Document YD3jB2n88ee5ae0kVBvDQQwZ0

FILE NAME Corning OC DATE 1941 June 16 DOC OC164 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION Intra Company Report - Investigation of Health Aspects of Fiberglas CORNING FIBERGLAS CORPORATION 4 fe a re COMPANY CORRESPONDENCE Vv Attention of ara General Offices Toledo Ohio Mr. Harold Boeschenstein - Toledo June 16 1941 CC Mr. W. P. Zimmerman Subject 'Investigation of Health Aspects of Fiberglas by Dr. Walter J. Siebert 2415 North Kingshighway St. Louis Missouri Mr. R. J. Scott Mr. W. R. Thomas Mr. T. 8. Rogersshare with Dr. Campbell a En route to St. Louis June 12 I stopped to see Dr. Enos at the Owens- Illinois plant in Alton Dr. Enos said that Dr. Siebert is re- garded with considerable respect by members of the medical profession in the St. Louis area as indicated by his affiliation with the medical school of Washington University and his position as consulting pathologist although it is well known use of hard liquor he is in five hospitals Dr. Enos said that that Dr. Siebert does not abhor the not regarded as an alcoholic Dr. Enos remarks confirm other evidence such as listings in medical directories that Dr. Siebert is regarded as an authority in his field He performs some seven hundred autopsies yearly and reports his findings to the medical practitioners whose diagnoses are checked with the findings in the autopsy In addition he spends five or six hours daily at a microscope diagnosing tissues sent to him for sectioning From Mr. Bartley I learn that Dr. Siebert is regarded by organized labor and the insurance companies as an incorruptible witness whose professional testimony is not subject to influence by any consideration other than his scientific judgment For us I believe it is extremely fortunate that Dr. Siebert has this kind of temperament and professional attitude His approach to the assignment given him by Mr. Bartley is to do a thorough scientific job that will make him an authority on the health aspects of Fiberglas * + After registering at the Park Plaza I met Dr. Siebert in his labora tory at DePaul Hospital In an adjoining room where he keeps blood plasma he showed me the Fiberglas samples that he had received from Newark We returned to the Park Plaza where we met Mr. Bartley for lunch Afterward Mr. Bartley Dr. Siebert and I went to Dr. Siebert apartment in the St. Regis where we discussed the proposed report for five hours Result of the discussion is the appended outline of procedure which indicates the scope of the investigation upon which Dr. Siebert is launched CORNING FIBERGLAS CORPORATION COMPANY CORRESPONDENCE Attention of Mr. Boeschenstein General Offices Toledo Ohlo 2- June 16 1941 Subject J Frequently Frequently during the discussion Dr. Siebert sidetracked himself on minute points that seemed to fascinate him as a scientist For example while describing to Mr. Bartley the investigation that he carried on in Toledo and Newark on June 2 and 3 he told of examining scores of Newark employees He was amazed to find he said that there were no cases of eye irritation in the plant Now he said I would like to know why As a pathologist I would like to determine what happens to particles of Fiberglas that get into the eyes as they certainly must do When I ask the employees in Newark whether they get any glass in their eyes they tell me Sure now and then but it don't bother me none Undoubtedly it is because the blink reaction takes care of it and washes it out of the eye But I am concerned with what experienced would happen to an employee whose blink reaction might be paralyzed by a scar above the eye Undoubtedly the skin irritation on arms and wrists by new employees is to be explained by the fact there are no mucosa on these parts of the body to wash away the fibers But they all say they get used to it Again and again I heard that phrase It don't bother me none priately Because it was obvious that Dr. Siebert was outlining for himself a of research I offered the suggestion that he years program statement as this Our best might use in his report some such have no deleterious knowledge at present indicates that the fibers effect whatsoever on the eyes because the fibers are entirely non- toxic and inorganic and because of the fineness of their diameter lack sufficient strength to penetrate the mucosa I suggested they work of Dr. Roy Philip Scholz who that in this connection he cite the is using Fiberglas for surgical sutures and document the reference if he chose to do so indicating that the whys and with a footnote fruitful field of inquiry wherefores of this situation might open up a medical school for a research student doing postgraduate work in some To home the point I suggested that a person building a home press in his windows because they were transparent and wanted glass panes kept the rain out The homebuilder I suggested did not insist that the in the pane resisted water That the contractor explain why glass and the physicist to explore question for the glass technologist that wTahs us aI tried to get across a pragmatic point of view