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FILE NAME: Tile Council of America (TCA) DATE: 1966 DOC#: TCA006 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Letters from Johns Manville March 7* 1966 Johns Manville I M I m Fiber Bivision Box 1500 fe Asbestos *$** Oandaa Bear Sirs* In m ortar form ulas 759 and 7 # which th e T ile C o rn ell of A f r ic a lic e n se s to sev eral companies in the Baited States and other countries there I# a percentage of a sb e sto s fib e rs * y ear grade f W 1 Enclosed i s a m w of i n a r t i c l e which appeared &k th e Hew Tori? Times which say s feUtt a sb e sto s d u st i s a hazard which extends to workers in "contiguous tra d e s " mefe a s o th er con s t a c tio n workers and th e ir fam ilies* Please b rin g us up to d ate on your own th in k in g r e g arding t h i s s u b je c t, i s th e re a hazard when t h i s m a te ria l i s added to th e dry mixes in th e m ortar f a c to r ie s ? Are th e t i l e s e t t e r s .exposed to dangers from, exposure t o a sb e sto s dust tAtfa th ey use th ese m ortars to se t tile ? We have elev en lic e n s e e s w ith a t l e a s t a s many f a c to r ie s in the Bhited S tates producing these m ortars and using the asbestos ad d itiv e m aterial manufactured by JohnsM anville. T h is i s a ls o tr u e of some of our fo re ig n lic e n s e e s . We* t h e r e f o r e ,.shall a p p re c ia te your c a re fu l a tte n tio n to the m atter and ah early reply Very sin c e re ly yours, JVFimp Enclosure J . V, F itz g e ra ld I i CANADIAN J oRrs-Maivville A ste sto s LIMITED ASBESTOS FIBRE DIVISION P.O. BOX 1500 - ASBESTOS, QUEBEC - TELEPHONE: 879-5431 March 1 4 th , 1966 Dr, J . V. F itz g e r a ld , Research D irecto r, T ile C ouncil o f America P.O , Box 326, PRINCETON, N .J . 08540. In c ,, MAR 1 7(968 Dear Dr. F itz g e ra ld : Vie w ish t o th a n k you f o r y o u r l e t t e r o f March '7th t o g e t h e r w ith th e p r e s s r e le a s e from Dr. S e lik o ff w ith re fe re n c e to th e p o ssib le h azard in th e use o f Johns-M anville asb esto s fib r e grade 7TF1. We have r e f e r r e d y o u r l e t t e r t o o u r M dical D ir e c to r , K enneth W, S m ith , who i s lo c a te d a t o u r H e a d q u a rte rs O ffic e i n New York, You can e x p e c t t o r e c e iv e an e a r ly rep ly from Dr. Smith to th e q u estio n s you have r a is e d . Yours very tr u ly , NWH/bh N. W. HENDRY, G eneral S a le s Manager September 2 , I 960 ; ' Mb?* N* Hendry General Salea Manager % Canadian John k n v flle Aseesfcos I*td* P-* 0. Box 1500 Asbestos, Quebec, Canada Dear Mir. Hehdryi Attached a re copies of y l e t t e r ftJMMaKftt % and enclosure and your rep ly <xf Mferoh 2A. l e have never heard from your Medical B ire e to r Kenneth 1 Smith and would w r e o i a t e knowing th e s ta tu s of t h i s matter* JVFtmp Attachments CANADIAN Jokns-Mamille A sbestos LIMITED P.O. BOX 1500 - ASBESTOS, QUEBEC - TELEPHONE: 879-5431 September 1 2 th , 1966 Dr, J , V, F i t z g e r a l d , Research D ire c to r, T ile Council o f America P.O . Box 326, PRINCETON, N .J . 08540. Inc , Dear Dr, F itz g e ra ld : We r e g r e t th a t i t h as been n e c e s s a ry f o r you to w rite to us againw ith reference to th e m edical asp ects of asbestos f ib r e in view of th e fa c t th a t you requested in fo rm a tio n on th e s t a t u s o f t h i s m a tte r onMarch 7th l a s t , We r e f e r r e d your re q u e s t to o u r M dical D ir e c to r , Kenneth W.S m ith, in New York a t th a t tim e and we a re somewhat dismayed t h a t you have n o t re c e iv e d any.com m unication from him. We a re ag ain r e f e r r i n g yo u r re q u e s t t o h i s a t t e n t i o n and w ill fo llo w t h i s m a tte r t o make c e r t a i n th a t he communicates w ith you, Yours very tr u ly , NWH/bh General S ales Manager <? )ti reas tit p ain tin g ute I J Asbestos Dust Called a Hazard: '! To at Le^st One-Fourth of U .S. n y .TANK K. BRODY I Asbestos v.ust, which has al strncUon workers and their ready been connected with families. the development of fatal can- According to the findings of :er in one-half of asbestos three recent limited studies, the workers, may be a'potential; dangers might extend to the health hazard for one-quarter general population.1The studies, of the population or more, it which involved autopsies on' was reported yesterday* * j1,100 persons in three cities, This preliminary finding was showed that 25 per cent of the described by Dr. IrvJng- J. .Sell- people had asbestos lodged in koff In announcclng the estab- their lungs, lishment o f ' an environmental Dr. Selikoff explained that ^ h e ,.