Warren Max Deutsch to K. V. Lindell on the Caution Statement for Chrysotile Fiber Bags (1968)

A two-page memo of March 22, 1968, from Warren Max Deutsch at Johns-Manville's general headquarters to K. V. Lindell of the Asbestos Fibre Division, copied to C. L. Sheckler and H. M. Jackson, approving the proposed caution statement for bags of chrysotile asbestos fiber with comments. Noting that state laws require such statements to be placed "prominently" and to stand out from other printing, Deutsch recommends that it go "on the front side of the bag rather than, as proposed, on the back side," be framed or set in distinctive type, and that J-M's name and place of business appear on the bag.

What it shows

The bags were also meant for export. Deutsch knew of no labeling law outside the United States and had found none in the Canadian provinces, but he adds that if any applied, "one point is obvious: the shipment may be handled by people who do not understand English." The memo is one of the March 1968 reviews of Sheckler's draft label, along with H. M. Jackson's approval of March 20.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Memorandum from Warren Max Deutsch to Lindell (AFD Jeffrey), dated 3/22/68. Deutsch basically concurs in the proposals regarding the labeling of asbestos fiber and further recommends that the J-M name should be placed on the container. He raises the question of a possibility that there may be legislation or regulations, requiring labeling in some international purchasers locations and that, if so, it is possible that the label may need to be printed in other languages.

Related documents

• H. M. Jackson to K. V. Lindell Approving the Proposed Caution Label for Asbestos Fiber (1968)