As I consider how to structure my History PhD student projects, I want to ensure that I stay focused on asbestos related issues as much as possible. As such, I will periodically publish those projects that keep my feet to the ground and direct me to my ultimate goal; that is, locate and disseminate asbestos…
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To my friends. As I am up to 220 or so blogs, and my historical blogs get a fair amount of comments and discussion, below is my table of blogs with the blog number, title, date, and URL links. If you are researching specific issues or just trying to get a leg up on history…
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I attended by zoom on June 23, 2025, the first day of the symposium in Grenoble discussing legacy asbestos issues. To say the first day was outstanding and provide new pathways in my brain thought capacity would be a gross understatement. The two issues that attendees need to sort out are the dual language (French…
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For both insulation and sound deadening, Johns-Manville marketed in 1920 a product which mixed cattle hair with asbestos. Given the timing, I suspect that some of this insulation may still exist in older homes and buildings. That being said, from page 9 of the sales brochure, it seems that only some of the brand names,…
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One of the best stories from the Johns-Manville facility in Manville, New Jersey is the multipage historical information provided in the 1980s by Joe and Stella Utasi discussing their escape from the Pennsylvania coal mines to work in the Manville facility. I first blogged on their story on March 3, 2022. The link for that…
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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…
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Researching asbestos history is difficult — lots of mistakes (especially about the science), experts and attorneys with private data/document silos, significant paywalls to get articles, inconsistent claims trying to reconcile studies that have been undertaken in the Global South to those using the countries of the Global North, and on and on and on. This…
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Below is a table listing all of my asbestos-related blogs from December 2020 to the present including the titles, dates, and hot links. Interestingly, my summary blogs are among my most popular. Happy Holidays to all. Thank you. Marty Blog Title Date Blog Location 1 Asbestos, a Magic Mineral Dec 16, 2020 https://theasbestosblog.com/?p=619 2 A…
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One of the more difficult jobs for Mesothelioma sufferers, attorneys, shipbreakers, and others participating in “Industries Behind the Ship,” is to sort out when and where asbestos components were located. To help you, The Book of the Ship from 1949 is a good starting place. The book doesn’t focus on asbestos but, rather on ship…
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Most of my lawyer friends know this story, but I am not sure about others. So, lets begin with the participants. On September 12, 1966, E. A. Martin, was a Director of Purchases for the Bendix Friction Material Division stationed in Troy, New York. Noel Hendry, at the same time, was employed at “Canadian Johns…
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