Document 7M1Y60LLv6m2BOr0N7RJY0nmo

FILE NAME: Shree Digvijay (SDV) DATE: 1980 Aug 11 DOC#: SDV015 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: J-M Letter to Mr. Bangur RE Recent Events Possibly Influencing Future of the Asbestos Cement Industry in India Johns-; rivi!!e Corporation .. ' : ifyl pfin.,h c . Colorado 80217 203) 979-1000 Executive Offices August 11, 1980 Mr. N. D. Bangur c/o M/S Ketellwell 21 Strand Road Calcutta 700029 INDIA Bulleni & Co. ' Ltd. Dear Mr. Bangur: We would like to draw your attention to a number of recent events which could have a profound influence upon the future of the asbestos cement industry in India. As you have u n doubtedly read from various sources, asbestos, as a mineral, has been under attack from government regulatory bodies, en vironmentalists, headline-seeking media representatives, and less responsible self-serving individuals. Enclosed is a copy of TODAY , a Johns-Manvi11e publication. This issue deals specifically with the J-M Corporate policy with respect to asbestos and the controversy surrounding the product. As you can see from this publication, Johns-Manvi11e has devoted vast resources - both in determining the causal factors leading to the incidence of asbestos related disease and in developing the technology to assure that asbestos can be mined, milled, shipped, and manufactured into a finished product in a safe manner. Recently, we received from our Washington D.C. representative the attached copy of a report circulated to members of Congress. Although "Photographic Investigation of Shree Digvijay Cement Company" is a distortion laced with inaccuracies, both from our as well as your company's standpoint, the expose brings into question the integrity and responsibility of both, com panies in dealing squarely with the issue. yCs"earlyJas .September 1977 , Mess rs .. Juris Lai pen ieks. artd it)dhfr Desnl of Johns-M?nvi 1T r o c e s s De ve 1opment;.Di v , ,, ,5 Thejfp.figwi nq a fI.erJnjV 1VI t to Shroo D_ijjvjj a A s o s ,,_ -- .. i*- _ Ihe pi an t cu front 1y lias `' a C ' . H e , v J < ! . u oh^ s' fibre, as wcl 1 a s ,cement._ .Mo st of the -f-id ref hand! i ^ ^ ^ n 'a y | I T a i s done by thand,,,.and. wi th sho.v.es'..withou'tr dust cOif- ,V..Ju rther , the Ind ian-Government Envi r o n m e n t a 1 1^nf>l^_iB'e!e,n'TTecen't 1y. t igh ten irig..dfu!OLjem1 ssj Oni ________ ITabl e" foff ja) \Zse n t e n c . T h e i n j u r e % p t % l\) . fl . U . i' o O'jii r P a g e I wo ( 2 ) August 11, 1980 ''op era tio n is just indescribably p o o r ._ The wet end of the pipe m a c hin es is like London fog with fibre f l o . t , n |1 all over rom the fibre bins which are open air chambers where workers are Spnt in to shovel willowed fibre into bags. Curtliefr..their wl'llowing^system-r~i n'stead of operating u n d e ^ e g a t i ^ r p r e s s u r e ^ w f c - a c t u a l l y a; positive system, e xh au s p ^ _ in t.of J fhoiit dust col lection .> W e 'advised Shree to repair their f Ke'gat ive sys tem;!dus t_ collector, whi ch ??/ 'liiif-i - ,-d 'S h r l c T ^ ' 1 w i t h half of theldost bags broken'. He f u y J l S T . fKff.i- V ffrovidb' if i l u sPcol 1ector for cement handling since,,JtS S e r e is no d f i K o l l ec t ion at cement h a n d i n g areas wh c* f e s ult s in ceenf"floa t inq all over the equipment.,- T h e s a m e ? recommendtrior their pipe finishing tio dust col lector and the.existing air c y c l p n e s throw all of/ ^the fine dust'Tnto the atmosphere."^7 " Rpcoanizinq the gravity of the situation, J o h n s - M a n v i 11e o f f e r ed the services of Mr. Promod Chandra from ^"""L^^Sblems ing Environmental Control Section to e v a l u a t e n D e r a tions at and to offer further guidance in cl eani ng up^tjie TW, , . the expense of Shree Digvijay. ^ t h o u g h H r . . , C M U t o U ^ 9 j ] r 8 M - e - l L x J ^ C i ^ ( ? a K u a r y ' . 1 9 7 8 ) , 'Ihe offer Mr T i a ip e n i e ^ T ^ T ItU is Johns-Manv ilie's pos it ioh .s cions of this nature cannot be allowed to continue an eP ,1 ^ oS "if a n O h e n " a Johns-Manvi 11 e '? e *',5!tS stated in M r : Soman s letter of.January .21, 19781 Further you will also note that Mr. Somani states that follow- jSv^sinis;dySta;;Sedrp s d^ studySnd%urveymade^bythem^w^have jobs to them." e n t ^ s t e d certain AgainV1on Man<^T(^l?7;rTTW ^ 7;1 g i r l s ' Manager, Asbej t j ) s t V 1WJ|i*w>$j^frfjj-'rBombay 'vjh'ey '1n for some equip me n t . ha dj.beejn._jrj.acS.d*- pha si ze .the im .. `,r-1' phy s ica | 'aYeas}'" r r i<:m , r t i u h e r S f n d w f r " t * ^ ^ m T S h ^ p f l % V i r a T T ' o n ' " ^ 7 " fh^^hofographi cSInvestigat'ion"^!^^ industry. Mi . N . !). H a n qu r I'a g e 1h r o e ( 3 ) August 11, 1980 We have demonstrated Johns-Manvi11e 1s willingness to cooperate with the management of Shree Digvijay and assist in bringing this project to an early conclusion. As a shareholder of Shree Digvijay and a company vitally interested in the future of asbestos fibre, we would appreciate knowing the current status'' of the project to clean up the plant and the local environment, as well as a timetable for completion. We look forward to your comments. Very truly yours , ' // ////{<'*?' S /'''C'L$ Monroe Harris Senior Vice President Enelosures : cc: Mr. S. R. Bhandari (with enclosures) Shree Digvijay Cement Co., Ltd. P.0. Digvijaynagar Ahmedabad - 382470 Gujarat INDIA