To: ajtj99 who wrote (111716 ) 5/17/2010 9:01:42 PM From: Hawkmoon 7 Recommendations Read Replies (1) | Respond to No, that's free enterprise. A revealing National Gypsum Co. internal document from 1958 states, "...just as certain as death and taxes is the fact that if you inhale asbestos dust you get asbestosis." Despite this knowledge, companies still placed countless workers at risk, and even terminated relationships with those who stood in their way. For example, a doctor who was hired to report asbestos hazards to Philip Carey Manufacturing was fired in 1964 after establishing association between asbestos and cancer. In a 1966 memo from the purchasing director of Bendix Corporation addressed to Canadian Johns Manville, the director states, "...if you have enjoyed a good life while working with asbestos products why not die from it ." "our present policy is to tell no one anything." The following year, Union Carbide instructed its personnel to inform customers that "asbestos is not a carcinogen." In the same year, the company's medical department advised them to stop downplaying asbestos dangers in marketing campaigns, but the company ignored the warnings. industry representatives acknowledged that thousands would face fatal consequences in the future, but "the good news" was that "few people have been paying attention. " Even as late as 1980, DuPont requested that physicians remove the word "asbestos" from x-ray stamps and replace it with term "irritant." By this point, many companies ceased performing studies since they were all too aware of the results, and focused on suppressing public knowledge. asbestos.com
