Document 71GajvaOxJ6qjY104z700Y0j

PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT PRESS QUERY . To: (x) Divisional ( ) Financial ( ) Corporate : . .' . Date Time . July 14, 1970, QUERIED BY (Reporter and Media) Dave RosenbaumNew York Times - Washington (X) () (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) <X) Eouirff\BuMtgt iry^ards New^Ycfrk Ptfblic Relation's West Coast Public Relation Lloyd R. Cole Brussels Public Relations John Mason J. R. Eck J. J. Spano S. Bergen ' J.E. Springgate W. B. Papageorge E. P. Wheeler Sam Pickard P. S. Park Q: Xn a recent visit with Congressman Ryan, X brought up the subject of PCB and whether there was any new activity since his press conference. He voluntarily offered to give me a copy of a letter written by John Mason and dated June 30. I intend to write a story but would like some additional facts. . Why has Monsanto been reluctant to discuss plasticizer uses? A: I don't think that we have been reluctant to discuss these uses, but have tried to stress the fact that PCBs primarily are used in electrical and' heat-transfer applications. X can give you several examples of highly ' -specialized uses, such as adhesives, sealants, elastomers and specialty i . . surface coatings. ' " """ " 1 " ` ------------------- Q: 1 read a figure recently that some 57 million acres in the United States have been sprayed with PCB. ' : A: This seems to me to.be completely irrational since PCB has never been tout as a bug killer. ' ' Q: It has been used in insecticides hasn't it? ' A: Only very recently we found two small blenders who were using PCB as an inert carrier. We.asked the United States Department of Agriculture to reject any registration of insecticides which showed PCB as a component. -more - 0501^46 STLCOPCB4044715 -- 2 MONSANTO: PRESS QUERY - NEW YORK TIMES, DAVE ROSENBAUM xxx component. Q: How is PCB sold? Is it in liquid form? . A: Yes, It Is a liquid and generally sold In drum quantities. Q: Could it be that you don't know some of the end uses for PCB? A: At one time this was probably true, since some of the product was sold through distributors, etc. Now, however, we have very good control over use of the product and better knowledge of its end uses. We are going out of the open systems where PCB cannot be controlled. We will continue to sell to those users where the product is used in electrical components and heat-transfer systems and will work with them In the proper use and disposal of PCB. As you know, PCB is an extremely important safety feature In these products. Q: Do you know if any PCB is imported by other companies' and sold in the U.S. ? A: As far as we know, Monsanto is the only company that makes and sells PCB in the U.S. ' SOURCE John Mason, Files STAFFER: E. V. John 1 ( OSOlA't? i STLCOPCB4044716