Document 939rr8pYmOy5gODj8ZQM0Y1e5

FILE NAME: Rockwell (ROCK) DATE: 1982 DOC#: ROCK006 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Letters [3] RE Johns-Manville - Rockville Asbestos Policy Rockwell Brakes mauaatokiirftlifr rnrm "O CO Bankhead Pltfs' Exhibit no. 0471 RW! 004980 August 16, 1982 Mr. R. D. Randolph Troy - D-212 Ronald L. Wissink Oshkosh JOHNS-MANVILLE - RESPONSE TO ASBESTOS I have enclosed a l e t t e r requesting our status of p o s itio n to asbestos use. As a Corporation, I have not seen a p o s itio n stated. At p la n t, we, o f course, do not control the p a r ts , being special to use. We have taken a p o s itio n to maintenance-type items, such as roof and furnace r e p a ir . We s t ip u l a t e the use of fib e r g la s s on roofs and demand asbestos out o f products used in furnace re s to ra t io n . It may be our Corporation is addressing t h is as an overall is sue. 1 do not fe e l .1 can as a p la n t , unless you feel d i f f e r e n t l y . ms enclosure RWI 004983 Bankhead_Pltfs' Exhibit no. 0471 pg2 Johns-Manville Corporation Ken-Caryl Ranch Rost Office Bo* 5108 Denver, Colorado 80217 John A. McKinney Chairmen of the Board and Chief Executive Officer Mr. Ronald L. W issink Rockwell International PO Box 2846 Oshkosh, WI 54903 Inc. Dear Mr. W issink: General Motors is a large user of asbestos fib re and asbestos-containing p ro d u cts. In a d d it io n to m illio n s o f seta o f brake lin in g s and c lu tch f a c i n g s , asbestos is used In g a s k e ts , sound deadeners, adhesives and e l e c t r i c a l components in GM v e h i c l e s . A l s o , they use many c o n s t r u c tio n products such as asbestos-cem ent pipe and 9 h e e ts , r o ile d r o o fin g and floor tile for their plants, G e n e r a l Motors has a lo n g - s t a n d i n g commitment to p r o t e c t the h e a lt h and w e ll-b e in g o f i t s employees, the g e n e ra l p ublic and the environment. We applau d t h a t commitment, and the c o n s c ie n t io u s manner with which i t Is applied. G e n e r a l M otors' p o l i c y toward asb e sto s was presented in a paper by T . 0 . Mathue8 , V ic e P r e s id e n t M an ufactu rin g S t a f f , to the A1A Govern ment I n d u s tr y C o n fe re n c e . I t Is a tta ch e d fo r your review . We b e l i e v e i t Is in the b e s t i n t e r e s t o f s o c i e t y t h a t in d u s t r y take re sp o n sib le p o s it io n s s im ila r to that o f G en eral Motors on issues such as t h i s , where em otionalism has tended to skew r a t io n a l d i r e c t i o n . I f your company has taken a p o sitio n s im ila r to General Itotots regarding a s b e s t o s , or plan s t o , we would a p p r e c i a t e h e a r in g from y ou . Very tru ly yours, RWI 004984 Bankhead_Pltfs' Exhibit no. 0471 pg3 September 10, 1982 Rockwell International no . Neither Rockwell automotive or Pittsburgh Corporate have developed formal p o l i c y p o s it io n s regarding the use o f asbestos products e it h e r in our f a c i l i t i e s or in our products (brake l i n i n g ) . Vie would suggest no response to the J-M l e t t e r or a response in d ic a tin g Rockwell does not have a formal p o l ic y p o s it io n . As background information on t h is su b je ct, Government Relations is monitoring re g u la to ry e f f o r t s to change the Federal OSHA Standards concerning asbestos from a maximum exposure le v e l o f 2 f i b e r per cc to a .5 f i b e r l e v e l . In Canada and in Germany the regulatory exposure le v e l maximum has r e c e n t ly been changed from 2 f i b e r to 1 f i b e r . Although a reduction to .5 f i b e r level would not n e c e s s a r ily I n h ib it Rockwell's use o f asbestos brake l i n i n g 1n our manufacturing process i t could very well elim in a te the production o f asbestos l i n i n g s by the primary manufacturers. As a r e s u l t , our brake engineering along with our lin in g suppliers are Investigating alternate materials. In a d d it io n , r e c e n t ly introduced Federal l e g i s l a t i o n , H.R.S735, would attempt to fe d e r a li z e the compensation o f in d iv id u a ls who are disabled as a r e s u l t o f occupational exposure to asbestos. The l e g i s l a t i o n is very l i b e r a l in I t s In terpreta tion o f cause o f lung disorders and ce rta in forms o f lung cancer would be ir r e b u t t a b ly presumed to have re sulted from exposure to asbestos. The use o f asbestos products 1n our f a c i l i t i e s e it h e r in maintenance or manufacturing equipment i s , as Ron Wissink i n d i c a t e s , a p la nt decision in conjunction with B i l l Long o r Dan H e l f r ic h . 6R. M. Hays /hrn Att, KwICElViD SEP 1 01982 RWI 004985 Bankhead_Pltfs' Exhibit no. 0471 pg4