S. W. McCallie to D. H. Markusson on the EPA's Proposed Rule on Disclosing Health and Safety Studies (1980)

A two-page privileged memo of February 26, 1980, from S. W. McCallie to D. H. Markusson, J-M's associate general counsel, copied to G. E. Parker, R. B. Von Wald, J. F. Reis and J. P. Leineweber, on a rule the Environmental Protection Agency proposed on December 31, 1979, under section 8(d) of the Toxic Substances Control Act. The rule would require asbestos manufacturers and processors to give the EPA lists of their health and safety studies on asbestos, and McCallie concluded that a study would not be shielded from public requests merely because it was privileged in the asbestos litigation. The rule, he wrote, "may have a profound impact on the asbestos litigation if we are currently in possession of some important health and safety studies which have been kept from plaintiffs' counsel under some theory of privilege or work product."

What it shows

McCallie ended: "if our asbestos litigation involves any health and safety studies which must not be disclosed to plaintiffs, we must discuss an appropriate strategy to deal with the proposed rule." Comments on the rule were due February 29. The memo does not say whether J-M held any such studies. In 1982 McCallie wrote about withholding a different analysis from citizens opposing asbestos-cement pipe (McCallie, 1982).

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Memorandum to D.H. Markusson from S.W. McCallie; Dated 2/26/80, re: Asbestos Policy Disclosure of Health and Safety Studies. McCallie discusses the EPA proposed rule Section 8(d) of the Toxic Substances Control Act which requires manufacturers or processors of asbestos to disclose health and safety studies regarding asbestos. McCallie states that this proposed rule may have a profound impact on the asbestos litigation if Manville is currently in possession of some important health and safety studies which have been kept from plaintiffs' counsel under some theory of privilege or work product. McCallie states that if Manville's asbestos litigation involves any health and safety studies which must not be disclosed to plaintiff, then Manville must discuss an appropriate strategy to deal with the proposed rule.