Sumner Simpson to O. H. Cilley Sending a Wall Street Journal Article on Aluminum Dust and Silicosis (1944)

A one-line covering letter of June 29, 1944, from Sumner Simpson, president of Raybestos-Manhattan, to O. H. Cilley at the Manheim plant, asking him to note the enclosed article "in reference to Silicosis Control" and then send it to A. F. Heinsohn to read and return. The enclosure is the front page and page 2 of The Wall Street Journal of June 24, 1944, with an article by Glenn H. Cummings reporting that inhaling fine aluminum powder had helped silicotic miners in Ontario and might prevent the disease.

What it shows

The article describes the aluminum treatment worked out by Drs. J. J. Denny, W. D. Robson and D. A. Irwin for McIntyre-Porcupine Mines, tried on workers at a clinic in Timmins, Ontario, and later used by Dr. J. W. G. Hannon of Washington, Pennsylvania. The same research had been reported in 1939 (Collier's, "Dust Fights Dust"). The article is about Silicosis, not asbestosis; Simpson passed it to his plant managers at Manheim and North Charleston. Cilley replied that he had discussed the subject with the Industrial Hygiene Foundation the year before (Cilley's reply of July 1).

In Johns-Manville's index

Johns-Manville's attorneys indexed the Sumner Simpson Papers. Their index describes this document as follows:

Transmittal letter for an article "Aluminum Dust Found to Prevent Silica Dust From Harming Lungs" printed in the Wall Street Journal on 6/24/44. Article reports that Dr. Hannon has found that the inhalation of aluminum powder will alleviate the symptoms of silicosis in many cases and will prevent silicosis from starting (article attached).

Related documents

• O. H. Cilley to Sumner Simpson Acknowledging the Aluminum Dust Article (1944)
• Collier's, "Dust Fights Dust" by Hannah Lees (1939)

About this copy

This is document 05515-05521 of the Sumner Simpson Papers, as numbered in the collection's index.