Document dnx51MLOoX1jRgkRNNjz9QY40

Mr. F. H. Lorrison Location 305 King City, California Messrs. J. F. Emerson W. J. Kovack P. J. Morgan J. W. Rawlings E. A. Piersal! January 17, 1974 Booklet - "What Every Employee Should Know About Asbestos1* As part of our continuing program to increase the awareness of our employees to the various asbestos health issues, I would suggest that the enclosed booklet from Johns-Manvilie be distributed to all employees of King City. This booklet has been reviewed by the Law Dept. (P. J. Morgan), the Medical Dept. (J. J. Welsh) and M&M Employee Relations (W. J. Kbvack). To address the objections raised by Dr. Welsh, BUI Kovack drafted the attached cover letter far distribution with the booklet. This cover letter should be stapled to each booklet. W. <. Thurber UCC ' 013053 DRAFT Dear Fellow Employees: We have all read and heard a great deal about the potential hazards of asbestos and more specifically air borne asbestos fiber. Since asbestos is the basis for our products here in King City, I know we all share a concern as to how this affects us. I am therefore enclosing a booklet that has been prepared by a major manufacturer in the asbestos business that I think you will find most informative on this subject. As you will read in the booklet "...you have no greater chance of getting bronchogenic cancer than the average person not occupationally exposed to asbestos who does not smoke." If this statement is true, the message is pretty clear we will be better off if we don't smoke. I would like to add one note of caution, however. The inhalation of excessive quantities of free asbestos fibers over prolonged periods of time can increase the risk of developing certain diseases of the lungs -- even to nonsmokers. The best prevention is to follow the safety rules and regulations that we have established to meet these potential hazards. If you have any questions on this subject, at any time, feel free to ask them of your supervisor or me personally. Sincerely, FHL/rtg 1/2/74 F. H. Larrison, Jr. Manager - King City Operations UCC 013054 ;JC '49 2 INTERNAL CORRESPONDENCE UNION CARBIDE CORPORATION Tc fNcme) Oivision Lotion Mr. W. J. Kovack Mining and Metals 38th Floor 270 Park Avenue Division -opy 'o Mr. w. T. Atkinson 270 PARK AVENUE, NEW YCRK, NET/YORK 10017 Jore December 3, 1973 Originating Oept. Medical Department Answering letter date Subject WHAT EVERY EMPLOYEE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ASBESTOS Dear Bill: As I mentioned to you on the telephone, we have read the attached booklet and find it to be acceptable from the medical viewpoint except for the paragraph on page 3 entitled, "Now About Smoking." The second sentence in that paragraph reads as follows: "On the other hand, the asbestos industry workmen who do not smoke cigarettes--and who never have smoked regularly--show no greater incidence of bronchogenic cancer than the average man-on-the-street who does not smoke." I phoned Mr. William B. Reitze, Manager of Accident Prevention and Industrial Health at Johns-Manville. I questioned this statement and asked for supporting medical literature. He referred to the work of Dr. Irving Selikoff. Since Dr. Selikoff's work is questionable at best, it is open to criticism; and more than likely this statement cannot be justi fied. Even if we assume that such a statement is true, it may be misleading to the employees who may ignore the fact that heavy asbestos exposure leads to other conditions such as asbestosis and mesothelioma. We have the same complaint about the statement on page 10, first para graph, where they restate that "...you have no greater chance of getting bronchogenic cancer than the average person not occupationally exposed to asbestos who does not smoke." Very truly yours. JJW:BA Attachment XU J John J. Welsh, M.D. r 5 '973 M&M Relations UCC . 013055