at Toronto Plant," what J-M would do "about people like myself and other employees who have asbestos related diseases," and, of Dr. W. R. Paul, J-M's medical director, "How can you stand there and say you never heard of asbestos in 1949?"

What it shows

One worker said: "In past we were never told .... probably 6 months before that we had asbestosis. We have a new doctor and I would like to know what the policy will be in the future." Others asked whether medical exams would be mandatory, whether in 20 years they would "go through same thing with Fiber Glass as we are now with asbestos," and why smoking brought discipline when spilling asbestos on the floor did not. Afterward managers agreed to answer the question on mandatory health exams in writing, audit dust collection on a fiber glass machine, and consider a summary of the meeting for all employees.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Laubert writes to Ariss and Power, 3/19/79, regarding questions asked by employees who attended a Toronto plant communications meeting. A question was raised as to why new employees were not advised of health hazards at the Toronto plant. Another question regarded J-M's medical disclosure policy. Employees indicated that in the past they were "never told . . . probably six months before that we had asbestosis." Now that the plant has a new doctor, they would like to know what the future policy will be.