Dr. Kenneth W. Smith to L. E. Inguagiato on Barium Metaborate in Fungus-Resistant Asbestos Shingles (1959)

A one-page memo of April 1959 from Dr. Kenneth W. Smith, Johns-Manville's medical director, to L. E. Inguagiato at J-M's Marrero plant, about a project on fungus-resistant asbestos roofing shingles (C.P. No. 046-17), answering Inguagiato's April 6 letter to Hugh Jackson. Smith was "very pleased to note that you are investigating potential health hazards associated with new raw materials and products." He could find no reference to barium metaborate, the new compound, and since barium compounds "can be very highly toxic," he asked for the information supplied by its maker, Buckman Laboratories, whether a "warning" or "caution" label was needed under Manufacturing Chemists Association standards, and what kind of respirator the maker recommended.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

K.W. Smith letter to L.E. Inguagiato, Marrero, 4/8/59, shows J-M effort to investigate potential health hazards relating to "new raw materials and products."