Document JrgZaNXMgkZ3LxBXk8joRzYm6

FILE NAME: ICI (ICI) DATE: 1967 Mar DOC#: ICI028 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Memo ACX/DC To i 8 V A A D 6 ? / y. l l , 8th March 1967. It la Important that we should try to Identify any Iosa of business which may result from the adverse publicity about asbestos, so would you please let ne hare appropriate consents when you do your stop-press notes for each Board Meeting. A. C. yfal ' X i JW/BW T o: ACM(2)/RHW M r. A. C. M & ~ Lr y Copy of letter received by M r. J . W addell from M r. W. P . Howard, Turner & Newell L im ited, M anchester, dated 16th M arch, 1967 % ,, Q A "V - T i l %* A sb e sto s and Health *--/ C A s arran ged, I had a long d iscu ssio n with/Mr. Gordon Long who Heads the Public R e la tio n s D epartm ent at I.C .I ./H e a d O ffice. Apparently, the b asic elem ent in I. C /l. policy on health q u estio n s is their extrem e sensitivity to any risk of public criticism . F o r e x a m p le , a s a resu lt of only one w orker contracting .bladder cancer at their Naphthylamine plant, the plant w as clo sed down im m ediately although up to that time it had been thought to be the s a fe s t of it s kind in the w orld. I.C .I. also stoppjd manufacturing toxic seed dressin gs as a resu lt of public agitation a g a in st th eir e ffe c ts on bird and anim al life . It i s , th e re fo re , in line with th eir norm al policy that in the present circum stances they should be actively seeking substitutes fo r asb e sto s both in the p rod u cts thWy m ake and in th eir plant in sta lla tio n , since thei r m ed ical s ta ff, led by D r. Lloyd P o tter, fe e l that there i s sufficient doubt surroundin g the sa fe ty of men who work with a s b e s to s to warrant their abandoning it Wherever they can. This attitude a s been rein forced by the dealth of A c o n t r a c t o r s man at Wilton. M r. Long w as, /however, quite concerned that any of I .C .I 's D ivisions should appeajtfto be knocking asb esto s in publicity m a te ria l, and 1 am, th erefore, sending him a photocopy of the advertisem ent to which we take exception so jjhat he can look into the question of the a d v isa b ility of such copy being withdrawn, and a lso of course of preventing other division s following j/he sa m e lin e. / I hope thaft in the c o u rse of our con versation I succeeded in putting M r. L o n g's own attitude on the su b jec t into a sounder p e rsp e ctiv e . He w as certain ly no^ aw are of the d istin ction between vario u s types of / a s b e s t o s One Conclusion to be drawn from this encounter would c e r ta in ly be fbat I . C . I J if they w ere to be in our position would probably abandon the use "b lu e/ fibre in th e ir own p lan ts. (signed) W. P . Howard.