J. F. Reis to M. W. Blackhurst on the Customer Compliance Survey (1977)

A two-page memo of September 20, 1977, from J. F. Reis to M. W. Blackhurst in Mississauga, Ontario, on J-M's Customer Compliance Survey of buyers of its asbestos fiber. Reis explains that J-M's policy statement on fiber sales told customers it would not force them to assume total liability if they handled the fiber responsibly, "the opposite approach from our competitors" who required a signed release. "The fact is, we know that there are health problems associated with excessive exposures to airborne asbestos," he writes, and the industry had "an obligation" to advise customers and their employees "of the potential dangers."

What it shows

Reis says a customer that had taken no dust counts should know "the potential liability he faces should a worker file a claim for an asbestos related disease," even where regulations did not require counts. Quoting J-M's policy against "knowingly" endangering an employee, he writes that "without surveying our customers, we cannot 'knowingly' assess whether our fiber is endangering the health of our customers' employees." Dr. Kotin's September 1977 review backed the same customer-education plan.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Memorandum from J.F. Reis to M.W. Blackhurst dated 9/20/77. Discusses J-M's policy statement which announced that J-M would not force its customers to assume total liability arising from use of J-M fiber provided the customers handled the fiber in a responsible manner. This was the opposite approach from J-M's competition which required their customers to sign a release of liability statement. J-M's customer compliance survey has been designed to help J-M determine which customers are aware of problems and which customers need help.