Harvey B. Elkins to Dr. Allen D. Brandt of Bethlehem Steel on Asbestos at the Quincy Shipyard (1954)

A one-page letter of May 17, 1954, from Harvey B. Elkins, chief of laboratory, to Dr. Allen D. Brandt of the medical division of the Bethlehem Steel Company, who had asked about studies of asbestos dust at Bethlehem's shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts. Elkins found no air studies, but quoted a January 7, 1943, report by "our physician," Dr. George E. Morris, of a visit with the British factory inspector Dr. Merewether: "Drs. Manley and Merewether discussed the asbestosis problem and both agreed that a definite hazard exists, especially in the removal of old asbestos from ships which are being repaired." He added that a possible asbestosis case had been reported at the yard early in 1942, in a man who had installed molded asbestos pipe insulation for 12 years.

What it shows

The 1943 report Elkins quoted is in the chronology as Dr. Morris to Mr. Bowditch. Eleven years later the shipyard's owner was still asking what was known about asbestos dust in its yard.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

On 5/17/54, H. Ilkins writes Dr. A. Brandt of the Bethlehem Steel Company inquiring about studies done on asbestos dust at the Quincy, Massachusetts shipyard and discussing the correspondence between 1942 to 1943 described above.

Editor's note: J-M's description gives the writer as H. Ilkins. The letter is signed Harvey B. Elkins, Chief of Laboratory.