Document 6BKZngNZd54YDE5NkQBpr3en9

FILE NAME Firestone FIRE DATE 1969 Apr 10 DOC FIRE021 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION Dr. Ballou Memo to G.W. Aucott with Report on Decatur Plant Ex 852 BC Notes Dr. Ballou memo to Decatur plant transmits G. Wilson report raising concern over dust hazards and rubber worker claims for compensation for lung cancer from dusts FILE . APRIL 10 1969 ATTACHED Attached is Mr. George Wilson's report on the survey he made at your plant in March His first four recommendations deal with improvement of ventilation in several areas of your plant where you apparently have exposure to excessive dusts or fumes Our old sense of security relative to toxic and toxic dust has been largely destroyed in recent years by the increasingly persuasive evidence that chronic obstructive pulmonary pollution disease air innoxious Emphysema of or dirty lung disease , can be broburougghtht on byby general materials The actual cause of C.O.P.D. is not yet it is due to dust or fume receiving Claims of exposures which occurred long being successfully made known but dirty whether the blame more and more frequently before symptoms developed are Both Goodyear and Uniroyal have had claims successfully made against them in Michigan and New York for emphysema or lung cancer due to against earlier factory carbon black and general dust exposure Dirty air conditions in any of our plants invite union complaints investigations by State commissions and eventual capitalization by unscrupulous medical operators I strongly urge that you take the corrective measures needed to improve ventilation in the areas suggested by Mr. Wilson so as to prevent possible health hazards and minimize your later compensation vulnerability Mr. Wilson has added a dBA column to his noise survey statistics This is a special type of overall noise reading that supposedly listens to and gives emphasis to the damaging frequencies The revised Healey regulation make reference to this type of measurement so it is wise to have our plants familiar with it when referring to their noisy areas Healey requires that we get our noise down to 85 dBA by 1971 rather a large order Please request the Medical Department to send me a report on their trials and tribulations in getting the Beltone fixed In good faith we recommended that instrument but are finding that service is poor I want facts and figures to use with Beltone's top management to see if we cannot retrieve the situation before we abandon the Beltone instrument for some other make LHB rf Attach 2 CC Mr. T. I. Velock MEDICAL DIRECTOR . CONFIDENTIAL DISCLOSURE RESTRICTION 07 1000349 JACKSON 020489