suggesting union members would be satisfied with his finding that Fiberglas the dermatitis and that if scientists causes no eye irritation or severe want to know why they can pursue their inquiry elsewhere more appro- Mr. Bartley concurred in this point of view CORNING FIBERGLAS CORPORATION COMPANY CORRESPONDENCE General Offices Toledo Ohio Attention of Mr. Boeschenstein ., 3 June 16 1941 Subject & Dr. Siebert said he has received the biopsy from Dr. Campbell and is planning to make a microscopic section for examination He also showed Mr. Bartley a piece of glass fiber that he has in his ONTI thumb He said It don't bother me none but it's there and I know exactly where and when I got it I am going to make a biopsy of it and put it under the microscope Commenting on Dr. Gardner's investigations Dr. Siebert repeated to Mr. Bartley the statement he made to me in Toledo If these findings had been made by any man other than Gardner I would have asked Why did you not have this investigation made by Dr. Gardner Even so Dr. Siebert added he wanted very much to talk with Dr. Gardner or at least have the opportunity to make microscopic studies of all the slides made by Dr. Gardner Through Kr Staelin arrange- ments have been made with Dr. Gardner to send his slides to Dr. Siebert Dr. Siebert agreed that he would return to Dr. Gardner all of the slides and would furnish an affidavit to the effect that he had made no photomicrographs of any of them unless Dr. Gardner gave specific permission to do so He suggested that it might be of interest to Dr. Gardner to let him know that he was a colleague at DePaul Hospital of Dr. Edward C. Ernst roentgenologist who at one time was associated with Dr. Gardner in some silicosis studies Dr. Siebert pointed out what he described as an inconsistency in the second paragraph of Dr. Gardner's Interim Report of May 16 1941 Miscroscopic examination of their lung tissues has failed to demonstrate the presence of any fibres of glass Small quantities of very minute particles which are probably glass splintered in the process creating the dust have been observed within the lungs Reaction to these particles is limited to microscopic collections of cells which could not conceivably influence pulmonary function out that the first sentence has to do with fibers which are I pointed differentiated from minute particles which are exon- not present as function erated from any conceivable influence on pulmonary Neverthe- Dr. Siebert said this differentiation offered one reason why less Further Dr. Siebert said Dr. Gard- he wished to examine the slides hazard because glass fibers ner's report implies that there is no health based on size are too large to get into twhaerlraunntgesd iTnhitshealsisguhmtptoifonknowledge that he indicated is nomluocnhgelrarger than the Fiberglas particles do get asbestos particles WU bos BUT WwW ATTY BMAF OS ORAI AAW ALT RA eba es ' Aret ewe es COMPANY CORRESPONDENCE Attention of Mr. Boeschenstein General Offices Toledo Ohlo 4 June 16 1941 Subject Into the lungs We do get in We know because they contain can be injurious and dust need to know he said what size glass fibers there can be no silicosis hazard from glass fibers no free silica but we also know that other dusts it is still necessary to exonerate glass fiber Dr. Siebert repeated that it is fortunate that Dr. Gardner has done this work and he emphasized that he can accept Gardner's procedure and techniques He wishes only the opportunity to examine the slides and check Gardner's he looks forward to of Dr. Gardner It interpretations with his own My hunch is that this opportunity to bring himself to the attention may be necessary to bundle him into a plane later for a day session with Gardner in Saranac Dr. Siebert said he wants to talk to Gardner to inquire whether it would be possible to take some of the dusted animals and subject them to tuberculosis We need to know he suggested whether exposure to glass wool which may be entirely benign in and of nevertheless predisposes an organism to tuberculosis He explained that normal healthy guinea pigs injected with tuberculosis germs die in eight weeks It would be very simple for Dr. Gardner Dr. Siebert suggested to take several healthy guinea pigs as a control dusted group inject them with tuberculosis germs do the same with glass dusted guinea pigs and watch results If the animals died no sooner than the unexposed animals he said it would be conclusive evidence that exposure to glass wool dust does not pre- dispose an individual to pulmonary disorders Dr. Siebert also mid he is planning to create dusted atmospheres in the room adjoining his laboratory in DePaul Hospital He will do so with a steel tennis racket beating samples of Fiberglas with counted strokes on successive days measuring the particles per cubic foot Using himself as the guinea pig he will breathe the dust and have himself examined by nose throat physicians at the hospital to determine the effect on the mucosa of his throat and nasal passages He will repeat the experiments with the samples of competitive products 85 