J. P. Woodard to Arthur J. Vorwald on Quebec Publicity and the Saranac Reports (1948)

A one-page letter of March 15, 1948, from J. P. Woodard of Johns-Manville to Dr. Arthur J. Vorwald of the Saranac Laboratory, with a copy to Dr. A. J. Lanza and a blind copy to Vandiver Brown. Woodard wrote that J-M people in Canada and on the West Coast were "becoming more and more disturbed" about "these two problems of diatomaceous earth and asbestos. And so am I." As an example he cited the March 1948 issue of Relations, published in Montreal, which was given over almost entirely to an article about deaths in Quebec blamed on bad working conditions in a mining area, and which put asbestos mining in the same class as mining that causes silicosis.

What it shows

Woodard added that a doctor connected with Quebec's Department of Labor was expected to write more on the subject, and that calls, telegrams and letters were coming in asking when the Saranac reports would be ready. He asked Vorwald for dates. J-M's interest in the unfinished study was tied to the public debate in Quebec (see also Woodard's letter of June 1948).

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Woodard writes Vorwald on 3/15/48 of concern over effects of Montreal newspaper article discussing Quebec deaths allegedly due to mine working conditions.

Editor's note: J-M's description calls the source a Montreal newspaper article. The letter describes the March 1948 issue of Relations, a publication of l'Ecole Sociale Populaire of Montreal.