Third Draft of Johns-Manville's Prospective Employee Caution Booklet on Asbestos, "Before You Begin" (1976)

A six-page typed "3rd DRAFT: Prospective Employee Caution Booklet--Asbestos," undated but from 1976, with the cover heading "BEFORE YOU BEGIN..." and the inside heading "THERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW." It tells job seekers at J-M plants using asbestos fiber that breathing "excessive amounts" causes health problems, describes Asbestosis, Lung Cancer in smokers, Mesothelioma and a possible risk of digestive cancer, lists six rules new workers must follow, and ends with an eight-question form to be signed and returned before the first pay period ends.

What it shows

After naming the diseases, the draft says: "THERE'S NO REASON FOR CONCERN about asbestos-related health problems by coming to work for Johns-Manville today," since the cases were "related to dustier conditions that existed many years ago," and adds, "We are confident that we are not exposing any employee to hazardous amounts of asbestos today." On lung cancer it tells readers that "Asbestos alone does not appear to cause this disease" and that non-smokers have "no increased risk." The questionnaire asks how many cigarettes the applicant smokes and what brand, and whether he is willing "as a condition of your working for J-M to not smoke on the job and to attempt to stop smoking altogether." A reviewer's handwriting crosses out the opening paragraph with the words "No Sense" and inserts "rare" before "cancer" in the mesothelioma passage.

The booklet went out as "Before You Begin" for hires from January 1977 (Kotin's bulletin); an earlier draft was circulated in July 1976 (Poutiatine to Cooper). See also Smoking Defense.