Dr. Kenneth W. Smith to W. A. Young on Asbestos and Silica Hazards at the Toronto Plant (1948)

A one-page confidential memo of November 27, 1948, from Dr. Kenneth W. Smith at Asbestos, Quebec, to W. A. Young of J-M's Toronto plant, headed "Asbestosis and Silicosis Hazards." Smith wrote that the best way to prove to the employees that there was no hazard to their health was "to maintain a good housekeeping and dust prevention program," since bulletins and talks were "of no avail" if the men could see the work was dirty or dusty. He named a "definite hazard" in the Transite Pipe Department, where asbestos fiber and silica flour were mixed and the pipe was cut on lathes ("the greatest hazard of all"), and said respirators should be worn there.

What it shows

Smith told Young he could say there was no hazard in the Rock Wool Department, adding, "but not for general publication," that men there sometimes developed "rather obstinate cases of pneumonia." He advised taking dust counts so that good counts would help "dispel any rumors which may arise," and suggested telling the men that at Asbestos only "two cases" of asbestosis had been accepted for compensation. Smith's own survey of 708 mill workers there found 7 men with early asbestosis and 52 more with advanced fibrosis (his industrial hygiene survey).

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Dr. Kenneth W. Smith in a memorandum to W.A. Young (Toronto) 11/27/48. States that "the best way to prove to the employees at your plant that there is no hazard to their health is to maintain a good housekeeping and dust prevention program. Bulletins, prepared talks, etc., are of no avail if the men can see for themselves that the operation is dirty or dusty." Dr. Smith instructs Young to tell the workers that there is no hazard in the Rock Wool Department; however, Dr. Smith has heard, but does not want it publicly disseminated, that some workers using rock wool develop "obstinate cases of pneumonia." Dr. Smith lists some departments at the Toronto plant with definite silica and asbestos hazards and recommends that the workers wear respirators there. Dr. Smith recommends that dust counts be taken; good dust counts will aid in dispelling "any rumors which may arise." Dr. Smith does not think Young "will have any trouble with the asbestos fiber. You can point out that here at Asbestos where the fiber is mined and milled, among the thousands of men who have worked here, we have had only two cases accepted for compensation from asbestosis."