W. B. Reitze and J. T. Vanderveen on Replacing Thermobestos with Thermo-12 in Brazil (1975)

Two J-M memos. On December 15, 1975, J. T. Vanderveen of the International Division asked W. B. Reitze for a short memo on J-M's position on Thermobestos "versus the asbestos free Thermo-12 product," because the division was preparing a project to replace the Thermobestos operation in Brazil. Reitze replied, with a copy to Dr. Paul Kotin, that Thermobestos production in the U.S. "is responsible for many millions of dollars worth of workers' compensation liability as well as many more millions of dollars in civil law suits," from disease in J-M's employees and in the trades "that used this material on construction sites." Brazil had no OSHA, but that would not last, and "from a moral point of view, I do not see how we can continue to inflict damage from asbestos products on other peoples in the world after the knowledge we have gained in our own state-side experience."

What it shows

Reitze "heartily" supported the change and wrote that if J-M did not eliminate Thermobestos in Brazil "we would be both derelict and short-sighted." Vanderveen planned to justify the project as "environmental control," citing "good corporate citizenship and the future possibility of adverse local reaction," without using Reitze's memo. Thermobestos was J-M's asbestos calcium silicate pipe and block insulation; its dustiness was documented in the 1960s (Union Carbide's 1962 dust surveys). In 1977 Reitze found Thermobestos still being made and installed in Brazil (his Brazil trip report).

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

W.B. Reitze memorandum to J.T. Vanderveen, 12/17/75, regarding Thermobestos production in Brazil. Reitze states that the production and installation of Thermobestos in the U.S. has been responsible for millions of dollars worth of workers' compensation and civil claims against J-M. Although the Brazilian Government at this time has no OSHA equivalent, this will change. "From a moral point of view, I do not see how we can continue to inflict damage from asbestos products on other peoples in the would after the knowledge we have gained in our own state-side experience." Reitze supports Vanderveen's proposal to replace Thermobestos manufacturing with Thermo-12.

Related documents

• Union Carbide Institute Plant Dust Surveys of J-M Thermobestos Insulation Blocks (1962)
• Johns-Manville Correspondence on Thermobestos Skin Irritation at Reid-Hayden (1953)
• C. J. Dandrow's Draft Bulletin to District Managers on a High Temperature Insulation Fabrication Shop (1955)