magnesia rock wook rock work etc. sent to him from Newark I called his attention to the fact that Fiberglas is a practically dust- and described the Purdue vibration tests which showed free product settlement after prolonged severe dropping of a jig and negligible a of the Purdue report which extensive oscillations He requested copy is to be sent by Mr. Rogers and said this would be very significant CORNING FIBERGLAS CORPORATION COMPANY CORRESPONDENCE Attention of Mr. Boeschenstein General Offices - Toledo Ohio -5- -5- June 16 1941 Subject a Information categories on which Dr. - Siebert will , rely falls into these three 1. Data supplied from our records 2 Data from sources other than Corning In this category he includes information available to the general public like Dr. McIllvain's report Bulletin No. 2 of the Pennsylvania Safe Practices Conference 3. Independent research undertaken by himself Although these are detailed further in the following information is significant Dr. Marshall informed him that additional data attached outline the Siebert says that Mr. are to be sent him within two weeks by the Ohio Industrial Commission concerning our assertion that no award has ever been made in Ohio to any individual on the basis of an occupational disease attributable to exposure to Fiberglas products Mr. Bartley added parenthetically that he hoped this information would go back through the period before Corning was formed and include the time when Fiberglas was manufactured by Illinois Mr. Bartley minimizing his interest in the possi bility of a dermatitis hazard said he is greatly concerned over length of exposure over a period of years as a factor the in- vestigation Dr. Siebert said that he has a protege W. K. Wilson M.D. who is plant physician for Chevrolet Fisher Body and the new T.N.T. plant in St. Louis Dr. Wilson is now in Toronto having been sent there by these three companies to make a study of occupational diseases Dr. Siebert has asked him to bring back any available information Dr. Siebert requested that he receive letters from the three ophthal- mologists throat specialists in Newark as to whether they notice in their private practice any unusual incidence of nose or throat infections among Fiberglas production employees I have requested Dr. Campbell to get these letters for us and will follow him OWENS CORNING FIBERGLAS CORPORATION COMPANY CORRESPONDENCE General Offices Toledo Ohio Attention of Mr. Boeschenstein -6- -6- -6- June 16 1941 Subject Fy He asked also for a statement from Aetna regarding experience with the Corning group John Hill's letter attached I am sending him a copy of Incidently Mr. Hill is following this letter with one from Aetna's chief engineer at Hartford He also asked for letters from the United States Navy Budd Manu- facturing Gustin and American Airways about experience with their employees in the handling of Fiberglas I think wo should steer this one off on the ground that we have supplied him with complete data and that although he is free to write he will realize we are not amdous to himself in the minds of some of put any negative suggestion our best customers Moreover he has Fiber- glas Standards sheets setting forth naval specifications on our products which imply that the material is satisfactory to the Navy he has the McIllvain report to cover Budd and we can supply him with a reprint of the New York Times story on American's of acoustical blankets together with the use from Boeing application photograph As to Gustin they are the exclusive purveyor of Fiberglas products to the railroad industry and their statements would reflect our point of view Dr. Siebert went through my collection of glossy prints showing workers handling Fiberglas both in the Newark plant and in applicators plants and requested copies to document his report These are going off to him 7 * * * At.Dr. Siebert's urgent insistence , I stayed in St. Louis Thursday night and spent most of Friday with him Thursday evening he gave me his longhand draft of the attached outline , which I typed in quadruplicate at the hotel on Friday morning Retaining two copies I left the original and the longhand draft with Dr. Siebert after discussing it further with him and sent the duplicate copy to Mr. Bartley by messenger Mr. Bartley telephoned me Friday morning to say he had received a copy of a letter written to a Mr. George A. Nodgeman of the Fidelity and Casualty Company of New York from Dr. Peterson of the Reference Library of the American Medical Association Mr. Hodgeman had made an inquiry of Mr. Bartley's request The letter cited Dr. Gardner's work Dr. Lanza's work and a professor at the Colorado School of Attention of ote twerne meNreeet eet IJULAULAJ LUKPUKATUN COMPANY CORRESPONDENCE Mr. Boeschenstein General Offices - Toledo Ohlo ' 7 June 16 1941 Subject lines attached who said Fiberglas causes keratosis send copies to Dr. Siebert and to me Copy Mr. Bartley is to unpacked On Friday afternoon I the samples at the hospital and examined them with Dr. Siebert Late Friday afternoon Dr. Siebert and I visited