Leroy Gardner and Vandiver Brown on Reviewing J-M Employees' X-Ray Films (1944)

Three one-page letters exchanged in January 1944 between Dr. Leroy Gardner of the Saranac Laboratory and Vandiver Brown of Johns-Manville. Gardner wanted to add a section on the X-ray appearance of asbestosis to his report and asked for "the complete series of films on your employees"; Brown replied that he was not sure whether Gardner meant J-M's films or the Manheim cases, Manheim being a Raybestos-Manhattan plant. Gardner answered that he had meant J-M's Manville plant and hoped "to discuss the question of progression of the disease as observed in films taken over considerable periods of time," including men who had "left the Company's employ by virtue of ill health or for other reasons."

What it shows

Brown agreed that the report should include "some specimen pictures to demonstrate the X-ray appearance of asbestosis." The letters show that by 1944 J-M held a run of chest X-rays on its Manville workers going back years, and that Gardner saw them as a record of how the disease progressed: "Neither the Public Health Service nor anyone else has done this." Gardner also suggested asking Sumner Simpson for Raybestos-Manhattan's films; Simpson's answer is his letter of January 19, 1944.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Leroy Gardner (Saranac) seeks and receives permission to expand asbestos study to humans; hopes to correlate x-rays with dust counts from Asbestos and Manville to determine why clinical data concerning miners differs from textile workers. Vandiver Brown replies via letter 1/11/44 asking for clarification on whether Dr. Gardner wanted to see Manheim x-rays (which is Raybestos-Manhattan) and have Brown arrange same with Sumner Simpson, or if he meant Manville x-rays. On 1/12/44 Gardner replied that he meant Manville but believes there would be benefit to reaching out to Simpson as well.

Editor's note: J-M's description says Gardner sought and received permission to expand the study to humans. The letters concern reviewing workers' X-ray films for a section of his report, and Brown's reply asks a question rather than granting a request.