J. P. Woodard to A. S. Elsenbast on Planning Aluminum Therapy at Lompoc (1951)

A confidential one-page memo of April 16, 1951, from J. P. Woodard to A. S. Elsenbast, headed "Industrial Hygiene - Diatomaceous Earth," sending Dr. Lanza's memorandum on their West Coast trip. Since it appeared likely that the McIntyre type of powdered aluminum would be used at Lompoc, Woodard asks Elsenbast to sketch how it would be given to the men. He assumes "certainly all in the mill will be treated, and possibly others, except perhaps those in the office, so as to avoid making the mill operation appear more hazardous than the operations in the rest of the plant."

What it shows

Woodard also asks for a plan "from the angle of personnel affected," and closes with the third point: "follow the obviously right course of continuing our dust abatement program, realizing that elimination of dust is the really sure way of eliminating all difficulties." Together with his letter to Lanza (Woodard to Lanza, April 1951), the memo shows J-M weighing how a treatment program would look to the workers as well as whether it would work.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Woodard writes to Elsenbast, 4/16/51, regarding the proposed aluminum therapy program at Lompoc. Woodard states that we must decide which employees are to be treated: all employees or just the affected ones. Woodard assumes that all mill workers will be treated and possibly others except the office workers, "so as to avoid making the mill operation appear more hazardous than the operations in the rest of the plant."

Related documents

• J. P. Woodard to A. S. Elsenbast on the Saranac Program and Aluminum Therapy at Lompoc (1951)
• J. P. Woodard to Dr. A. J. Lanza on Aluminum Therapy for Lompoc Workers (1951)
• Arthur Elsenbast to O. B. Westmont on Aluminum Therapy Research and Moving Men from Dust at Lompoc (1951)