The Asbestos Industry. Turning Workers into Commodities. Turning an Attorney into a Bag Man to Deliver Lungs Across the Border.

I am interrupting my series on how to best use historical documents to determine exposure as I found an article that is fascinating. I hope that you also find it engaging and thought provoking.

As part of my research, I have come across Jessica van Horssen who did her PhD Dissertation on the town formerly known as Asbestos, Canada, published that research in a book during 2016 (you can buy it on Amazon among other places), and then continued to expand her research about asbestos history. Jessica is a Senior Lecturer in North American History at Leeds Beckett University in England.

Of particular interest to me, and I believe to my readers, is the 2015 article she wrote about Johns-Manville’s deal with the Saranac Laboratories. If you are interested in body part snatchers, intrigue, Saranac Laboratories, the Johns-Manville Jeffrey Mine, deceit, the lawyer being the bag man to cross the border with body parts in his trunk, and the diary of Dr. Leroy Gardiner, then you will be fascinated by this article. It can be read at:

Please note that it was a Johns-Manville lawyer, Yvan Sabourin, who drove the lungs of the deceased workers across the border in the trunk of his car.

Let me know what you think of this article or my Blog by either emailing me at TheAsbestosBlog@gmail.com or by leaving a comment.

Marty