Document a414VOqJ0nm5gGv9aXmD2DEVY
PRODUCED BY FORD
nrourseeo ir
research of
Irvin* SeUko
New York's
M Smai Hospital. The National
Ir titote for Occupational Safety
mi HoaKb fNIOSHl. look Heps
.to eontroi ashestoe dost In work
areas. Sellkoff had shown
widentabls evidence (hat workers
ppsu d to aabratm (tea wart
highly tascaptable to either
bwtah, a noo-maUgiatd Karr-
to* at As ton**, or ptoaral
iiiasglnUisiw -- fatal dBase
The molts of SeHMTa issrcfi wsro mado psbtle In ton eerty nm. Bid evidence Is does ttxwugh internal corporate doewmerSa that the asbestos ludsatiy was weO aware of the problem Ion* before lids time.
That awareness, and 'the potoMBty of an industrial coverto baa led Congressman George toiler (D-Callf.) ta Intrsdscn taglolaftwi eriubttafilng criminal penaBtlea for cuporata officials who knowingly conceal InfonnaUan^aboot healtb and safety
Killer's MS la an outgrowth of a aea year tovcarlgatlon into toe
aahealoa biduatry. MOV has oncdww muni omnn tost bars reveatod "a legacy of fear deades of ewerop soldi
millions of people to caacercraringaabeatoa materials."
Mflhr b rafatlng to kOas (hat dor the reactfea of (ha tadaty to a aarlm of stadtoa on aabeatoa Sat sen conductor! during (bs early IWx
One tocb Idler was sent by Vandiver Brown, attorney for Jnfsn htsnvllle. to rtatardi acton(1st Dr. Anthony J. tana.. s medical officer with the IfetiupoUtan Instance Co.
The letter, dated lfS reed, in
pert: **.. aO we adk ere favorable aspects he Included, none of (he . eofavoraMe be unintentionally pictured to darker tones than the | driumdancea Justify . . . f fed j confident you wifl give us Dlls jbreto."
[ A 1939 fetter from the editor of
I the trade foams! "Asbestos" to
the president of Roybestot-
Manhattan, an asbrstoa company,
read as foftows: "... the
Information you give as to >oor
Saranac iNew Yoik* invi-s':<jii. n
to moot mb-cr
ig n-ns or -..-
enkrst.mil !li .l .i*1 'I ;
j
j 'Jot n
J j: .
c-s'--' -' .' .,
;-
eaim> lltott t,l.eMs*.lH tt tn airborne asU-sl<ri sul'ment to
cause sorb condition duntic the course if cmpluvment: denies that mesothrliumn constitutes on w coportinnal disease: and denies that claimant is totally disabled because nf any such alleged occupational disease. "
However, there are other profesatonelopinions:
--The final pathological diagnosis from Dr. Muraffar Ahmad at the Cleveland Clinic was "malignant mcaotheltoma."
--In May of W. RarnfRoa won ton! toSt Joeeph Hospital. Unin -- wbm the tde Dr. Tbemaa aOgoJ. Medtod Dtrectar of tha Hoopla Unit, also diagnosed the eras m "lmlaotstic meaotteBcma cf tha right lang ttt aiw
--And finally. Dr. D.C ZawersU who to the current acting Medical Dtrectar of the Hospice (Ml haa reviewed and suiumerlted SnBgofs final dbgnaeb:
"Is view of Me acute cxposiac to sebestoi materials 9 years ago and Mi chronic exposure on at hast a yearly basis since that time. tt sums to be no question as to the causal reiatlonsMp between Me eipoeme to the asbestos and hie eerrent malignant mesothelioma. The medical literature rapports this finding since there Is no other apparent ceuee of the mesotbefloma that haa been Mentlftod."
The Sandesky Ford plant manager. Joe Carney, ' rant believe the doctor's statement," and further commented: "I hope the newjpeper wont print anyth ing without tha facta."
An Industrial relatione official. Ran Each, af that company said he doarat "know the particulars" of AQV- C-----M---- fOeK_aM----*BI- QiM - Q--p--aa IaR. Ka the Occupational Safety and Healtb Adminfetratlan (OSHAi had cited the company with ten violations of bnproprr handling and osa of aabeatoa. .Six violations pertained to the use of faulty respirators and four violations ere for falling to properly cuntain and label asbestoo waste and
Wben asked whether or not the
employer r Hamilton hod been
exposed to asbrstus dust while
wi.r'vw; jt the S.ird-ikr 1'. id
i ;
. .-.pi.-,...
&
`j.
*41
level of asbestos dost expaswe.
ever heard of dust gtondnntn <w
MOSH.
That's the
year Woody Thompson started
working at the Cleveland Ford
ran! asbestos is
-re pi
work. When a
pc ebfp is
cneverteii ffwn - .nrivnc tn *
deoel. i W if asfv-stns dust a
released when the old twiler a tom
out
plonk Thompson'S Job was to weld cracks and defects In red hot
A gvWnwnan for the Lerafe
engine Mocks as they came along a conveyor from a tag fomance. toe rf the Natlemd SMp BakSwt The welder* used four foot by four Ck---II mrt In Jonowry of ir71 to feet sheets of asbestos a* pro dtoram the asbestoe dssl In Ow tective heat sMekfe. The cottfrar of TM area and to l wg Mo fbev
these sheets released a (tarry el
fibers Intothe air.
petoti* wnpbuue. Wtwn VI wtwt to bringjOene about ivXMybg
CFor 8 years Thompson punched
the Ume clock at (ho command ef
emptoywea who mev have itomogi. tho spoheriaa otod
the foondry whistle, bearing the heat amt the dusty conditions, mg
Urn
at ds raylMng about tbwy're already ax-
knowing that every evening he
sold they were aware nf the cant to measured in dollars and
prebten end ttwtn be corrected.
certta. Bat the next best thing Is to
rotmbne the people that he left
An Impeltor from OSHA. Doug behind through ao bait cf Ms
Mcttce. said: 'Toed Is very safety
const lum. They aren't one of oar
usual violators."
