H. M. Jackson to Dr. G. W. Wright and Dr. T. H. Davison on Dr. Enterline's Retiree Study Findings (1971)

A one-page memo of March 17, 1971, headed "Retiree Study," from H. M. Jackson at J-M headquarters to Dr. G. W. Wright in Cleveland and Dr. T. H. Davison at Waukegan, sending a letter and charts from Dr. Philip Enterline that further organized the statistics in Pierre Decoufle's doctoral thesis. Enterline was extending the study to the Asbestos, Quebec, plant, the Jeffrey Mine and J-M's "non-exposure" plants and offices. By phone he had said that in the "non-exposure" plants, maintenance and service men had a higher rate of lung (bronchogenic) cancer while production workers had rates like the general population.

What it shows

Enterline also reported a higher rate of lung cancer at the Asbestos plant, comparable to J-M's exposed U.S. plants, and in the Quebec mine and mill population mainly among the A&D Railway group. Jackson wrote that the significance could only be judged from the complete report, due in a couple of months. The memo follows the first report of February, which had found a four-fold lung cancer risk among maintenance-service retirees.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

H.M. Jackson memorandum to Drs. G.W. Wright and T.H. Davison, dated 3/17/71, indicating that Dr. Enterline is currently working on an extension of his study to include the Asbestos plant, Jeffrey mine and "non-exposure" plants and offices. Jackson states that last week Dr. Enterline commented that in the "non-exposure" plants, maintenance and service personnel had a higher incidence of bronchogenic cancer, whereas production personnel had general population equivalent rates. He also said that at the Asbestos, Quebec, plant, there was a higher incidence of bronchogenic cancer comparable to that of the U.S. exposed plants; and in the mine and mill population, there was a higher incidence primarily in the A&D Railway group.

Related documents

• H. M. Jackson on Dr. Enterline's Study, "Mortality Patterns of a Group of Retired Asbestos Workers" (1971)