the Anheuser brewery where I renewed my acquaintance with Ray Seeker and Agnes Rabbit both of whom were prominent at the A.I.H.A. meeting May 19. Dr. Siebert is patholo gist to the brewery and is proud of his association there He is a good friend of Dr. Ted Hanser who is industrial physician at Anheuser hip memofold Mr. Bartley proudly displayed noon At his request memofolds when we met him Thursday also have been ordered for his partners at Bartley & Mayfield 208 North Broadway St. Louis Gene Mayfield James P. Kellett Malcolm L. Bartley Waldo C. Mayfield Kellett once was associated with John L. Lewis and is former Industrial Commissioner of Illinois under Gov. Dunn fold also has been ordered for Dr. Siebert A memo- Note re Dr. Siebert's fee I explained to both Mr. Bartley and Dr. Siebert that we will be investigation glad to take care of Dr. Siebert's charges for the whatever they are because we do not want the Union to be put to any expense All that we ask I said is that Dr. Siebert charge an amount that he can sustain by sound professional opinion as being appropriate and that we would like that to be the test because we don't want him to be in the position of charging any more than the report is fairly worth I said that we are looking to helping the Union get an honest thorough report that any tent professional man could look at and find right and that or less forward compe- we are anxious that he make this kind of a report on his account as well as on our oWTI I also explained that we have in mind following this matter through to the point where the report and subsequent inter- pretations of it or testimony based on it will bury completely every question that might be raised and that we expect to feel free to call on Dr. Siebert in conjunction with Dr. Gardner or Dr. Campbell or anybody else to carry through whatever further studies may be necessary Dr. Siebert agreed that he will render the bill to us through Mr. Bartley This procedure is satisfactory to Mr. Bartley and I ex- plained to him that we will pay any charges rendered by Dr. Siebert that he approves Attention of OWENS CORNING FIBERGLAS CORPORATION INTRA.COMPANY CORRESPONDENCE Mr. Boeschenstein General Offices Toledo Ohlo 8 June 16 1941 Subject GS Note on Timing of Report > It will be impossible for Dr. Siebert to have his report ready for consideration by the Union during June He is still shooting at the August 1 date Dr. Siebert I think realizes the urgency of the situation from our point of view But he dislikes being hurried Remember I am pathologist at five hospitals and sick people depend on my routine work If I had known Bill he said to Mr. Bartley that this investigation would take so much time I never would have got into it But here I am and chances are that the three of us in this room he said including himself Mr. Bartley and me together with Gardner and a few other fellows know just about everything that is known concerning the health hazards of Fiber- glas Mr. Bartley read him Mr. Marshall's letter expressing the hope that Dr. Siebert's report would be available in time for action by the Local in June so that a report could go into the July issue of the Asbestos Worker Dr. Siebert suggested that Mr. Bartley 80 before the Local at next meeting June 17 and say that an extensive report is now being prepared by Dr. Siebert to be based on independent research a study of the world medical literature and information from all other available sources Mr. Bartley agreed to give this word to Gus Schmitters business agent of Local No. 1 although he appeared to be somewhat loath to be in the position of pressing something into the Local's minutes for publi- cation in the Asbestos Worker The subject of Sickles letter to Schmitters regarding Consolidated Edison did not come up Whether Mr. Bartley knows about it I do not know I suggest however it will be well for Mr. Marshall to send him the attached photostat of the letter of June 12 from Mr. Beardsley Just received from Mr. Dias which demolishes the rejoinder that Sickles made to Beardsley's letter of May 2 I feel sure however that my visit hurried him along by nailing down his procedure and formulating the outline I think that by telephoning at intervals of two or three days correspondence and visits at intervals of ten days or two weeks we may step this up by two or three weeks For instance if I were to go to St. Louis again on Monday June 23 and stay until necessary to go to Dallas _ . KAVLING FIDEKULAS LURTURATIUNN COMPANY CORRESPONDENCE General Offices Toledo Ohio Attention of = Mr. Boeschenstein 9 June 16 1941 Subject O for the June 28 meeting and stop in St. Louis again on Monday c- June 30 returning from Dallas I can do the following 1. Offer my own services as a guinea pig in the dusting tests 2. Carry through the mechanical details of setting up laboratory procedures at DePaul hospital for the independent research he plans 3. Stand by to get his draft dictated way he works { { This is the 4. Step up the clerical work of getting the report in final shape for submission to Mr. Bartley Sca ECA