Johns-Manville Signs to Employees on Respirators and Dust Collection (c. 1970)

Three undated Johns-Manville workplace signs. The first, "To Our Employees," says that "through your Union and the manufacturers, considerable money is being expended for research to determine the effects of asbestos fiber on people," that J-M has provided "a Bureau of Mines approved respirator" which it recommends "when working in dusty areas," and that the company "must insist" on cooperation with health and safety precautions. The other two warn that fabricating equipment "cannot be operated unless dust collection system is turned on and all personnel in area are wearing respirators & goggles," and that no one is permitted in the shop area "without goggles and respirator."

What it shows

The signs speak to men who fabricated and installed insulation "in a fab shop or on the jobsite," and the mention of union and manufacturer research points to the insulation industry's health research of the late 1960s. They show J-M by then requiring respirators and working dust collection in its fabrication shops. The first sign says the respirator filters "should be cleaned daily" and are available from the foreman.