T&N Rochdale, asbestos and cancer - There WAS a cover up - Part 6

The damning 1964 letter quoted in part 5 of this series of articles from T&N's solicitors also acknowledged:

“It is now clearly established that where asbestosis bodies present in the lungs have caused fibrotic changes lung cancer may follow."

In Rochdale, even by the early 1960s, T&N were all too aware of such conclusions regarding asbestos cancers.

The pages of the Rochdale Observer saw several accounts of asbestos worker cancer deaths in the 1930s including that of TBA worker William Pennington, whose death in 1936 from “endothelioma of the pleura” was later recognised by T&N as its first Mesothelioma death.

During a 1942 Rochdale Coroner's Inquest Dr. Jenkins replied to a question asking if the cancer was caused by asbestos:

“There have been so many of these cases in Rochdale that I must say I think the cancer was produced by the asbestosis”

A T&N letter dated 27 October 1961 to American corporation Raybestos-Manhattan Inc. acknowledged that:

“...the only really number of safe fibres in the works atmosphere is nil...”

Yet, 10 years later, internal T&N Rochdale correspondence, dated 27 September 1971, still describes visible amounts of asbestos in the hair of some workers. Health concerns appeared to be disregarded. The figure quoted in the letter of 2f/ml (2 fibres per millilitre of air)equates to approximately 2 MILLION fibres per cubic metre of air.

“Strictly Private and Confidential” T&N correspondence dated 17 September 1962 gives a chilling insight into some corporate and government experts' attitudes regarding asbestos and the terminal cancer mesothlelioma:

“...in tackling a problem of this nature one must be either completely frank with everyone or maintain complete secrecy. It is the latter that he [Professor Cochrane, a director of the Medical Research Council] feels is best at the moment.”

The 1962 T&N letter continues with a chilling reference to T&N's acceptance and involvement in secret medical research practices:

“...His normal research and investigations in the Vale of Glamorgan could completely cloak the true nature of his study...”

To read the other articles in this series visit the links below:

www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/21/spodden-valley/13950/tandn-rochdale-asbestos-and-cancer-there-was-a-cover-up

www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/21/spodden-valley/13956/tandn-rochdale-asbestos-and-cancer-there-was-a-cover-up-part-2

www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/21/spodden-valley/13955/tandn-rochdale-asbestos-and-cancer-there-was-a-cover-up-part-3

www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/21/spodden-valley/13954/tandn-rochdale-asbestos-and-cancer-there-was-a-cover-up-part-4

www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/21/spodden-valley/13953/tandn-rochdale-asbestos-and-cancer-there-was-a-cover-up-part-5

www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/21/spodden-valley/13951/tandn-rochdale-asbestos-and-cancer-there-was-a-cover-up-part-7

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