Johns-Manville and Eternit Correspondence on Caution Labels Reaching Eternit's Dutch Plant (1969–1970)

Four letters and memos from December 1969 and January 1970 about bags of asbestos fiber from J-M's Advocate mine that reached Eternit's plant in Holland carrying J-M's "caution" labels. On December 22, B. Snyder of J-M International told M. W. Hendry in Asbestos, Quebec, that Eternit had asked that none of its shipments carry the labels, because "it could present unnecessary problems if the workers were able to read and interpret these labels," and that "as a matter of standard procedure, none of the shipments to our International customers should have these caution labels attached." Eric de Bruyn of Compagnie Financière Eternit in Brussels confirmed his telex to D. Poutiatine, J-M International's vice president, asking for "immediate measures to avoid that such big mistakes happen again," and Poutiatine replied on December 29 that the labels were "caused only by an error" and that "stricter precautions" would follow.

What it shows

By 1969 J-M put caution labels on fiber bags for some customers, but its international division treated leaving them off as standard practice for overseas buyers, and Eternit's stated reason was what its workers would make of them. The question had come up before (the December 1968 task force discussion of labels for overseas customers, a foreign customer's request to remove them). On R. E. Sampson's January 5, 1970 memo passing the matter to J. M. Fletcher at Advocate, one handwritten note asks for a report on how it happened and how to "guard against this 100%"; another reads: "Only 100% way is to ship J-M in paper." A forthcoming shipment to a South African customer was also to go without labels.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

On 12/22/69, the Belgian Company, Eternit, informs D. Poutiatine (V.P., J-M International) that bags of fiber from J-M's Advocate mine arrived at its facility in Holland with caution labels. "This causes emotion and trouble with consequences not yet fully valuable. . . . Please take immediate measures to avoid that such big mistakes happen again."

J-M internal correspondence reveals J-M's concern regarding the implications of its error. In fact, B. Snyder (J-M International) on 12/22/69 states that "as a matter of standard procedure, none of the shipments to our International customers should have these caution labels attached. This would mean also that the forthcoming shipment to Mr. Walter of South Africa should not have these labels attached either." R. E. Sampson (AFD-HQ Asbestos) letter to J. M. Fletcher on 1/5/70 contains marginalia stating that the only way to guarantee that this happens is to ship J-M fiber in paper.