Vandiver Brown to George Trautvetter of the Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Company on Stonefelt Insulation (1939)

A two-page letter of July 12, 1939, from Vandiver Brown, Johns-Manville's attorney, to George Trautvetter of the Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Company in Philadelphia, who had asked J-M's local representative about any silicosis hazard in handling J-M's Stonefelt insulation. Brown answers that J-M is convinced the material cannot cause silicosis, because its silica is combined as a silicate rather than present as free silica. He cites a survey of J-M plants by the Industrial Health Section of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company which, he writes, found no silicosis among more than 400 workers.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Letter from Vandiver Brown dated 7/12/39 to George Trautvetter of E.G. Budd Manufacturing Co. re potential health hazards of handling Stonefelt insulation. V. Brown states that this material cannot cause silicosis (contains silicate but not free silica). He goes on to refer to extensive tests done of J-M plants by the Industrial Health Section of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. Additional correspondence relates to composition of Stonefelt insulation and legislation making silicosis a compensable occupational disease.

Editor's note: J-M's description mentions additional correspondence on Stonefelt's composition and on silicosis legislation. This file holds only Brown's two-page letter of July 12, 1939.

Related documents

• C. E. Bryant and Vandiver Brown on Answering Douglas Aircraft About Stonefelt (1941)
• Elliot Fairback and Vandiver Brown on Answering North American Aviation About Stonefelt (1940)