Asbestos, however. Is appealing
tn response to the apparent la Industry for many reasons.
would carrv home miDionj of tiny sharp fibers in his lungs -- fibers which were slowly butchering Ms
In 1977 Ms wife Betsds noticed he was conttnnaHy hiving shortness of breath, along wttb a hacking cough. "I noticed R when be was
Tbe vice preeldrnt of AmoMp. Ralfdi WhHoker mid "there to no problem" because asbestos Is no longer oral In the Lorain ship yards. And It the workers to the past were exposed, he would hove
of the artestos work was dons by
contradiction between such medico! diagnoses and corporate
dental of responsibility. Represen tative Camera has begun a crusade on behalf of families who
have suffered (ram healtb hazards In the construction Industry.
John Welsh, a spokesman for the Asbestos Cement Pipe Producers
Association says: "let's face it. We're (n the midst af an energy crisis. Asbestos is the most msteffectlve material in tlie
Camera has dted overwhelming marketplace, and there are no
medical causes
proof that asbestos cancer and that
viable substitutes. We're generally bullish on thefuture."
mesothelioma is a latent disease. "In other words." said Camera, "a person who is suffering from
an asbestos-related cancer today could.have been exposed to the Obers'idor 30years ago.
The Industry has been able to sustain this '-bullish" attitude by citing all the positive sides of (heir product. Because of its flame retarding nature. It has been widely used for On prevention in
Camera's proposed legislation calls for a revision of state product liability laws. Presently, under the Ohio revised code, the plantiff
pubBcbaildinxs.
And since asbestos was widely used In the construction of US. Navy battleships during World
may file a lawsuit against an War II. Neal Amorino. a public
asbestos manufacturer for bodily relations representative for
Injury two years after the ex- Johns-Manville said: "these
ships saved many American
However, because of the latency ties."
remodeling ear kitchen and 1 kept at Mmto go to a doctor."
When Thomspon rhwlsl into the Cleveland Clinic In April, ho stood S ft 11 tn. and weighed 39 tba. "Be was soBd moede." says Ms wife. "Bat then he started to rapidly lose weight." Eight months later. Thompson was dead. Dr. Lawrence K. Graves at the CBnic (fisgnooed the death as pleural mesothelioma, earned by asbestos fibers.
Vet "the mlrode fiber" Is not excMsively the scourge of the construction ww her.
In the soring of 1979. Betty Green, of South Bend. Ind., a 43yearold mother of six children died of pleural mesothelioma. She never handled the fiber In her Hte but her husband, an asbestos worker, carried the ratal dot
outside contractors."
Leo Gorts, a former buainrss agent tor toe Asbestos Workers Union In. northern OMo. has worked with asbestos since 0(7. He knows toe nottre of toe fiber and what S can do to the deflate longs of a human being. Although, he has a mfld ease ef mbeHoelt. he conitdcii Mrasetf tackier then many of Ms former co-workers like Georgs Kalony who died ot ge forty-eight and Ed Moron of Avon Lake who died ot age sixty. Both men Installed asbestos Insulation to the Lorain shipyards. the CEI pomfsuust tn Aran Lake. SL Joseph Hospital. Lorain CHy Hall and toe Ford plant. 8oth men diedcf asbestos related discuses.
Goria can* the Industry un restrained, Irresponsible, and charges It with the "tin of
perKd ot the disease. Camera As to the current problem of home on his work clothes.
wants to change this statute of manufacturing a controversial Whenever she did Ms laundry or "IV astofndustry *18 recall
limitations to two yrors from the product. Amermo says "Johns- swept out the family car. she came one of their products If tt to a
time "the plaintiff is informed by Manville has invented and im In contact with a low concentre- hazard to toe ptdiflc." Curie saM.
competent medii-al authority that plemented various kinds of dust twin if asbestos -- just enough to "Bet JohnwManvffle never toraed
he has been injured by such controls to meet OSHA standards. kill her.
a reaR or s warring when they
exposure, or upon the date on And H people accuse us of shrugg
had knowledge tost their product
which, by the cxrrcise of reasona ing our rexfvnsitallty to com
Because a great amount of caused cancer. . . If >ra cent
ble diligence, he should have pensate for the workers who had asbestos was used durh$.World recall, you can at least forewarn."
become Jiiare that he had been been exposed, then they must also War It. primarily in US. Nnval
Injured by the exposure, accuse the OS. Navy who pre and private shipyards,
whichever date orvurs first" flc scribed the materials and pathjg- approximately 4.S million men. b allowed (o market a product
adnnts his fall u an uphill battle lie* : i Ire ii.-iluslrv'.i :.li.-i:g
I h-j i-r'ic.
log dm-mu war production. '
An:tn*i s.it.1 Itnunh h, hr..-..-v. Irin-i'jt i:t,
t-.-.ial . .
i i.i - -
ora! tromin were exposed to the without knowing whig affect it
-cle.tr!,:. c ;i.im f tbern may fvt may hav* on He- public "Com
, n 11 -* I',l mc- .! .j.euRiei nf mon sens# tsttj ox thnt we
i. * *'
- - l '> vne iuit ef Sfw- '.tn't hj.-t to
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