Asbestos Textile Institute General Meeting at Thetford Mines (1965)

The first five pages of minutes of the Asbestos Textile Institute's general meeting of June 4, 1965, at the Hotel Le Provence in Thetford Mines, Quebec, attended by the textile makers, the Quebec mining companies and guests including Dr. Lewis J. Cralley of the U.S. Public Health Service. Dr. Kenneth W. Smith, Johns-Manville's medical director, "stressed the desirability, indeed the necessity, of the asbestos industry telling the truth about the health of its employees," said some of "the more prolific writers on so-called 'asbestosis'" had few actual cases behind their conclusions, and urged companies to open their records and cooperate with the Public Health Service. Ivan Sabourin, attorney for the Quebec Asbestos Mining Association, described its health work and its new research program.

What it shows

Sabourin said he believed "cancer is not necessarily involved due to association with asbestos," that a recent American Medical Association article was "not convincing," and he regretted the "adverse publicity" it brought. He said the mining association sought an alliance with a university such as McGill "so that authoritative background for publicity can be had." Dr. Cralley reported that his environmental study of the textile plants was going well and would be extended to other asbestos industries. The minutes show how industry doctors and lawyers spoke about asbestos and cancer in 1965.

In Johns-Manville's index

Johns-Manville's legal department indexed the Motley 1,000 in 1984. Its index describes this document as follows:

ATI Meeting Minutes, 6/4/65 - General Meeting. Held at Thetford Mines, Canada. Medical directors of various members of both ATI and QAMA are in attendance, including Dr. Smith. Dr. Smith makes a presentation which "stressed the desirability, indeed the necessity, of the asbestos industry telling the truth about the health of its employees and giving meaningful reports as to company experience. He pointed out that some of the more prolific writers on so-called 'asbestosis' have relatively little background of actual 'cases' on which to base their theories or conclusions as compared with our collective and also individual company experience over many years time. Dr. Smith urged full cooperation on the part of various companies to open their records, and full cooperation with the work of the U.S. Public Health Service. He stated that the general overall health of Johns-Manville long-time employees compares favorably with industry in general and pointed to the steadily expanding membership in their 25-Year Club as evidence of this fact." Ivan Sabourin describes the work of QAMA to protect the health of asbestos workers and to pursue research. Dr. Cralley makes a presentation summarizing the findings and activities of the U.S. Public Health Service's environmental study of asbestos employees in U.S. textile plants. Cralley reports that after the Conference on Biological Effects of Asbestos, held in New York in October of 1964, the New York Academy of Sciences established a Division of Environmental Sciences.

Related documents

• Asbestos Textile Institute General Meeting Minutes at Thetford Mines, with Dr. Kenneth Smith's Remarks (1965)

About this copy

This is document 345 of the Motley 1,000, from the set the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust's records facility certified as true copies, pages CRMC-Motley1000-Subj-001719 to CRMC-Motley1000-Subj-001723.