Vandiver Brown to Sumner Simpson with Dr. Lanza's Comments on Gardner's Interim Report (1940)

A one-page letter of January 12, 1940, from Vandiver Brown, Johns-Manville's general attorney, to Sumner Simpson, president of Raybestos-Manhattan, "supplementing Dr. Gardner's latest report," with a copy of a letter of January 11 from Dr. Anthony J. Lanza, assistant medical director of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Returning the report, Lanza called it "quite an outstanding piece of work" that "would be worth a great deal if these conclusions on page four can definitely be nailed down without any fear of contradiction." He wrote that it "does away with any question of asbestos producing toxic effects" and "definitely takes asbestos out of the free silica class as an industrial hazard," and that Gardner should pursue the work "to its conclusion."

What it shows

The report was Dr. Leroy Gardner's interim report on the asbestos dust experiments the industry was paying for at Saranac Laboratory, which found that very finely ground asbestos did little harm to animals' lungs and that the irritation it caused was mechanical rather than chemical. Brown had asked the sponsors whether to pay for another year (his letter of December 26, 1939), and he passed on Lanza's opinion while that question was open. Lanza read the tentative findings as good news for the industry, provided they could be confirmed. Simpson thanked Brown and sent copies to his division heads.

In Johns-Manville's index

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

04336-04337. Transmittal letter for correspondence dated 1/11/40 from Dr. Lanza recommending continuation of sponsorship of Saranac studies.

04335. Acknowledges receipt of letter dated 1/8/40. Believes it would be worthwhile to agree to sponsor Saranac studies for another year. States if Saranac study can prove its hypothesis asbestos will be taken out the free silica class of industrial hazards.

Related documents

• Vandiver Brown to Sumner Simpson Enclosing Gardner's Interim Report (1939)
• Sumner Simpson to Vandiver Brown Agreeing to Fund Gardner's Experiments for One More Year (1939)
• Sumner Simpson to Vandiver Brown Thanking Him for Dr. Lanza's Comments (1940)
• Sumner Simpson to E. H. Jeffords and O. H. Cilley Sending Brown's Letter with Dr. Lanza's Comments (1940)
• Vandiver Brown to Sumner Simpson on Two Sponsors Leaving the Saranac Experiments (1940)

About this copy

These are documents 04336-04337, 04335 of the Sumner Simpson Papers, as numbered in the collection's index.