Dr. Joseph L. Goodman to John H. Marsh on the Philadelphia Meeting on Biological Effects of Asbestos (1974)

A three-page letter of September 19, 1974, from Dr. Joseph L. Goodman, a physician in North Charleston, South Carolina, to John H. Marsh of Raybestos-Manhattan, written after a meeting in Philadelphia at which the company's mortality and morbidity data were reviewed. Goodman wrote that in many areas of the plants "the dust counts have still not, in many areas, gotten to 2 fibers per cc level, but remain in the neighborhood of between 4 and 12," and that new cases of pneumoconiosis and fibrosis from 1957 to 1974 made "an absolutely flat line graph." He listed six matters that needed "immediate attention," from better engineering to cut dust, to a uniform medical program, to teaching employees about the hazards of their work.

What it shows

Goodman noted a marked improvement in the plants since dust controls came in during the 1930s, but no real change in dust counts over the past 20 years, and he linked the steady rate of new lung disease to that. He questioned medical programs that offered physical examinations instead of requiring them, noting that at Stratford only about 150 of the 1,500 employees were examined, and he expected that Dr. Irving Selikoff "would be very critical of only utilizing a 2 fiber level." He wrote that "a substantial improvement in the engineering and cleaning up of the plants is necessary." The letter shows a doctor working with the company telling it, in 1974, that its dust control had stalled.

In Johns-Manville's index

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

Dr. J.L. Goodman letter to J.H. Marsh, 9/19/74, entitled "Biological Effects of Asbestos Meeting in Philadelphia." Dr. Goodman states that the following items need immediate attention: 1) Better engineering to reduce the concentration of dust to below 2 fpcc in all R-M's plants. 2) A uniform medical program throughout the corporation. 3) Reporting of statistics that would be consistent throughout the corporation. 4) Double checking X-ray evaluations. 5) Education of employees as to the health hazards of their work place and of the means of controlling these hazards. 6) Free flow of ideas and suggestions between all divisions.

Related documents

• Agenda of the Philadelphia Meeting on Biological Effects of Exposure to Asbestos Dust (1974)

About this copy

This is document 639 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-002205 to CRMC-Motley1000-Subj-002210.