W. K. Zewadski and Arthur L. Fisk Jr. on Albert Tome's Claim Over Rock Wool Home Insulation (1952)

Two letters about a claim by Albert Tome against Johns-Manville. On February 13, 1952, W. K. Zewadski, a Florida attorney, wrote to J-M's Home Insulation Department in Atlanta that his client had suffered extensive injuries to his throat, lungs and nasal passages and loss of his voice, which he blamed on particles from J-M home insulation. Arthur L. Fisk Jr. of J-M's Legal Department replied on May 13, 1952, that J-M could not find that Tome had bought its insulation, and assured Zewadski that the discomfort was not caused by anything toxic or poisonous in J-M's mineral wool, citing a Harvard School of Public Health study. "It is conceivable that your client is allergic to mineral wool," Fisk wrote.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Letter from W.K. Zewadski dated 2/13/52 re: claim of Albert Tome against Johns-Manville Co. Letter states Mr. Tome suffered extensive injuries to his throat, lungs and nasal passages caused by particles from long fiber super-felt home insulation. Memorandum from George Petters to P.A. Voight dated 5/9/52 on handling complaints of this type. On 5/13/52, Arthur L. Fisk, Jr. responds to Zewadski: "It is indeed unfortunate that your client suffered discomfort but this is solely attributable to Mr. Tome's extremely rare hypersensitivity."

Editor's note: J-M's description mentions a memorandum of May 9, 1952, from George Petters to P. A. Voight; it is not in this file. The quotation attributed to Fisk, "solely attributable to Mr. Tome's extremely rare hypersensitivity," could not be found in the legible parts of his reply, which says "It is conceivable that your client is allergic to mineral wool."