H. B. Rhodes of Union Carbide on Asbestos Papers at the International Congress on Occupational Health (1975)

A memo of September 29, 1975, from H. B. Rhodes of the Metals Division of Union Carbide in Niagara Falls, New York, to R. E. Byrne, Jr., and three colleagues, reporting on the 18th International Congress on Occupational Health in Brighton, England. Rhodes counted 22 papers on asbestos among more than 2,000 delegates. He wrote that the congress "produced only one bombshell in the asbestos area": a paper by Dr. M. Wasserman of Israel, who looked at about 40 mesothelioma deaths there and concluded that the cause was "non-occupational exposure to asbestos."

What it shows

Rhodes noted that many of the deaths in Israel were among small children, that men and women were about equally affected, and that the highest rates were not where the asbestos plants were. He reported that "the mesothelioma situation for occupational exposure continues to look discouraging," and that "the McDonalds" had found the disease "extremely high" among insulators, among people who worked or lived in shipyard cities, and in certain cities with large asbestos plants. He also noted that the London Times had reported the Israeli paper prominently and that rebuttal letters were expected. The memo shows Union Carbide's staff following the research on mesothelioma outside the workplace in 1975.

In Johns-Manville's index

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

H. B. Rhodes memo to R. E. Byrne, Jr., et al. (Union Carbide), 9/29/75, entitled "Visit to the Eighteenth International Congress on Occupational Health--Brighton, England, 9/14-19/75." Rhodes reports on the proceedings of the above-mentioned Congress. Rhodes states that 22 papers directly relating to asbestos were presented and approximately another 15 papers on occupational lung cancer caused by various particulate materials such as silica or talc. The Congress was attended by over 2,000 delegates. Rhodes reports that, in general, the Congress produced only one bombshell in the asbestos area, a paper by Dr. M. Wasserman of Israel. Dr. Wasserman "took a detailed look at about 40 mesothelioma deaths that had been recorded in Israel" and found that a substantial proportion of the deceased had not been occupationally exposed to asbestos and had not lived in the vicinity of an asbestos plant. Dr. Wasserman concluded that the cause of the mesothelioma was non-occupational exposure to asbestos. Rhodes states that, "[o]verall, the mesothelioma situation for occupational exposure continues to look discouraging."

About this copy

This is document 861 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-004587 to CRMC-Motley1000-Subj-004587.