W. B. Reitze to Dr. Paul Kotin on Conditions at the Waukegan Plant (1974)

A two-page memo of September 5, 1974, from W. B. Reitze, J-M's manager of industrial health, to Dr. Paul Kotin, who headed J-M's health and environmental work, with a copy to Dr. George W. Wright, a medical consultant to J-M. Reitze reports on an August 27 tour of the Waukegan, Illinois, plant, where the wet end of the pipe operation was "among the worst I have ever seen in a JM operation." The air-handling system at two of the Willows (machines that opened the raw fiber) had been down for at least a year, its duct work was "coming apart at the joints," and asbestos fibers settled on the visitors' clothes as they watched.

What it shows

Reitze describes the bag-opening stations as "among the oldest in JM": a man leaned into the Willow to empty blocks of chrysotile and shook out burlap bags of crocidolite, and ripped sacks scattered fiber "all over the Willows area." Whatever the fiber counts and even with a respirator, he wrote, "the potential for a very high exposure does exist," and J-M's own technology "can and has done better at other locations." He found signs of broom sweeping, vacuum cleaners covered with dust, and housekeeping that was "extremely poor." Eleven days later Reitze restated J-M's ban on brooms for asbestos waste (his September 16 memo).

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Memorandum from W.B. Reitze to Kotin, cc: G.W. Wright, dated 9/5/74, regarding Waukegan visit. Reports that the wet end of the pipe operation was among the worst Reitze had ever seen in a J-M operation. The air handling system at G2 and 3 Willows was not functioning properly and apparently had been down at least a year. Duct work was coming apart at the joints, and asbestos fibers accumulated on Reitze's and Wright's clothing while they stood observing the Willows. Bag opening was "a far cry from latest advances in the state of the art; the man leans into the Willow and empties the asbestos block (chrysotile) and shakes out the burlap bag (crocidolite)." Brooms appeared to be in use for cleanup since the two large vacuum cleaners were heavily covered with dust, leading Reitze to conclude they had not been used for some time.