Tag: johnsmanville

Where History Means Knowledge. Be Informed.

Let’s Detour from History to the Potential of AI to Create its own Future History in Asbestos: Amazing Things are Happening

As I start my summer break from the classroom and updating my three thesis, I have been giving some thought to ways in which AI might change various issues about asbestos: detecting Asbestos Containing Material, helping streamline the work in the labs, analyzing asbestos, and “on and on.” What I found in a simple Google…
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Asbestos Issues at the Illinois Beach State Park and What is Next.

My third and final thesis for my masters program is titled “South African Blue Asbestos Fibers at the Illinois Beach State Park: Mistakes of our Past, Concerns for the future” located at https://theasbestosblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IBSP-5-52024.pdf. I hope that you find it interesting and informative. Although this paper focuses on issues in Illinois, the paradox of satisfying safety/environmental…
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Research Thesis Number 3: Seeing the Light at the End of the Tunnel

I am just about done with my third research thesis as required for the Master’s in History Program at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. This thesis is tentatively titled: SOUTH AFRICAN BLUE ASBESTOS FIBERS AT THE ILLINOIS BEACH STATE PARK: MISTAKES OF OUR PAST AND LESSONS FOR OUR FUTURE I have a few…
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1969 Asbestos-Cement Water Pipe: Dr. Selikoff States that there is no Evidence (at that time) Supporting its use as being a “recognized health hazard.” Johns-Manville Agrees. You decide the Science.

As many of you know, I am researching blue asbestos (crocidolite) issues, including its use in transite pressure piping manufactured at the Waukegan, IL facility. This 1969 document was part of a batch that I purchased this week from the Johns-Manville document repository. I suspect that few people have seen it during the last 30…
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Asbestos, Kids, and Building Sand Castles on an ACM infested Beach. Is that Really Okay?

I am waist deep into my thesis research, with a current focus on the Asbestos Containing Material on the Illinois State Beach Park. Just to set the baseline, as of April 1980, even the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States recognized that kids and asbestos do not mix. As stated by the EPA: “It…
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How to Search for those Tough to Find Documents: Toxicdocs.org is a Good Site to Kick Off your Research Project.

My third thesis for the Masters in History program will likely involve tracking asbestos (primarily blue) sold by Cape Asbestos in South Africa to Johns-Manville for use in the JM Waukegan, Illinois site and which, over time, found itself into Lake Michigan, onto the Illinois beaches, or as being within the superfund clean-up site. The…
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150 Asbestos Blogs: Skim and Enjoy

Below is a listing with hot links to each of my 150 asbestos history blogs since December 2020. It has been a wonderful three years and I appreciate the interest so many of my friends have shown. My total view count is about to reach 22,000 for these last three years. My blogs are intended…
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For Those Into Demolition and Renovation: A Book from the 1930s which Identifies the then New Components.

My Blog is somewhat brief today as I am up to my eyeballs with reading and writing for the Masters in History class at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. In 1931, Johns-Manville published a book (or a collection of brochures) discussing the products it was selling. You can pick up an electronic copy…
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140 Asbestos-Related Blog Postings Since December 2020: A Listing of Topic with Hot Links for those who are Interested.

I posted my first Asbestos-Related blog just prior to entering the Masters of History program here at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs in January 2021. I am about to reach 20,000 views in just under three years and am honored with your interest. For those who were not with me at the start…
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Johns-Manville: What does a 1932 Lawsuit Claiming Death from Asbestos Look Like (Paul Stepka, RIP).

The asbestos wrongful death claim by the Estate of Paul Stepka filed in January 1932 against Johns-Manville in the New Jersey Supreme Court was not the first such case to be filed, but it is a good representation of what JM knew at that time. I grabbed it from the Motley 1000 documents put together…
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