Dr. George W. Wright, Testimony at the Labor Department Hearing on the Asbestos Standard (1972)

The transcript of Dr. George W. Wright's statement and questioning on March 16, 1972, at the U.S. Department of Labor's public hearing on a permanent standard for asbestos dust, before hearing examiner Arthur M. Goldberg (67 pages). Wright, head of medical research in the Department of Medicine at St. Luke's Hospital in Cleveland and from 1939 to 1953 a member of the Saranac Laboratory staff, was introduced by F. L. Pundsack of Johns-Manville as "our next testifier." He argued that the existing limit of five fibers per cubic centimeter was safe, criticized the government's criteria document behind the proposed two-fiber limit, and said mesothelioma appeared to be "predominantly linked with exposures to crocidolite or amosite."

What it shows

Wright framed his statement around one question: how much asbestos in the air a worker could breathe over a working life "without risk that such exposure will cause disease." He faulted the criteria document's exposure tables for insulation workers, saying peaks had to be measured as well as averages, and noted that "cement mixing" was "notoriously characterized by peaks of exposure as high as 75 fibers/cc." Under questioning, a panel member asked why, if lower levels were technically feasible, one should not "opt now in a maximum direction of safety."

In Johns-Manville's index

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

Statement and Examination of Dr. George W. Wright (Head of the Division of Medical Research, Department of Medicine, St. Luke's Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio) before Arthur M. Goldberg (Hearing Examiner), U.S. Dept. of Labor in the Matter of Standard for Exposure to Asbestos Dust, Proposed Rule Making, on 3/16/72. Dr. Wright criticizes the new proposed federal standard for asbestos dust of two fibers/cc. Dr. Wright believes that the current OSHA standard of five fibers/cc time-weighted average with a peak not to exceed ten fibers/cc is a safe standard, which will protect against the development of asbestosis and lung cancer. Dr. Wright states that a more rigorous standard would be justified for exposure to crocidolite and amosite fiber because of the greater risk of contracting mesothelioma from these dusts. Dr. Wright also discusses the special problems in monitoring the dust exposure of insulation workers.

Related documents

• Henry B. Moreno of Johns-Manville, Testimony at the Labor Department Hearing on the Asbestos Standard (1972)
• Insulation Industry Testimony of Sheckler, Royer and Zumwalt at the Labor Department Asbestos Hearing (1972)
• Albert H. Fay of the Asbestos Information Association, Testimony at the Labor Department Asbestos Hearing (1972)
• Matthew M. Swetonic of Johns-Manville and the Asbestos Information Association, Testimony Against the Two-Fiber Standard and Warning Labels (1972)
• Isaac H. Weaver of Raybestos-Manhattan, Testimony at the Labor Department Asbestos Hearing (1972)
• Walter Hesse of Johns-Manville, Statement on Asbestos in Insulation Materials at the Labor Department Hearing (1972)
• Fred L. Pundsack's Testimony Against OSHA's Proposed Asbestos Warning Labels, with His Letter to Arthur Goldberg (1972)
• Statements of Clifford Sheckler, Dr. George W. Wright and Henry B. Moreno at the Labor Department Asbestos Hearing (1972)

About this copy

This is document 310 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-001458 to CRMC-Motley1000-Subj-001524.