Vandiver Brown to W. T. Kelly of American Brake Shoe on Deleting Cancer from the Saranac Report (1948)

A two-page letter of November 12, 1948, from Vandiver Brown, Johns-Manville's secretary, to W. T. Kelly, Jr., executive vice-president of the American BrakeBlok Division of American Brake Shoe Company, reporting on the sponsors' meeting of November 11 on the draft Saranac Laboratory report. The companies agreed to ask only that the references to pneumonia in the experimental animals be modified. "It was the unanimous opinion, however, that the references to cancer and tumors should be deleted and this is a point we will insist upon." Brown gave four reasons: the experiments were not aimed at cancer, Leroy Gardner had wanted a separate study, Gardner had written in 1943 that cancer should be left out of the report, and one strain of mice used tended to develop tumors.

What it shows

Brown wrote that other changes would be suggested to Saranac, "but they relate to form and to emphasis rather than to substance." He reported that all copies of the draft had been retrieved except the one sent to Kelly, which a Dr. Hamlin wished to keep, and asked for it back: "Everyone felt it would be most unwise to have any copies of the draft report outstanding if the final report is to be different in any substantial respect." The draft had reported pulmonary tumors in 9 of 11 mice exposed to long-fiber dust (Brown's October memorandum). The 1943 letter Brown cited is Gardner's of February 24, 1943.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Letter dated 11/12/48 from Vandiver Brown to Kelley of American Brake Block. Brown reports on a meeting to discuss the draft Saranac report. "It was the unanimous opinion, however, that references to cancer and tumors should be deleted and this is a point we will insist upon for the following reasons: . . . ." 1.) This was not the purpose of the research; 2.) Gardner suggested a separate 2-3 year study should be initiated; 3.) Gardner suggested deleting the references in a letter to Brown dated 2/24/43; 4. Gardner reported the unintentional use of some strains of white mice that develop spontaneous tumors. Brown reported the destruction of the other circulated copies of the draft report (which he refers to as "tentative and confidential" other than the copy which Dr. Hamlin, of the medical department of American Brake Block, wishes to keep. Brown again seeks the return of that copy as "everyone felt it would be most unwise to have any copies of the draft report outstanding if the final report is to be different in any substantial respect. The feeling of the representatives of the various companies was very emphatic on this point."

Editor's note: J-M's description says the other circulated copies of the draft report were destroyed. The letter says they had been "retrieved," all but the copy sent to American BrakeBlok, which Brown asked to have returned.

Related documents

• Leroy Gardner to Vandiver Brown Enclosing an Outline of His Monograph on Asbestosis (1943)