Document rBj0j5jvRDkE5MG5NKaXQ11VV

. \ C*W <0* THE MOUNT SINAI MEDICAL CENTER ONEOiSTAVlt UVY PUCE * NEH0 YORK. NY 10025-6574 Mount Sinai School of Medicine * The Mount Sma Hospital hvingJ. Sdikoft M.D. femrch Office The Mount Sinai Medical Center t9 Ees 91th Street (Box 1059} New York. New 1C029 ....................... ............ *" ............... ` (2I2) 24J-7S09.7911 Dr. Heridere X. Ahrasas 3364 E. Arroyo Chico Tucson, AZ 85716 Dear Herbs The hazards of asbestos exposure among workers have been known from Che Curn of Che century, and scientists have been well aware of this. Physicians generally had clear access to this knowledge at lease since 1924 when W.E. Cooke published a fatal case in the British Medical Journal (tbotq extensively recorded in the same journal, in 1927). In the United States our knowledge goes back to Pancoast, Landis and Miller, who described abnormal x-rays with asbestos exposure in the American Journal of Roentgenology, in 1918. A great deal more of information accumulated during the 1930*s and 1940's and 1950's, including the risk of lung cancer, first detailed in the classic paper of Lynch and Smith in the American Journal of Cancer, in 1935. Hy own studies began at Mount Sinai in 1954 and were briefly published In-Ciirrvta'l Research in T?6X> and, more'"fully, in Che American Journal of Medicine In 1961 with Drs. M. Bader and R. 3ader. In the 1960's, my colleague E. Cuyler Hammond, and I considered that it would be well to add additional quantitative data to the large body of knowledge that existed, utilizing the new epidemiological techniques that had much of their origin in che smoking stydies then under way. (Xc is of interest that the first occupational cohort investigation was reported only in 1954, by Case. A useful and informative approach to this had been published in 1955 by Richard Doll, although the population available was selected.) We adopted the technique of inviting che entire membership of the Hew York - New Jersey metropolitan area locals of the International Association of Ucat and ?rost Insulators and Asbestos Workers on January 1, 1963 for clinical study. In the event, 907. participated (1117 of 1249). Too, we initiated a prospective epidemiological mortality study of che entire membership of these union locals as of January l, 1943, following the entire group to December 31, 1962. WV-01238 Ur. Herbert R. Abrams (2) January 18, 1989 The findings were reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1964. It was thus not a question of attempting to discover whether asbestos exposure constituted a serious health hazard but rather to provide additional quantitative information concerning this risk. We continued with this prospective frora the 1960's on, and still do today. > With all best wishes. .. Sincerely yours. IJS:cl ccs Mr. Ronald L Motley /' likoff, H.D. Professor jlir.eritua I ThB SaAANAC LABORATORY fOR THE STUDY OP TURERCULOSlS OP TUB EDWARD t. TRUDEAU FOUNDATION *S*t Q?M HI HI l rmumh mrtv Saranac Lake. N,Y. April S3, 1935 Dr. Anthony J L-%m* Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. Mew York Ctty Dear Tony? I recently had a letter from HurlOut, from the Harvard Department of Geology, saying that he ha* analysed the "Kings Pleats Asbestos" which we used in our experimental work. He reports that thsre was only some 5% of fibrous asbestos in the material, the rest of it wee serpentine and talc with'a few impurities. 1 had this analysis cheeked by Dr. Gabriel, of the New Brunswick station, and he confirms the findings. The question now arises as to whether we were at all justified in talking about pulmonary asbestoais - probably we really produced a reaction to serpentine. If we can find some reel fibrous asbestos, ground sufficiently fine, we should repeat our experiment. However, this report may be of significance in explaining the lack of pulmonary disease among the Thetford worker* Moat of the fibrous material which is discovered at the mine is hand picked, as you will recall. These processes would not be attended by the formation of appreciable amounts of dust. When this fibrous mineral is brought to this country for fabrication, the fibres may be broken up sufficiently fine to be Inhaled. These petrographers are very disturbing people,but they have their usee. Fletcher, I suppose, told you that he was going to send me a cheok from the at. Joe Lead for a $1000. It was indeed most acceptable. He reported that Mr. Atwell was not inclined to see the light. I appreciate what you and he attempted to do with him nevertheless. We are having a pretty good regiatration for the acnool and expect you will have no empty chairs to talk to. Best regards, ainoeroly yours, 'ffV. Leroy U. ciaraier, N.D.