Description

Episode 25: The Navy Comes Calling

At the 1939 World's Fair, Johns-Manville's Asbestos Man posed for photographs while the company's chief counsel managed the Saranac coverup. Two months later, Congress passed the Strategic Materials Act — one hundred million dollars to stockpile asbestos for a war not yet entered. The Congressional Record contains zero worker safety provisions.

Key Takeaways

• June 7, 1939 — Strategic Materials Act stockpiles asbestos; zero safety language in the entire floor record despite documented hazards
• Brooklyn Navy Yard: 9,195 workers (Oct 1939) → 27,258 (Oct 1941). National shipyards: 168,000 (June 1940) → 1.7 million (Dec 1943). ~300 asbestos products per vessel.
• Fleischer study (1946): dust measured at 142 million particles/cubic foot — 28× the 5-million safe limit. Conclusion: “relatively safe occupation.” Published by permission of the U.S. Navy.
• Commander Stephenson to Surgeon General McIntire, 1941: “I am certain we are not protecting the men as we should.” No written response in the record.
• McIntire was FDR's personal physician, selected for his ability to “keep a close mouth.” The Navy inspected itself. A federal court later called this “official connivance at a coverup.”

FAQ

Where does the “Navy knew in 1922” claim come from?
It doesn't hold up. The Naval Medical Bulletins are digitized. No article on asbestos exists. A 2011 Inhalation Toxicology study found no U.S. government documents on asbestos hazards before 1929. The first verified Navy document is the 1939 Jenkins memo recommending respirators.

How did Fleischer conclude the work was safe at 28× the dust limit?
95% of the 1,074 workers had fewer than 10 years' exposure. Asbestosis takes 10–25 years to appear. The Fifth Circuit in Borel v. Fibreboard called the “safe occupation” conclusion “misleading.”

Expert Source
Larry Gates — Senior Client Advocate & Military Veteran Specialist, Danziger & De Llano. His father died of mesothelioma after years at a Shell refinery in Pasadena, Texas.
dandell.com/about/larry-gates/

Resources

• Veterans and mesothelioma: dandell.com/mesothelioma/veterans/
• Trust fund claims: dandell.com/mesothelioma/mesothelioma-asbestos-trust-fund-payouts/

Asbestos: A Conspiracy 4,500 Years in the Making — 52 episodes from ancient pottery to the 2024 EPA ban. Produced by Danziger & De Llano.
Next: Episode 26 — “The Dust They Couldn't See Through.”

Asbestos: A Conspiracy 4,500 Years in the Making is sponsored by Danziger & De Llano Mesothelioma Law Firm, a nationwide practice with over 30 years of experience and nearly $2 billion recovered for asbestos victims. If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, the exposure happened somewhere—and Paul Danziger and Rod De Llano know how to trace it back. For a free consultation, visit https://dandell.com.

Resources:

→ Mesothelioma legal rights: https://dandell.com/mesothelioma/ 

→ Asbestos exposure sources: https://dandell.com/asbestos-exposure/ 

→ Asbestos trust funds ($30B+ available): https://dandell.com/asbestos-trust-funds/ 

→ Free case evaluation: https://dandell.com/contact/ 

Sister Podcast - MESO: The Mesothelioma Podcast:

http://mesotheliomapodcast.com/