February 1970: Selikoff to Ford Motor Company, You Need to do More Testing on Brake Friction Material.

I apologize for the terrible condition of the February 26, 1970 letter from Irving Selikoff at Mount Sinai School of Medicine to William Pierson of the Ford Motor Company Chemistry Department, Scientific Research Staff, but the attached is the best that I have. I can read my copy with some effort, but the scanned document is more difficult. If any of you want to understand other sections, just let me know and I will do my best.

The letter was sent by Selikoff in response to an earlier (January 28, 1970) letter by Pierson, but I don’t have a copy of that initial letter. Selikoff used his letter to respond to comments made by Pierson, including explaining why earlier testing by Johns-Manville was insufficient. Selikoff, always the scientist, ended the letter as follows:

“To repeat, while it is my informed guess that brake linings contribute less than is commonly assumed to asbestos contamination of the ambient air, I think this should be documented, precisely because of common assumptions. Should you think this would be useful, we would be happy to explore with you such assistance as we might be able to offer in an appropriate investigation.”

I do not know the Ford response to Selikoff but, clearly, as of February 1970, Ford was aware that (1) they could not rely on the prior Johns-Manville testing and (2) Mount Sinai was offering its professional services as part of an investigation of asbestos from brakes released into the ambient air.

Maybe one of my readers know if this exchange continued, but I don’t have those details. History is only as good as the primary sources, such as the letters.

For full disclosure, I was an employee of Ford Motor Company from April 1979 to June 1980, at the Sheldon Road Manufacturing Plant in Plymouth, Michigan when I was laid off as part of a 27 employee reduction. I later found out that certain asbestos cases included claims of exposure at that facility, although I do not know the details.

Let me know if you have any comments or questions either by leaving a comment or sending me an email at TheAsbestosBlog@gmail.com. Thank you. Marty