* laboratory at Mount " 5 * 5 " ^ c lo sc ^ S Sinai Hospital. The laboratory those asbestos fibers that had will further Investigate the become coated by an iron-rich dangers to man of asbestos and material while lodged in the other environmental contaml lungs. A more refined technique Iinants. now show that ma: parsons Dr. Selikoff said the link harbor noncoatcd asbestos fi between cancer and asbestos bers as well, he said. had led him to suspect that other mineral dusts that con Now Study Started taminate both urban and rural Dr. Selikoff and his col air might create medical haz leagues a t the new laboratory i ards for the public. have started a three-year study The new laboratory will be In which they will: headed by Dr. Selikoff who, <2Examine, with the de with Dr. J >b Churg, found ceased's family's approval, the that asbesti workers eventu lung tissue of the from 3,000 to al! showed to seven times 4,000 persons expected to die in U normal death rate from lung the next two years a t Mount cancer and three times the nor Sinai, Elmhurst Hospital and mal death rate from cancer of Veterans Hospital In the Bronx. the stomach, color^ and rectum. The doctors will look for un- Other Workers Affected coated ns well as coated asbes Dr. ScHkoff noted that the tos fibers In the tissues. dangers of exposure to asbestos Look for correlations be d u s t w ere n m ited to ti >sc tween the causes of death and who work directly with this Uie presence of asbestos fibers ubiquitous Insulator and filler in lung tissue. |/ material. The dangers, he said 1Determine the occupational t) extend to workers In "contigu history of the deceased and their u ous trades/1 such aa other con- relatives and other pertinent V background information. p Asbestos Is a fibrous mineral & highly valued for its noncor rosive and long-wearing prop p erties. In addition to its common t use as a fireproof material, Dr. t Selikoff said, asbestos makes up a about 50 per cent of asphalt h tile and Is used in dental cement, F brake linings, plastics, beer fil ters, gas masks and paper. Until 1 last year, somr; schools used tl asbestos dust instead of sand Si ]for children to play in. Wi Study Links Asbestos To Cancer By Earl Ubell Science Editor Scientists have known for j a long time th at asbestos was bad for your lungs. Now `! ' a study of New York City workers, both roofers and i. .Insulation blowers, reveals L th at exposure to the mineral \.s sends lung-cancer death ; \ rates skyrocketing. The figures--gathered by - ' . doctors at Mount Sinai Hos; | pita]--show th at such work ers have eight times the lung- 1 cancer death rate as would be expected in & non-exposed , population. : ! More suprlslngly, the stud- , i les reveal that such workers r run four times the risk of i= * getting cancer In other parts I of tho body, with cancer of the colon, particularly singled out. For all other diseases, ; . the insulation workers have i the came death rate as the rest of the population. These findings wero em phasized yesterday by Dr. Irving J. Selikoff. head ' of Mt. Sinai's Division oi Envi ronmental Medicine,' on the occasion of the establish- ; m ent of an environmental r health laboratory in the hos pital. The laboratory has received grants totaling $324,( 000 from the United States | Public Health Service and Vj j the New York City Health j* Research Council. Dr. Selikoff also pointed T out th at cigarette smoking `seems to heighten the effects * J1 of the asbestos. Among 130 men exposed to asbestos 20 years or more who were noa- mokera, he found one lung- cancer , death among 310 smokers, 21 such deathi. I 4 T12 .YETY YfV %