Paul Kotin, Remarks before the Consumer Product Safety Commission (1977)

A 15-page transcript of remarks by Dr. Paul Kotin, Johns-Manville's senior vice president for health, safety and environment, before the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on June 9, 1977. Kotin spoke on asbestos and health and on how the federal government, and the Commission in particular, should regulate it. He discussed asbestos disease, smoking, "locked-in" versus friable products and the "responsible use" of the material. He held that the "unique special properties of asbestos, can be preserved," and pointed to asbestos-cement water pipe as a "great material."

What it shows

Kotin told the Commission that cases of asbestos disease had been found in people living near plants and in family members of asbestos workers. Of the family cases he said: "Actually, the exposures, and let us say the conjugal cases, represent maximal exposures," since asbestos brought home by the worker is present day and night. He also spoke of "great hopes for continuing to maintain asbestos as an item of commerce" while producing no adverse effect. The transcript shows J-M's medical director acknowledging household risk to a consumer regulator while arguing against broad restrictions.

In Johns-Manville's index

Johns-Manville's legal department indexed the Motley 1,000 in 1984. Its index describes this document as follows:

Transcript of remarks by Dr. Paul Kotin before the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 6/9/77. Dr. Kotin discuses the subject of asbestos and health, particularly as it relates to the regulatory posture of the Federal Government, and more specifically to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

About this copy

This is document 623 of the Motley 1,000, from the set the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust's records facility certified as true copies, pages CRMC-Motley1000-Subj-002114 to CRMC-Motley1000-Subj-002128.