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

W.R. GRACE & CO.
W.R. Grace and Company was a manufacturer of spray-applied fireproofing and acoustical plaster used in commercial buildings, schools, auditoriums and other structures. In the 1950s, Grace's predecessor, the Zonolite Company, a mining company and manufacturer of asbestos-containing products, developed a product known as Monokote.

The Zonolite Company's principal asset was a vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana, from which it produced the vermiculite that went into almost all of its construction products. The vermiculite at Libby also contained asbestos. A June 1962 Zonolite Company letter about the Libby plant reveals the company's knowledge that "[a]sbestos ... is a cause of asbestosis, which has been a matter of concern. There is a relatively large amount of asbestos dust present in our mill, and this is difficult to control."

Grace officials read an October 12, 1968 article in "The New Yorker" which gave a thorough and scholarly explanation of the means by which asbestos diseases are caused.

A May 9, 1969 Grace "Zonolite Research" memorandum announced a "request to find a substitute for asbestos" in Mono-Kote because "[a]sbestos is a health hazard." That year, Grace's national fireproofing manager attended a lecture given by Dr. Irving J. Selikoff, a noted asbestos researcher. He prepared a report summarizing the contents of the lecture, stating:

"[Dr. Selikoff's] address was very factual about the extreme dangers of the use, under current practices, of sprayed fiber fireproofing. After noting the widespread concentration of fibers around major office structures, with emphasis on the large amounts distributed blocks from the site, he stressed the hazards to the general public of this pollution of the air. Also, he noted concern of possible long-term danger to building occupants from prolonged minute dusting of fibers through the building's air distribution systems." (Emphasis added)

On December 1, 1969, Grace's national sales manager wrote:

"Knowing the building pressure against use of asbestos in sprayed fireproofing, particularly in the New York, Philadelphia area, and with the concern spreading rapidly throughout the country, there are two prime reasons we should get asbestos out of Mono-Kote. They are:

1. We are going to get included in the indictment since we have asbestos in Mono-Kote.

2. Mono-Kote without asbestos would give us a tremendous sales increase at once.

Also, we have an ethical obligation to get it out.

Grace continued to sell asbestos-containing Monokote until July 4, 1973, when the U.S. government banned the spraying of asbestos fireproofing. Grace did not put a warning on bags of Monokote about the hazards of breathing asbestos.