Knowledge of Asbestos Hazards by Companies in the Asbestos Industry.

(These four companies are a small representation.)

Owens-Corning | W.R. Grace & Co.
Bendix Corp. | The Gypsum Association

OWENS-CORNING FIBERGLAS CORP.
Between 1953 and 1972, Owens Corning Fiberglas Corp. manufactured and distributed Kaylo, an insulation product for pipes and boilers. Before 1953, Owens Corning sold fiberglass insulation, a competitor for asbestos. Fiberglass sales lagged because it made people itch. In the 1940s, to counteract those itching objections and discredit asbestos insulation with the insulation workers’ union, Owens Corning began to assemble a medical file that emphasized the health hazards of asbestos products. In a memo to the president of Owens Corning, the public relations manager wrote that the company should "gather as a weapon-in-reserve an impressive file of photostats of medical literature on asbestosis. Available are two bibliographies covering medical literature in 1938, citing references to scores of publications in which the lung and skin hazards of asbestos are discussed."

On the chance that the union would not accept fiberglass over asbestos, the manager advocated, "If reaction is unfavorable, use the asbestosis weapon-in-reserve to let them stew."

In an about-face, Owens Corning later joined the competition and bought from Owens Illinois, Inc. the rights to distribute and manufacture Kaylo insulation. It is still in dispute whether Owens-Corning ever warned users of the hazards of asbestos in Kaylo.