Carl Thompson of Hill and Knowlton to Bert C. Goss on the Johns-Manville Project on the Selikoff Program (1968)

A three-page internal memo of September 19, 1968, from Carl Thompson to Bert C. Goss at Hill and Knowlton, the public relations firm, giving "a skeletonized rundown on a new project given us by Solon and Raines of Johns-Manville." At J-M's request, the firm was to "give all assistance possible -- which really means do much of the work" to help Mount Sinai make "a major news story" of the Insulation Industry Hygiene Research Program, a study of insulators' health led by Dr. Irving J. Selikoff and paid for by the insulators' union and J-M. The memo plans a press kit and a press conference at Mount Sinai with union, industry and U.S. Public Health Service speakers.

What it shows

Under the heading "the negatives of such an announcement," the memo sets the lines to be taken: making sure all statements "point out that the problem is occupational and does not involve a public risk"; "Playing up the cooperative effort rather than the problem being studied"; "Describing the problem in terms of need for knowing more about it rather than a broad, accepted hazard"; and keeping speakers from "speculations" in questions and answers, with the note "stay off brake linings, mesothelioma, ambient air, etc." J-M had just agreed to fund the research (see the union president's August 1968 letter), and this memo shows it also arranging, through its public relations firm, how the hazard would be described to the press.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Hill and Knowlton (J-M's PR firm) internal memorandum dated 9/19/68, to Bert C. Goss from Carl Thompson, entitled, Johns-Manville project on Selikoff Program. Thompson characterized the memorandum as "a skeletonized rundown on a new project given us by Solon and Raines [J-M]. Assignment was to make a major news story of the announcement of a new research program (the IIHRP). Most of the notes are helpful but it is clear that the tone is to downplay the asbestos health risk:

10. Most importantly, we will have to keep in mind the negatives of such an announcement and how best to make these positives. In brief, some of these are:

A. Making sure all statements for participants point out that the problem is occupational and does not involve a public risk.

B. Playing up the cooperative effort rather than the problem being studied. This may not be completely possible obviously.

C. Describing the problem in terms of need for knowing more about it rather than a broad, accepted hazard.

D. Describing the research in terms of reducing exposure to possible health risks of inhaling asbestos to lowest feasible levels regardless of whether there is known health risks involved at current exposures.

E. Attempting to keep all participants right on the subject, and not (in Q&A for example) going off into speculations related to the occupational health of the workers. (e.g., stay off brake linings. mesothelioma, ambient air, etc.)

F. Giving the major play to Selikoff and his group and to Murray Brown and his group while emphasizing this as an outstanding and trail blazing example of industry-union scientist-government cooperative effort.