Document 2jJOm11VbERBnvDD6RjkQm09g

FILENAME: Flintkote (FLK) DATE: 1973 Mar 13 DOC#: FLK074 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Internal Memo with Journal Editorial Page Attached c fri M * i t* ` f < W ^fc^x^r t ^ s s a C *Y, {ton ,, , ' `C rt Sherrill's one-sided i*Yj{itationalized crticJe, J * l0s. the saver of lives, ` f ^ d l y side- (Jan* 21). A*Ifl<d many error* of fact interpretation. Th foir should hdp clarify a 2 ids more blatant omit* t ad distortion*. . m Because of the lone period of asbestos-re ' disease, jth e disease .found today Is not an tion of present condi- but i* instead a result 'odlinns existing deeades gl a time when neither medical profession, cot** nt nor the industry very much about the effects of asbestos end less aboot the proper J j j for their control. P The Isolated incidents d as proof of Industry in* . Itftnce and Irresponsibility aot indicative of cite over* Industry response to this Jan. In the past decade the asbestos msnufac- i; industry has rpent ap ' tdy il 10*mulion on att controt and expects to ptad an additional S95-mil- i over the next few years thieve complete ccmpli- wilh the final Depart* of Labor standards. (1) No mention was made riitevcr* of the highly re ed end extensive medical ;urth which has been spanarsd. . co-sponsored or eourated' in by the Industiy rsugh the years. and which a contributed significantly i our knowledge of the biopari effects of asbestos. In ts, the Institute of Oeeupa- a *aa! and Environmental hh. sponsored by the i} j*bec Asbestos Mining `sodation, is one of the '*Ws largest nongovem* sources of funds for 'stos.lie'ilih research. Jt) While Dr. Irving i. Sell* f? has ccnainly made a 'ible contribution to our Pledge of ashcsto*reiated ^" e, it is unfortunate that - Sherrill did not discuss * situation with any of the ^ top authorities In the d since many of them do . I * 1* that many of Dr. J .'"fTs recent frightening ! are f>tstu*ird b y . *Printed medical data. !----- (S) The Labor Department decision to delay adoption of , the two-fiber standard for an additional two years beyond the two-year Implementation period recommended by the ' National Institute of Safety and Health and the Advisory Committee was approved by I Dr. Marcus M. Key. Director of NIOSH. prior to the pub lication of the standards. Furthermore, Dr. Key is in total disagreement with Dr. Selftoffs prediction that half ' of all those entering the 'asbestos industry within the a next four years will die bc'm cause of the delay in going to two fibers. * '. - We believe that the above facts demonstrate quite dear ly the incomplete and dis- ` torted- manner in which Mr. - Sherrill presented the ashes- tot-health situation in his article. MaTTHtW M. SWTTONIC, Executive Secretary. Asbestos Information ' Association - New York . : 4 ' Ur. SherriU replies Even If one is kind enough to accept Mr. Swelonic's fig ures regarding the amount * spent on dust control, the Slip.million comes to less than 2 per cent of the value o f asbestos products sold in the United States during the past 10 years, according to the U. S. Buretu of Census. Considering the health dis aster that the. dust has crested, I 't call a 2 per *cent outlay exactly over whelming. But before taking Mr. Swe- tonic'a complaints too serious- * ly, one should bear In mind that the Asbestos Information Association is funded by 19 of the nation's largest miners, manufacturers and importers of asbestos and asbestos-con taining products, and the as sociation pays Mr. S*-etonic to respond almost by rote. For example, after a recent Wall Street Journal article on the hazards of asbestos, he complained, saying it was incomplete, erroneous, sen,,sationaliecd end distorted. Mr. Swctonie's defense ar terial is limited la a few stand . aid blunderbusses. But when he {j n o t rattling ' off this non-ipc*V ats an in dustry flack, he can be quite sensible about the problem. In my taped interview with him. I asked, "In general, how '.does the industry feel about *Dr. S dikoffs conclusions relating to the hazards of as . bestos?" Did hfe reply that Selikoffwas ail wet? No. That Sellkofr* mortality figures , were cockeyed? No. Mr. Swe*tonic replied, "The health ex *perience of these people {as bestos . workers] has, y o u . - know, been a- terrible thing end Is obviously, you know, 'quite bad, end 1 think that when this information first started to come out of Dr. SelikofTs laboratory it was quite shocking to Industry, . . obviously so." I further asked Mr. Swe- * ' tonic if he thought the prob lem was limited to asbestos workers. "No," be said, "T don't think I would go that far. There have been fairly substantial increases of asbestos-rcletcd diseases among manufacturing workers, espj: daily textile workers {whose : work] has been notoriously * 1dusty. . . . " .. As far the complaint th at I *do not quote enough doctors ' who are sympathetic with the asbestos Industry, well, let's * turn to one of Johns-ManvflJe ' Corp.'s top health consultants. Dr. George W. Wright, for * further evidence of th e indus try's slowness in meeting the problem, in the American Re *\iew "o f Respiratory Disease. October. 1939, Dr. Wright ec* - knowledgcd that although as early as 1930 sdentists ' "demonstrated that asbestos posed a major -threat to the .health of workers is the as* bestos textile trade* and al though subsequent research linked the hazard to other workers, "substantial num -., bers of persons exposed to asbestos in tlictr occupation have never come under a pro tective occupational hygiene program." * This Is still true, and it Is the fault not only of the as " bestos industry but. as I made d ear In my artide. also the fault .of a tcihargic. stupid .clem ent of organised tabor - and most especially of a hJ m U ti Vn w w a t w i