Secrets behind the mask
The article reported that 3M did not test the 8710 mask for all anticipated uses prior to marketing the device. This is true, but the article should have noted that 3M conducted numerous tests in the lab and in actual workplaces and also used a surrogate approved by regulators for testing respirator masks. According to 3M, the results indicated that the masks provided the "protection factor" established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the government agency that regulates workplace safety.
The article referenced a Washington, D.C., federal appeals court opinion concerning the 8710 mask. The court did not "legally establish" that there was a defect in the mask. It affirmed OSHA's ability to regulate the use of disposable masks made by 3M and others in certain work environments.
U.S. News cited four individuals in the article who criticized the performance of the 8710 mask, but the magazine neglected to identify those individuals as having served as paid advisers to plaintiffs' counsel in litigation against 3M. Lastly, the article stated that "those who advise companies and their workers on respiratory protection say there is little doubt that users have died or suffered crippling lung disease because they depended on the 3M mask, known as the 8710." The statement should have said only that "some" hold that belief and should have identified any affiliations with plaintiffs' counsel.
"Secrets Behind the Mask" failed to meet U.S. News's acknowledged high standards of journalistic fairness and balance. Throughout its long history, U.S. News has enjoyed a reputation for honoring both qualities. That we failed to do so in this case is a cause of deep regret. - The Editors ]
[Clarification published 9/20/04] 20040920046046
Back in the 1970s, Larry Turley joined a revolution. The coal miner in Union County, Ky., switched from using a heavy, uncomfortable respirator mask to a soft, paper-like model that weighed just a quarter of an ounce. The new mask was hailed as a magic bullet, making unpleasant jobs more bearable and encouraging miners and workers in many other industries to wear their protection.
Turley certainly needed the mask. The dust that swirled through the mines was often so thick it turned the air black. But his new mask, hailed as a savior, failed him, Turley says: It didn't filter out the dust. Today, he has been diagnosed with the scourge of Kentucky coal country--black lung disease. He hasn't worked in six years, struggles to get by on Social Security disability payments, and says everyday tasks like walking or washing a car leave him short of breath. Time is not his friend. "With all the things that's wrong with me," says Turley, who has lived virtually all his life in western Kentucky, "I just thank the Lord every day I wake up. I'm just broke down. I'm 60; I feel like I'm 80."
As Turley's case suggests, the respirator mask that was to have revolutionized American industry in the '70s has today become a public-health calamity, and the dimensions of the problem are only now becoming apparent. The 3M Co., which produces everything from Post-it notes to Scotch tape, is one of America's best-known and most admired firms. Yet it also manufactured the mask that Larry Turley and hundreds of thousands of other American workers relied on to keep them safe. In a four-month investigation, U.S. News found serious problems with the safety and reliability of the company's mask, plus inadequate oversight by accommodating federal regulators. The inquiry is based on interviews, company documents, court depositions, government records, and an exhaustive examination of worker-safety standards.
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