Johns-Manville Release on the Hospital and Accident Prevention at Asbestos, Quebec (1939)

A three-page typed piece in the form of a news release, datelined "Asbestos, Que., September," headed "Hospital Equipment and Accident Prevention at Asbestos, Que." It describes new X-ray equipment at the company hospital in the mining town, available to employees of the Johns-Manville mine, mill and factory and to town residents, and says all 1,400 employees were required to be X-rayed at least once a year. It reports that "workers here show remarkable freedom from dust diseases" and credits the company's accident education program for a large drop in accidents.

What it shows

The release reasons that because the hospital found less tuberculosis among the workmen than in the general population, "Dust is, therefore, not a serious hazard to health." It names Dr. R. H. Stevenson as the surgeon in charge of the hospital. A handwritten label at the top reads "Historical Data," and the second page carries handwritten edits. It shows how Canadian Johns-Manville presented dust and health at Asbestos to the public in the same years it was spending heavily to stop dust from its mill blowing over the town (the April 1938 board minutes).

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Document entitled "Hospital Equipment and Accident Prevention at Asbestos, Que. Take Hazards Out of Industry." States that the finest x-ray equipment in the world has recently been installed at "J-Ms Hospital for use by J-M employees and town residents.... Government authorities have expressed interest in the discovery that workers here show remarkable freedom from dust diseases." All 1,400 J-M workers are required to have an x-ray at least once a year. The Company also has an excellent safety program.