W. B. Reitze to J. R. M. Hutcheson on Dust at the Advocate Mine (1974)

A one-page memo of September 27, 1974, from W. B. Reitze to J. R. M. Hutcheson at Asbestos, Quebec, copied to Dr. Paul Kotin, on an industrial hygiene survey of the Advocate Mine in Newfoundland, in which J-M had partners. "We seem to be slipping backward at a rather fast pace in the control of our asbestos fiber stations," Reitze wrote, with some stations "almost out of control with levels of 23 and 53 F/cc." He asked whether the partners were "dragging their feet on expenditures" and recommended an immediate mandatory respirator program until permanent steps could be taken.

What it shows

The federal limit at the time was 5 fibers per cubic centimeter (f/cc), so the worst stations were ten times over it. Advocate's dust counts had been rising since at least 1969 (Sheckler to Fletcher), and Reitze found poor conditions there again in 1975 (Reitze to Kotin).

In Johns-Manville's chronology

Johns-Manville's own chronology of what the company knew describes this document as follows:

J-M internal correspondence from Reitze to Hutcheson, dated 9/27/74. States that Advocate Mine seems to be slipping backward at a "rather fast pace" in the control of its asbestos fiber stations. Some stations appear almost out of control with levels of 23 and 53 f/cc. Reitze questions whether J-M's partners at Advocate are dragging their feet on expenditures. Recommends immediate mandatory respiratory protection plan until permanent steps can be taken.