Sumner Simpson to C. J. Stover on the Charlotte Asbestosis Cases and the Saranac Experiments (1936)

A two-page letter of December 10, 1936, from Sumner Simpson, president of Raybestos-Manhattan, to C. J. Stover, publisher of Asbestos magazine, answering his letter with the Charlotte News clipping. Simpson called it "rather interesting, but not unexpected," and predicted that many of the cases would be dismissed. "At the same time," he wrote, "we are facing the fact that asbestos dust does leave a deposit on the lungs, but we do not know whether asbestos dust, which they call Asbestosis, creates Tuberculosis." He told Stover that the companies had decided to have Saranac Laboratory carry on experiments with guinea pigs and rabbits, starting before January 1 and lasting about three years.

What it shows

Simpson told the trade-press publisher: "I think we also know that by changing a man's occupation, Asbestosis is not dangerous. The only way we can demonstrate this is by having a long time medical investigation." He added, "Personally, from what little we have seen, we do not believe it is as serious as some of the attorneys are attempting to make it," and that workers who developed tuberculosis claimed it came from factory dust and "have a good many names for it, such as Silicosis, Pneumoconiosis, etc." The letter shows how Raybestos-Manhattan's president described the new Saranac experiments outside the group of sponsoring companies, and what he expected them to show. He renewed his invitation to Stover to see the dust control at Charleston, or at Manheim within two or three months.

In Johns-Manville's index

Johns-Manville's attorneys indexed the Sumner Simpson Papers. Their index describes this document as follows:

Acknowledges receipt of letter enclosing clipping from Charlotte, North Carolina News. States that asbestos dust causes fibrosis but it is not known if it causes tuberculosis. States that if a person's occupation is changed, asbestosis is not dangerous. Informs that Saranac Lab will be conducting experiments on the effects of asbestos dust on test animals. Extends invitation to view dust control systems at Manheim plant.

Related documents

• C. J. Stover to Sumner Simpson Sending a Charlotte News Clipping (1936)
• C. J. Stover to Sumner Simpson Thanking Him for His December 10 Letter (1936)
• Vandiver Brown to Leroy U. Gardner Sending J-M's First Quarterly Payment for the Asbestos Experiments (1936)
• Leroy U. Gardner to Sumner Simpson on Starting the Asbestos Research Program (1936)

About this copy

This is document 03079-03080 of the Sumner Simpson Papers, as numbered in the collection's index.