Document rxXepGypEMdjrOrEMeJRrBrNV

PLAINTIFF'S EXHIBIT wv~*mi7* h -' H-Ca '** M\ /* \j *J .ov** y He T .I T U-. vs . PLAINTIFFS EXHIBIT 433fi.o p. i$4 Dear I am familiar with the July 1941 Issue of TBS ASBESTOS WOBXZR tM X am glad to give you details about the situation which has resulted in the resolutions to which you call ay attention. . As you know, glass wool manufactured by Owens-Corning yiterglas Corporation has made considerable progress as an Industrie ~ ** *\ insulation material within the last few years. There is reason?r to beliere that as ?iberglas has been winning an increasinglyvv* large share of this market in competition principally with , 65 per oent magnesia, rock wool, and asbestos products, rested interests that have had a virtual monopoly in this market for some fifty years have stimulated the Asbestos Workers Salon to discriminate against glass wool by demanding prohibitive wage rates in certain areas. This position is supported by nebulous assertions on the part of the Asbestos Workers that handling glass wool endangers their health. Stories about union members who have been hospitalized as a consequence of handling glass wool are difficult to traoe, belong in the realm of hearsay evidence wkis-tts uniQiama^sd. 1 enclose a brochure entitled "Wealth Aspeots of ribergla* Materials" *hioh raproduoas on th# intida of th. front ot. letter dated rune 17, 1941, fro* it'Claims Heferee ot the . ' *%. . r Industrial Commission of Ohio verifying the fast, that .no''wiaimAV&*/. ,.`b*'. * for workers* compensation based on an occupationalsldisease ; attributable to ?iberglas has. evejr^sei WV-1075 PLAINTIFFS EXHIBIT Ijfaggp significant because thousands of Fibsrglas production Yorkers In He*ark, Ohio, bare been exposed to it over & period of rears* The rest of the booklet provides other documentary evidence that gives Fiberglas materials a clean bill of health* Significant especially are the recapitulation and conclusions of an exhaustive report dated June 28, 1941, made by Dr. Walter J. Siebert, St. Louis pathologist, for 3t. Louis Local Wo* 1 of the Asbestos Workers Union, in which Dr* Siebert sayss *The conclude* that the manufacture, fabrication, and application of Fiberglas products is accompanied or attended by no unusual ocoupatlonal^iuj&rft ia - -- justified by the evidence.** Dr. Siebert is director fof * - *.T laboratories in l^SSaSipdfVwi five hospitals in the st. LOulrv- ' t vh % . area and is assistant professor of pathology on the faculty ih^' School of Medicine of Washington University* ** Although members of the St. firsiiJ Lo^i^A/o: ca% now 2re applying- Fiberglas without discrimination, largely as a result of the Siebert report^Whidh sempietely eahtsfluil" them that glees wool der the. thumb of the Washington headquarters of llil+iMlualilan, gpesiaUyute la the prob- ifet^msWdaatYs amnhBiawl erne find' f ifct Haturally we are doing our utmost to ccabat this situation, which presents ^*S**v a kind -- msMM/of *Eave you stopped beating your wife?" M*k propositi**^; Aand we'are making mkt headway although we refuse tg^hare sv _ traffic with Mii union Het ef the whole tiling is that ou pipe covering, metal mesh blankets, and other industrial insulation stand a their own merit as superior materials that are ** ere hazardous and no more uncomfortable to handle them bther materials that hare bees oa *fre marhat for many years* {(Me - v * *; .V V.Vv'<' because they are making headway in the market that our eeigmiitlaa has beoom* alarmed, and although these relationhips ara'!|ij^[to trace and difficult to he growth of our sale **1 suddenly developed hostilitVjef the single organized /labor rV..> * w V . . group that applies ^insulating materials strikes us am be tame's.*2&A***v-'- muoh more than a coincidence, WV**' Co sgplwi e* . ^ You may be sure that we hare gone oarefully Into the subject , 1--^ occupational disease and that many years ago during the research and development stages]* took steps to reassure*omms ourselves about the health aspects of Fiberglas materials^7For my part, 2should wish to have nothing to do with^.g^bffs loess tha^Jre^roduoed to`the^wrt^S^anr prMijo*y'"?&at raised imooatrollaSle-^r^Baclag health hazards,f It was only nfter careful medical and scientific Investigations by outstanding:' ^ . * .s' authorities gave our materials a clean bill of health that \aw. - brought them into production on a commercial scale . ' */***" I do not anticipate that you will encounter a situation*^.'-V~ of this nature ih smmHT your operations because you-dre.l^^^^v-^ . .. -; X' * **& dealing with glass, textile fibers that are. much finer;" ' diameter.etft'iad therefore considerably less brash.'tl 4 - -v. : - glass mm' wool fibers of which fcadustrisl^insttlatir-* v.; r . ;,;c>^Vi';i&t& In our ltf;is our,, expericace.the V* the suggestions for aormal body hygiene as set forth in the Fibergla* Standards 7 4*2.1, copy of which is enclosed, there is no difficulty. Indeed, we are proud of the fact that our employees, working in almost constant contact with Fiherglas and in roans where particles of it Slight he in the air, hare compiled an outstanding health record covering millions of man hours* hope ifiniaa these facts answer adequately the question that you have put to me jffru c fagtea*--If you need additional information, we shall be happy to supply it* * Sincerely,