The Introductory letter was sent to key characters. Key characters would have included BSSRS Board (=respectable and responsible scientists), Science for People (=radical scientists), SfP groups (=students) and Lucas Aerospace Shop Stewards.
The letter asks them to comment on the outline of a possible Industrial Health Action Bulletin (IHAB. click link for originals).
It was curious at the Hazards Conference 2006 when Lord Hunt, Minister for H&S, mentioned the "right to stop the job" and there was a ripple of approval. We had that as an original demand (No 7) in IHAB, 30 years previously.
While the most enthusiastic response probably came from Sheffield SfP, Manchester SfP offered themselves as a venue for an introductory meeting.
We expanded our target audience - to our "industrial contacts", such as the unions at BP Baglan Bay, Shell Carrington, and Massey Ferguson. We also had good contacts through TUC Education Dept and many WEAs following our many talks at all sorts of worker groups from Portsmouth to Glasgow.
We realised we had an important role - translating relevant science into everyday language. Tony had said: "but all this stuff is in medical files!". We said : "It's not much use there!". But we also found out so much listening to what people could see" And we didn't want to just acquire all this knowledge experience and information to thus become some sort of radical experts. (We didn't approve of "experts"!). We wanted to create a dynamic (dare we say dialectic?) between expertise and experience.
There was sufficient response to lead to a First Hazards Meeting
Background Beginnings Birth First Hazards Meeting First Hazards Bulletin & Comments Pollution Man