Hooker Chemical Corporation and N. W. Hendry on Caution Labels for Asbestos Fiber Bags (1968–1969)

Two one-page letters. On December 23, 1968, C. E. Wolosin, manager of purchases for Hooker Chemical Corporation of Niagara Falls, New York, wrote to N. W. Hendry, general sales manager of Johns-Manville Asbestos Limited in Asbestos, Quebec. J-M had sent notice a few months earlier that a caution label would become a standard part of its asbestos packaging, and in view of "continued publicity" about asbestos dust, Hooker asked for a J-M representative to explain "what is involved and what, if any, precautionary measures Hooker might adopt." Hendry replied on January 3, 1969, that J-M's director of environmental control, E. M. Fenner, would arrange a meeting with Hooker's people.

What it shows

Not every customer pushed back on J-M's new caution label for raw fiber bags. While some buyers asked J-M to leave the label off their shipments (Tilo Company to Canadian Johns-Manville, November 1968), Hooker took the label as a reason to ask what precautions its own plant should take. A copy note on Hendry's reply asks Fenner to coordinate the visit with J-M's special representative in Albany.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

In response to J-M's notice that it would be placing caution labels on its bags of raw fiber, Hooker Chemical, 12/23/68, asks that a J-M representative speak to Hooker about "what is involved and what, if any, precautionary measures Hooker might adopt." N.W. Hendry responds, 1/3/69, and arranges for a meeting to take place.