W. N. Allman and Vandiver Brown on a Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Inquiry About Stonefelt (1944)

Two internal Johns-Manville memos. On March 7, 1944, W. N. Allman passed to Vandiver Brown, J-M's attorney, a letter from Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation in San Diego asking about "the possibility of contact dermatitis by handlers of 'Stonefelt'" (a J-M mineral wool insulation) and what precautions to take, and asked how to answer it. On March 9 Brown replied that a 1940 letter to North American Aviation was unsuitable "since it relates primarily to silicosis," and supplied new opening paragraphs for adapting his January 1944 letter to Continental Can.

What it shows

Brown's draft answer says that some new handlers of mineral wool "sometimes develop a slight irritation or rash," questions whether it is severe enough to be called "dermatitis," and states that "an immunity speedily develops" so workmen "are no longer bothered after a week or two of exposure." Customer questions about Stonefelt went to the legal department, which kept a set of standard replies; see the letters to Budd Manufacturing, North American Aviation, Douglas Aircraft and Continental Can.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Letter dated 3/7/1944 from Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corp. Draft of letter written by Vandiver Brown dated 3/9/44, responding to Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corp. inquiry on Stonefelt and dermatitis. Advises that an immunity speedily develops and that the workmen are no longer bothered after a week or two of exposure.

Related documents

• Vandiver Brown to George Trautvetter of the Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Company on Stonefelt Insulation (1939)
• Vandiver Brown to E. P. Burlew of Continental Can on Skin Irritation from Stonefelt (1944)
• 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)