Johns-Manville Health, Safety & Environment Department, Asbestos Information Pamphlet HSE-26L (1975)

An eight-page Johns-Manville information pamphlet on asbestos from its Health, Safety & Environment Department in Denver (form HSE-26L), written between late 1974 and mid-1976: it cites a September 1974 study and says the 2-fiber OSHA limit "will be" in force on July 1, 1976. It covers asbestos's characteristics and production, health concerns, research, the OSHA rules on exposure limits, monitoring, respirators, medical checks and labels, and precautions. It names four diseases linked to asbestos exposure, "asbestosis, bronchogenic (lung) cancer, mesothelioma and gastrointestinal cancer," but says the risks "appear to be confined to occupational and occupationally-related environments."

What it shows

Under "Family Protection" the pamphlet advises change rooms, showers and lockers "to limit the possibility of asbestos being carried into the home," and head covering at work "if hair cannot be satisfactorily cleaned before going home." It tells readers that smoking "greatly increases the risk" of lung cancer for asbestos workers, and that demolition and removal of old asbestos insulation "can be potentially hazardous." It also says most finished products keep the fibers "safely 'locked' in" and that there is no evidence asbestos poses "any risk to the general public."

About this copy

The file holds five copies of the same pamphlet, marked "Exhibit H" and stamped "Produced JM-83"; only the first copy (pages 1 to 8) is published. The front cover is missing from all five.