C. L. Sheckler to J. R. M. Hutcheson on Respirators for Asbestos at the Jeffrey Mine (1970)

A three-page Johns-Manville memo of May 21, 1970, from C. L. Sheckler at General Headquarters to J. R. M. Hutcheson of the Asbestos Fibre Division at Asbestos, Quebec, on "Respiratory Protection for Asbestos." Sheckler listed the U.S. Bureau of Mines approved dust respirators on J-M's approved list and noted that the Bureau's tests "are based on silica dust particulates and not asbestos." He recounted that late in 1969 the Billerica plant was cited by Massachusetts for using Dustfoe 77 respirators against what the state called "a highly toxic dust"; the heavier respirators the state wanted were "heavy and uncomfortable" and "The employees refused to wear them."

What it shows

Hutcheson wanted a lighter respirator workers would accept at one Jeffrey mine location. Sheckler described the daily laundering and washing of masks in the Manville textile department, and explained that the American Optical R9100 disposable mask was not on J-M's list because it could not be cleaned. He would approve it for one Jeffrey operation if the masks were thrown away daily, at about $2.30 each, and warned that other Jeffrey workers might then want them too. "In order to provide maximum protection to the employee, meet governmental agency requirements, and protect management and the Corporation against negligence litigation," he wrote, "it is essential that we furnish the best safety equipment suitable for the operation." The month before, Hutcheson had reported workers in the old section of the Asbestos plant relying on the uncomfortable Dustfoe 77 (Hutcheson to Swallow).