Document 44y7XJmvRKjdZv0NmMgKVQmbe

VJ o.>Vur>^Aan Vcs-V \ o/ic/nC Big PCB Producer Will Stop Next Year ST. LOUIS, Oct (UP1>--Monsanto Co, Die na- tlon't leading supplier ol polychlorinated btphen.vl, used as an electric Insulator, said today It would stop production of the chemical by Oct. 31,1977, be. cause of possible hazardous effects on humans. Monsanto said the phasing out of production over the next year would give time for manufacturers to find alternate materials. Substitutes developed by ' the electrical industry are being tested, although they may not prove as effective In resitting fire ai PCB. .,, ' . The Environmental Protection Agency, which had called polychlorinated biphenyl a `'significant has* ard to human health end the environment," wel comed Monsanto's decision, although EPA Admin istrator Russell E. Train said; ' "Environmental contamination will continue to be a problem duo to the millions of PCBs already in landfills, soils, river and lake sediments, in our air and water and In wildlife and human tissue. Thii contamination will be (here for years--moving Into life systems, including humans." HONS 053444