R. S. Coleman to H. A. Berg Enclosing Johns-Manville's Position Paper, Asbestos and Human Health (1968)

A one-line inter-office memo of January 29, 1968, on National Asbestos Mines Limited letterhead, from R. S. Coleman to H. A. Berg, attaching "a copy of the Johns Manville Company's position paper on the subject of Asbestos and Human Health." The five-page paper, dated January 15, 1968, says that research "has not shown evidence of any risk to the general public from the use of finished asbestos products" and that the industry "long ago recognized the risk" of asbestosis among some workers. It describes lung cancer and mesothelioma as subjects of study, and lists the dust controls and research the industry was funding.

What it shows

The paper was the public line Johns-Manville took in early 1968. It treated the small "ferruginous" bodies found in the lungs of ordinary city dwellers as no sign of disease, and said a 1967 study of insulation workers found the higher lung cancer risk "only among cigarette smokers." On mesothelioma it said cases had been reported "so infrequently" that there were no accurate figures for the United States. It closed with a promise to keep seeking "maximum possible protection" for workers in the mines and plants and for "fabricators and applicators" of asbestos.

In Johns-Manville's index

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

R.S. Coleman memo to H.A. Berg (National Asbestos Mines, Ltd.), 1/29/68, entitled "Asbestos and Human Health." Coleman encloses J-M's position paper on the subject of asbestos and human health.

About this copy

This is document 929 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-005215 to CRMC-Motley1000-Subj-005225.