M. F. Naylor to J. P. Woodard on X-Ray Follow-Up of 84 Manville Industrial Hygiene Cases (1950)

A one-page memo of October 10, 1950, from M. F. Naylor at Johns-Manville's plant in Manville, New Jersey, to J. P. Woodard at J-M's General Headquarters, headed "Manville Industrial Hygiene Cases." Naylor writes that Dr. Pauly had not agreed to an annual X-ray program for the 84 men on the company's list, only to cover them "within a 2 year period" with a few exceptions. He passes on Dr. Pauly's report that the union president once said, "I don't have to worry because they don't call me in for special films," and adds that there was "no special project on the 84 cases listed."

What it shows

By 1950 J-M was keeping a list of Manville workers singled out for closer X-ray follow-up, a practice the company also considered for its Lompoc plant (Woodard to Elsenbast on Lompoc health tracking). The memo shows the doctor resisting a yearly re-examination of these men, though he "will change his mind if pushed on this score." The union president's remark suggests that being called in for special films was understood among the men as a sign that something had been found.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Naylor (Manville) writes Woodard, 10/10/50, re frequency of x-ray follow up of the "84 cases": notes "Dr. Pauly has pointed out to me that the president of the union once said, "I don't have to worry because they don't call me in for special films . . .''
"There is no special project on the 84 cases listed, and while the doctor does not believe there should be such a program, he advised that he will change his mind if pushed on this score."

Related documents

• J. P. Woodard to A. S. Elsenbast on the Lompoc List of Advanced Cases (1950)