John J. Magenheimer to J. H. Marsh on Further McGill Work on Asbestos Safety Garments (1974)

A two-page Raybestos-Manhattan memo of March 4, 1974, from John J. Magenheimer of the company's Advanced Research Laboratory to John H. Marsh, on what further work Dr. G. W. Gibbs might do at McGill University. Magenheimer wrote that "we know that safety garments are capable of producing unsatisfactory dust counts," and that the only answer for ordinary asbestos fabric seemed to be aluminizing the inside of the hoods. He favored filled Novatex for its low dustiness, but noted that its fillers could give off poisonous gases when heated. He recommended engineering improvements to conventional fabric and a commercial aluminized and filled Novatex.

What it shows

Gibbs had proposed studies of how fiber size and shape relate to cancer. Magenheimer thought the work should be done but that R-M was "not in a position to fund this type of project from initiation to completion," and suggested taking part through the Asbestos Information Association/North America or the Asbestos Textile Institute instead. For the safety garments, he advised letting the McGill spending lag until suitable samples were ready. The memo answers Marsh's memo of March 1, 1974, which sent round the McGill report (Motley document 659).

In Johns-Manville's index

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

J.J. Magenheimer memo to J.H. Marsh, 3/4/74, entitled "McGill Study." Magenheimer discusses further work which could be done by Dr. Gibbs on asbestos safety garments. Magenheimer recommends "immediate engineering improvements of conventional fabric" and that R-M produce a commercial aluminized and filled Novatex.

Related documents

• John H. Marsh to P. G. Dolan and Others with the McGill Safety Garment Report (1974)

About this copy

This is document 660 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-002298 to CRMC-Motley1000-Subj-002299.