Physical Examinations of Employees at the Manville Factory (1932)

An unsigned Johns-Manville report on the chest examinations of employees at its factory in Manville, New Jersey, from February 24 to May 19, 1932. At first 600 workers were to be examined, but "the results of the first 500 examined were so impressive" that the whole factory was examined, 1,140 people in all, by X-ray and fluoroscope, with the films read by Dr. F. V. Meriwether of the U.S. Bureau of Mines. Workers were given no specific reason "except the general understanding that it was a 'general health survey'." The report ends with recommendations and tables of positive cases by stage and department. Nine further pages of individual case histories, which name the workers, are not published here.

What it shows

The report explains how cases were labeled. Positive cases with an earlier job in a dusty trade "were called 'Pneumoconiosis'" (the general term for dust disease of the lungs), and those with no earlier dust history "were called 'Asbestosis'." Its summary pages place the largest share of positive cases in the textile department, followed by pipe covering and cement, and roofing. The recommendations call for turning away new applicants with long histories in coal mining or other dusty work, or with signs of tuberculosis; better dust control with strict enforcement of respirator use; warning employees about unnecessary dust exposure; and periodic X-rays. The X-ray readings themselves, and J-M's request that they be kept confidential, are in the correspondence with Dr. Meriwether.