National Insulation Manufacturers Association Board Minutes on J-M's Caution Statement (1964)

Four pages of minutes of the Board of Directors of the National Insulation Manufacturers Association (NIMA), the insulation makers' trade group, meeting in Chicago on April 14, 1964, with M. W. Burleson of Johns-Manville Sales Corp. in the chair and directors from Owens-Corning Fiberglas, Pittsburgh Corning, Fibreboard and other companies present. Most of the business was routine. Under other business it was reported that Johns-Manville Sales Corp. was printing on the cartons and crates of its asbestos products (calcium silicate, magnesia, asbestos cements) "a note pertaining to the dust created by these materials," and the full caution was recorded, ending with advice to wear respirators approved by the U.S. Bureau of Mines.

What it shows

The minutes put J-M's caution before its competitors in the insulation trade in April 1964, a month before the wording went out inside the company in Acher's memo. G. D. Reycraft of the law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, who later that year drafted the Asbestos Textile Institute's letter to Dr. Selikoff, attended.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

At a NIMA meeting on 4/14/64, it was reported that J-M was going to print on cartons, crates, etc. which contain asbestos products (calcium silicate, magnesia. asbestos cements) a caution statement. The wording will be as follows: "CAUTION: This product contains asbestos fiber. Inhalation of asbestos in excessive quantities over long periods of time may be harmful. If dust is created when this product is handled, avoid breathing the dust. If adequate ventilation control is not possible, wear respirators approved by the U.S. Bureau of Mines for pneumoconiosis producing dust."

Editor's note: J-M's description says J-M was going to print the caution statement. The minutes say J-M "was printing" it.