Johns-Manville, Health and Safety Facts: Questions and Answers Concerning Asbestos (1981)

An 18-page Johns-Manville booklet, "Health and Safety Facts: Questions and Answers Concerning Asbestos," from Johns-Manville Corporation at Ken-Caryl Ranch, Denver, "A Subsidiary of Manville Corporation." It answers questions on asbestos in general, specific products (asbestos-cement pipe and sheet, friction materials, gaskets, roofing), health, schools, compensation and regulation, and ends with industry contacts and a list of papers. Asked "Why doesn't J-M just get out of the asbestos business?" it answers that "asbestos can be used safely," that "the health issues we are all reading about now are the result of the excessive exposures of the past," and that society is "better off dealing with a product where the health hazards have been extensively studied."

What it shows

Under "Compensation, Legal Cover-up, Liability," the booklet asks "Was J-M involved in any type of cover-up on the health effects of asbestos?" and answers "The evidence clearly shows the opposite," pointing to medical studies J-M sponsored "since the 1930's" and calling its record "hardly the actions of a company trying to cover-up." It names calcium silicate insulation, insulating cements, sprayed fireproofing and joint cements as friable products that "should not be used today, except when no substitute can be found," and says the government "specified the product, controlled the work practices, and established the exposure standards" in the shipyards. J-M filed for bankruptcy in August 1982.