Document NEoenMkz5MjL8wgYwaGRBY4kD

PLAINTIFF'S ipj E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company i*aMUTu Wilmington, Delaware 19898 TEXTILE riBEWS DEPARTMENT PERSONAL & CONFIDENTIAL TO: FROM: A. DENSON - ATHENS P. YOUNG - CAMDEN J. STENGER - CAPE FEAR JACOBS - CHATTANOOGA H. BAUMERT - CHESTNUT RUN P. COON - COOPER RIVER R. L. RHODES'. \( fl ^ cc: W. C. Moser E. M. Hicks, Jr. E. S. Brinton C. L. Henry E. C. Jones, Jr. M. R. Warden, Jr. W. E. Stephenson M. E. Sabi a B. W. Karrh, M.O. B. W. Culpepper, M.D. D. E. Jordan C. F. Mullikin C. D. Liddicoat E. H. Bennett S. H. Gray February 2, 1981 A. J. Sill H. A. Kress K. W. Stueber P. J. Meyers, Jr. J. J. Shirreffs, Jr. G. B. Faigle W. W. Bartholomay J. R. Gibson-Adm F. E. French-C&P R. A. Harrington-Leg R. R. Morris-PAD H. E. Serenbetz-PPD R. E. Kasch-ERD N. K. Walters-ERD R. J. COLLINS - KINSTON G. B. ADAMS - MARTINSVILLE T. C. FISHER - OLD HICKORY R. C. SAMES - SEAFORD R. L. COOK - SPRUANCE E. T. RUEHL - WAYNESBORO MEDICAL X-RAY REVIEW. PROGRAM ASBESTOS (Ref: Letter RLR to D.S.Jordan, et.al., 10/21/80) The intent of this letter is to clarify the program and to answer some of the questions and concerns. This program was developed because of the concern over asbestos-related illnesses and the recognition by the medical profession that previous methods for detection of asbestos-related abnormalities may not have been adequate. Based on developments in and outside the Company during the last few years, medical knowledge and understanding of asbestos-related abnormalities have increased dramatically, making early detection of these abnormalities more feasible. Therefore, the current review program is being conducted in light of this increased knowledge and understanding. In order for the Company to promptly get a feeling for the magnitude of the problem, it was decided that we would accelerate the examination of current employees 40 years of age and over who had significant job-related exposure and who meet the latency period requirements. Following is the program that each site shall follow along with appropriate definitions and questions and answers. PROGRAM: 1. Review x-rays of current employees who are 40 years of age and over and have 10 or more years of service who have had probable job-related exposure to asbestos. This is to be completed by March 31, 1981. D C u (0n) CTTC* THING* TO* iCTTC* LIVING . . . TH 0QUO H CMCMIfTtV DU 052702 PAGE 2 2. If abnormality is detected, the following steps are to be taken: A. Prepare complete work history of employee including non-Ou Pont if known. Confirm employee (a) was on assignment agreed by Management/Medical to represent exposure, and (b) satisfied latency period of 10 or more years from initial exposure. B. Site physician reviews with employee and refers to outside specialist. c. Site physician discusses diagnosis with outside specialist. In all cases where the tentative diagnosis is a benign symptomatic illness or a malignant illness, and in other cases if the evaluation is inconclusive, the tentative diagnosis should be discussed with corporate medical. D. Notify employee of condition and how he will be treated with respect to medical costs and Workmen's Compensation. DEFINITIONS 1. Exposure - For this specific program, we define exposure as "those employees who actually handle or have handled asbestos". This definition is being used so that employees with the most exposure can be reviewed first. 2. Latency Period - 10 years or more from date of first exposure. 3. Work-Related - Du Pont jobsthat management agrees to have asbestos exposure QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 1. Q. Are pensioners included in this program? A. Only when they come in for routine physical examinations; however, the issue of pensioners is under consideration and you will be kept advised. 2. Q. Are affected employees excluded from further potential exposure to asbestos? A. (1) Benign asymptomatic - no exclusion (2) Benign symptomatic - exclusion 3. Q. Can family members of an employee exposed to asbestos develop asbestos-related abnormalities? A. We don't think our employees would have carried enough asbestos home on their clothing to affect family members, however articles have appeared in medical literature that state there are rare cases where family members may have been exposed to asbestos from the employee's clothing. You should recognize that a lot of publicity is being given this subject today, and recent newspaper articles have appeared that claim family members can become ill from asbestos brought home on clothes of the worker. We also have a lawsuit against Du Pont by a widow of a Du Pont pensioner who claims she was exposed to asbestos from her husband's clothes. DU 052703 DUP 1010652 PAGE 3 4. Q. Will we pay for medical examinations for members of an employee's family who claim they have a problem related to employee's work? A. No - see answer to 3 above. Discussion On Questions 3 and 4 This is a sensitive area and I would suggest that if you get these questions, you review them with me. I have discussed this subject with Rick Harrington, Legal, who is handling the lawsuit I referred to, and he wants us to be very careful in our re sponse to these questions. Supervision will have to exercise a lot of good judgment in their responses. 5. Q. How will these asbestos cases be tabulated? A. The SAP Division is preparing a proposal that will be issued to the departments for comments this month. In the meantime, continue to follow SAF Guideline 11.1 and the letter issued by N. K. Walters on November 19, 1980. (Recording asbestos-related conditions on OSHA Form 200). If you have any questions on this program, please get in touch with me promptly (774-3572). RLR/kmm DU 052704 DUP 1010653