Document v6zdMbo8LBpKLxe8KkOMdrKJZ

Asbestos information Association North America 22 East 4Qth S:ree: New York. N. Y. 10016 212-689-3378 January 26, 1973 Mr. Lewis Bergman The Editor The New York Times Magazine 225 West -13 Screet New York, New York 10036 Dear Mr. Bergman: In a New York Times Sunday Magazine article entitled "Asbestos, the saver of lives, has a deadly side" (January 21), your writer, Robert Sherrill, unjustly and harshly attacked the United States asbestos industry for its alleged total irresponsibility regarding the health hazards faced by its employees from the inhalation of asbestos dust. Mr. Sherrill created this horrendous and erroneous portrait by the simple procedure of purposefully ignoring and refusing to include in his article any evidence to the contrary, even though data on medical research sponsored by the industry, money spent on dust control equipment over the years and other relevant information was sent him by the industry, and which he claims to have read thoroughly. Although Mr. Sherrill did make a token approach to the industry for its comments, he refused either tc meet with industry representatives or to visit an asbestos plant, claiming that he did not have enough jtiste to do so. A lack of time can never serve as a legitimate excuse for a journalist' failure to properly research and document an article. In printing Mr. Sherrill's one-sided and irresponsible article, Ths New York Times assumes responsibility for its contents, and therefore has a strong moral as well as journalistic obligation to print the attached letter of clarification. While we appreciate that its length is somewhat unusual, in comparison with the 20 or so columns allotted to Mr. Sherrill, our letter, if anything, is not long enough. We await your response. Very truly yours, Matthew M. Swetonic Executive Secretary Enclosure oV_030`l`'