{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,11]],"date-time":"2026-07-11T00:12:49Z","timestamp":1783728769932,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":81,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,17]],"date-time":"2026-06-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1781654400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["New Solut"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>In January 1946, the Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology published \u201cA Health Survey of Pipe Covering Operations in Constructing Naval Vessels.\u201d This cross-sectional epidemiological study is one of the most consequential in the history of industrial hygiene and occupational medicine as it errantly concluded that insulation work on ships using asbestos-containing materials was \u201c\u2026not a dangerous occupation.\u201d As a consequence of this innocuous conclusion, the U.S. Navy and others neglected to protect insulators and other employees from asbestos dust for the next 25 years, leading to an epidemic of asbestos-related diseases in active and retired workers. Subsequently, attorneys and expert witnesses used this exculpating conclusion to mount \u201cstate of the art\/science\u201d defenses for asbestos manufacturers in tort actions, arguing that their clients relied on this publication when they failed to protect their own employees from asbestos or warn their customers of the hazard. Both the industrial hygiene and the medical components of this study were deeply flawed. The successor publisher to the original journal has refused to consider retracting this paper, so this catastrophic blunder may remain a part of the literature, available to asbestos tort defense attorneys and their experts. Publishing industry policies and precedent related to retracting very old articles are reviewed.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/10482911261446696","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,17]],"date-time":"2026-06-17T13:24:24Z","timestamp":1781702664000},"page":"138-150","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["When errors become etched in stone: The U.S. Navy's deeply flawed, never retracted World War II asbestos epidemiology study"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"36","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-1522-7978","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Richard J.","family":"Kelly","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Independent Researcher, Castro Valley, CA, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_2","first-page":"109","volume-title":"Disability compensation for asbestos-associated disease in the United States: Report to the U.S. Department of Labor","author":"Selikoff IJ","year":"1981","unstructured":"Selikoff IJ. Disability compensation for asbestos-associated disease in the United States: Report to the U.S. Department of Labor. Mount Sinai School of Medicine of the City University of New York, Environmental Sciences Laboratory, 1981, p. 109."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_2","unstructured":"United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. Fatal work injuries in shipyards 1943 and1944. Bulletin No. 839."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_2","first-page":"9","article-title":"A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels","volume":"28","author":"Fleischer WE","year":"1946","unstructured":"Fleischer WE, Viles FJ, Glade RL, et al. A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels. J Ind Hyg and Toxicol 1946; 28: 9\u201316.","journal-title":"J Ind Hyg and Toxicol"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/ajim.4700110311"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_6_2","unstructured":"Deane L et al. Report on the health of workers in asbestos and other dusty trades. HM chief inspector of factories and workshops 1899 annual report for 1898 p. 171\u2013172. As quoted in: Gee D Greenberg M. Asbestos: From \u2018magic\u2019 to malevolent mineral. In: Harremo\u00ebs P Gee D MacGarvin M (eds) Late lessons from early warnings: The precautionary principle 1896\u20132000. Copenhagen: European Environment Agency 2001 pp.11."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/146642402504600603"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_8_2","volume-title":"Report on effects of asbestos dust on the lungs and dust suppression in the asbestos industry","author":"Merewether ERA","year":"1930","unstructured":"Merewether ERA, Price CW. Report on effects of asbestos dust on the lungs and dust suppression in the asbestos industry. London: His Majesty\u2019s Stationary Office, 1930."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_9_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/4581423"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_10_2","unstructured":"Greenberg L Smith GW. The Greensburg-Smith impinger. 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Committee on Publication Ethics Personnel Communication 20 February 2026."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_62_2","unstructured":"Taylor and Francis. Corrections retractions and updates after publication: Taylor and Francis journal article correction and retraction policy https:\/\/authorservices.taylorandfrancis.com\/publishing-your-research\/after-publication\/corrections-to-published-articles\/ (undated accessed 21 January 2026)."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_63_2","unstructured":"Hernandez E. Taylor and Francis Journals Personal Communication January 21 2026."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_64_2","unstructured":"Sivin DD. Editor new solutions: A journal of environmental and occupational health policy personal communication 25 February 2026."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_65_2","unstructured":"Jenkins S. Director of Research Integrity & Publishing Ethics at Elsevier Personnel Communication February 2026; 10."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_66_2","unstructured":"Palus S. We have a new record: 80 years from publication to retraction. 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