The Skinny On Silica

After weeks of immersing myself in documents about silica lawsuits, I received yet another package to sift through. This one, from a media relations firm representing tort reformers, included an odd item a video called “Stop Silicosis Now.”

Popping it into my VCR, I discovered that this video in glorious black and white dated back to 1938. Put together by the Department of Labor, it warned of dangers of breathing deadly silica dust.

Midway through, viewers are introduced to John Steel, a foundry worker whose lungs are so damaged that he can't lift a shovel of sand. His employer is forced to fire him. A quick cut to the next scene shows Mr. Steel performing the only job he can find carving names on tombstones.

Recommended For You

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader

Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more inforrmation visit Asset & Logo Licensing.