Asbestos Textile Institute Air Hygiene Committee Minutes on Diagnosing Asbestosis and Transferring Workers (1953)

Three pages of minutes, signed by H. M. Jackson of Johns-Manville, of the Asbestos Textile Institute's Air Hygiene Committee meeting of September 9, 1953, at the Essex House in New York, with company doctors including Dr. Paul Cartier and Dr. O. A. Sander. The doctors agreed that asbestosis could not be diagnosed on X-ray alone, listed the signs of a "disabling (compensable) asbestosis," and noted that "there is no cure for the asbestotic fibrosis." To prevent disease they recommended that workers under 40 with an X-ray diagnosis be moved to less exposed jobs, and that anyone whose films showed progression be moved regardless of age.

What it shows

The doctors also agreed that asbestosis "should not be considered as an aggravating factor to heart conditions due to overweight," a question that mattered for compensation. The committee arranged for the Travelers engineering laboratory in Hartford to measure fibre diameters in air samples, noted that the U.S. Public Health Service was evaluating air sampling instruments, and agreed to a statistical review of asbestosis across member plants as "a base line" for judging future dust control.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

Johns-Manville's own chronology of what the company knew describes this document as follows:

ATI Air Hygiene Committee Meeting minutes by Jackson, 9/9/53, report was given on the survey of the incidence of asbestosis among the member companies, results indicated that from 5-11% of employees working in exposed areas were affected. Doctors attending the meeting recommend the following guidelines with respect to job transfer as a means of disease prevention: if an X-ray diagnosis is established for persons under 40, transfer to a job of less exposure should be made; if progression is seen on serial films, job transfers should be made without regard to the individual's age. A proposal for the evaluation of instruments and methods used in air sampling is discussed and a proposed program of sample analysis regarding fiber diameters at the "Travelers' engineering laboratory in Hartford" is mentioned. Evaluation of air sampling apparatus by the U.S. Public Health Service is discussed. Agreement is reached to conduct a review of the incidence of asbestosis which will be used as a base line against which progress and dust control can be measured.

Editor's note: J-M's description says a survey found asbestosis in 5 to 11 percent of employees in exposed areas. No such figure is in these minutes, which only plan a review of the incidence of asbestosis.