Asbestos Textile Institute Board of Governors on Adverse Publicity from the 1964 Conference (1965)

Two pages of minutes of the Asbestos Textile Institute's Board of Governors meeting of February 11, 1965, at the Carolina Hotel in Pinehurst, North Carolina, with members from Johns-Manville Sales Corporation, Raybestos-Manhattan and others present. President J. A. Brown, Jr. raised "the unfavorable publicity" from the October 1964 conference on "Biological Effects of Asbestos" held by the New York Academy of Sciences, and the need for "standardized answers to questions regarding the alleged adverse effects of asbestos" for those who handle or fabricate the industry's products. He proposed enlisting Dr. Lewis Cralley of the U.S. Public Health Service "in shaping these answers."

What it shows

J. T. Griffis of H. K. Porter reported that the major Canadian fiber producers had just formed an organization "to check the health of their employees and also, to deal with the economics of adverse publicity," and the board discussed working with it. Brown stressed that the industry "should know what to tell customers who inquired about the alleged harmful effects of handling asbestos products." Dr. Cralley was then called into the meeting. The minutes show the industry's response to the 1964 conference, which its Air Hygiene Committee had expected would need to be rebutted (Motley document 342).

In Johns-Manville's index

Johns-Manville's legal department indexed the Motley 1,000 in 1984. Its index describes this document as follows:

ATI Meeting Minutes, 2/11/65 - Board of Governors. There is discussion of the recent unfavorable publicity generated by the Conference on Biological Effects of Asbestos held in October, 1964 under the auspices of the New York Academy of Sciences. The need for an industry response to allay the fears of customers is discussed as is the recent formation of an association of the major asbestos fiber producers in Canada. This new association will conduct investigations into the health of member employees and also intends to deal jointly with the problems of adverse publicity. It is decided to consult with Dr. L. J. Cralley to attempt to shape the answers to the issues raised by the recent conference.

Related documents

• Asbestos Textile Institute Air Hygiene Committee on Rebutting the Biological Effects of Asbestos Conference (1964)

About this copy

This is document 344 of the Motley 1,000, from the set the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust's records facility certified as true copies, pages CRMC-Motley1000-Subj-001717 to CRMC-Motley1000-Subj-001718.