W. B. Reitze, OSHA Letter No. 22, on Not Circulating NIOSH's Asbestos Booklet to Employees (1973)

A three-page Johns-Manville memo of October 25, 1973, "OSHA Letter No. 22," from W. B. Reitze at Denver headquarters to President W. R. Goodwin, F. H. May, all senior officers and all plant, mine and employee relations managers, about the NIOSH booklet "Caution, Asbestos Dust is Hazardous to Your Health." The booklet was offered free by NIOSH, but "We have not chosen to circulate this publication to our employees" because "It contains several inaccuracies" and "there are many instances of over-emphasis of minor points." Expecting the unions to "circulate this booklet very widely," Reitze gave managers comments to use if employees questioned it.

What it shows

The comments dispute the booklet's warnings point by point. On mesothelioma, "One might get the impression that asbestos is the sole cause." On families of asbestos workers, the idea that significant dust was carried home "is not true" because of J-M's dust collection. On the general public, the statement that people were "in grave danger" was "absolutely false." On deaths, "those cases of asbestos diseases that we are seeing today are the result of high exposures that took place probably 20 to 30 years ago." Reitze said the remarks were not "a rebuttal" but might prove useful "if the employee should raise questions or the union should formally request information." Two weeks later J-M sent its own booklet to its plants (OSHA Letter No. 23). The NIOSH booklet itself is not in the file.