Review of Asbestos-Health Literature (1974)

An unsigned 12-page review of the medical literature on asbestos and health, dated June 14, 1974, with four pages of references. It noted that the literature then held "more than 4,000 articles and learned papers on asbestos-related disease" and set out to identify the important ones, by subject: asbestosis, lung cancer, mesothelioma, mining, textile and asbestos-cement manufacturing, insulation work, and exposure of the general public. It stated that "By 1930 asbestosis was a generally recognized occupational hazard of asbestos exposure," that the first major link to lung cancer came in 1947, and that the first important study of mesothelioma appeared in 1960.

What it shows

The review was written from the industry's side: it called popular accounts by writers such as Paul Brodeur "argumentative in tone," and it closed by saying the industry would "continue to be plagued by its own uncertainty" until research showed which uses of asbestos were safe. Even so, it accepted that asbestosis had been a recognized hazard since about 1930. It mentioned Dr. Irving Selikoff's unpublished study of Manville workers and Dr. Philip Enterline's study of retired Johns-Manville employees, and listed seven "vital questions," beginning with whether any exposure level was safe.

In Johns-Manville's index

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

16-page document entitled "Review of Asbestos-Health Literature," prepared by an unknown author, 6/14/74.

About this copy

This is document 726 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-003108 to CRMC-Motley1000-Subj-003123.