J. R. M. Hutcheson to G. S. Smith on Dryer Stack Dust Control at Asbestos, Quebec (1959)

A one-page memo of October 16, 1959, from J. R. M. Hutcheson at Canadian Johns-Manville's operation in Asbestos, Quebec, to G. S. Smith at J-M's general headquarters, on controlling dust from the mill's dryer stacks. Hutcheson accepted Smith's appraisal of high-efficiency collectors and a level of 5 tons per day as "a jumping-off point," described the "Dustex," a cyclone collector said to reach about 97% efficiency, and invited one of Smith's staff to join J. O. Eby's people on a visit to a Dustex installation at a National Gypsum plant near Buffalo. Answering Smith's question about dust counts in the town of Asbestos, he wrote that "a possible health hazard is only part of the problem."

What it shows

Hutcheson went on: "We have the ever-present, and increasingly onerous problem of public and industrial relations. This facet of the problem is serious enough, the mere suggestion of a health hazard on top of present problems would make the necessity that much more urgent." A copy went to H. M. Jackson at headquarters. Dust blowing from the mill over the town had troubled J-M for a decade (the 1949 approval of dust control at Asbestos; Dr. Smith's 1976 testimony).

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Memorandum from J.R.M. Hutcheson (Asbestos) to G.S. Smith (GHQ) 10/16/59 re dryer stack dust control system. Invites Joe Goldfield to go along with J.O. Eby on a visit to National Gypsum plant for the purpose of evaluating a "Dustex unit under consideration for use by J-M Canada." Final paragraph reads: "In reply to your query re dust counts in the town of Asbestos, we can only say that a possible health hazard is only part of the problem. We have the ever-present, and increasingly onerous problem of public and industrial relations. This facet of the problem is serious enough, the mere suggestion of a health hazard on top of the present problem would make the necessity that much more urgent."