Loyalty of the asbestos worker: a brief historical note

Our plain-English summary of Loyalty of the asbestos worker: a brief historical note, by M. Greenberg (American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 2004).

The study

• Author: M. Greenberg
• Journal: American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 2004;45(5):475-7
• Type of article: Historical article
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This is a short historical note based on documentary research, not an epidemiological study. The author drew on letters and company records, obtained through legal discovery, from J.W. Roberts, an asbestos products factory in Armley, Leeds. It described two former workers, both certified as having asbestosis. In 1972 Mr. A.B. began a compensation claim and asked former workmate Mrs. H.R. to give evidence. She refused and wrote to the company for help. Its senior personnel officer replied that the company appreciated her "goodwill and loyalty". That year the company paid her an ex gratia sum of three pounds and ten shillings a week, which, the author explained, did not imply acceptance of responsibility. Company tables from about 1978 recorded 69 ex gratia payments and 51 formal legal claims. Mr. A.B.'s claim was settled in 1974 for 13,000 pounds, a year after his death at age 52. The author presented the episode as showing that an asbestos company could inspire loyalty beyond that owed to fellow workers. The author also noted that no measurement exists of the total asbestos-related disease burden among the factory's workforce.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: historical note based on documentary research (letters and company documents obtained by legal discovery); not an epidemiological study
• Who was studied: Two former workers of J.W. Roberts, Armley, Leeds (UK): Mr. A.B., employed 1947 to 1956, and Mrs. H.R., employed 1947 to 1957. Also a company list of cases known to the company since 1931.
• Exposure: Work in an asbestos products factory. Mr. A.B. worked in the Mattress Making, Weaving, Spinning, and Carding Departments; Mrs. H.R. worked in the Weaving Department. No fiber type is named.
• Main results:
  • Mr. A.B. was certified as suffering from asbestosis in 1968 and brought a claim against the company in 1972.
  • Mrs. H.R. refused to give evidence for Mr. A.B. and wrote to the company. The company's senior personnel officer replied thanking her for her goodwill and loyalty.
  • Mrs. H.R., certified with asbestosis in 1963 at age 51, was paid ex gratia three pounds and ten shillings a week by the company in 1972.
  • According to the author, such ex gratia awards did not imply acceptance of responsibility and were paid at the Board's discretion.
  • Company tables produced probably around 1978 recorded ex gratia payments in 69 instances, to the person, the widow, or the orphan.
  • The same company tables listed 51 cases under formal legal claims either settled or still proceeding.
  • Mr. A.B.'s claim was settled in 1974 for 13,000 pounds.
  • Mr. A.B. had died the year before the settlement, aged 52.
• The authors' conclusion: The author presented the episode as an example that an asbestos company could inspire a loyalty going beyond that traditionally owed to fellow workers.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The author states that no measurement exists of the total burden of asbestos-associated disease in the J.W. Roberts workforce.
  • The author states that an independent mortality study of a subset of workers was started but not completed.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Asbestosis.

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