Document 8z45Ld05vV7KwMjzr812VEzK

M onsanto FROM <name location phqne Allan M. Ford - St. Louis A2SA DATE subject December 11, 1981 NITRO LITIGATION 4-2578 D. R. Bishop - A3NB C. F. Callis - B3CA R. S. Nelson - A2SA REFERENCE TO : W. R. Gaffey - G 2WE CONFIDENTIAL i T T O n v n / wr'CMf nrjrinMPy AT 1OKl\L I*0-14-1 ll 'AiViULvjC I've attached information gathered by Dan Bishop consisting of PR statements that have been utilized at one time or the other in the past. I suggest that you take sections of the appropriate release for your reply, as they've already been cleared as correct and will need no futher approval. jb enclosure A. M. Ford A LSUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER. IN - IO ' REV 8 77 004511 FROM NAME --LOCATION --PHONE Allan M. Ford - St. Louis A2SA 4-2578________________________ DATE : December 8, 19 81 cc- SUBJECT : NITRO LITIGATION REFERENCE : TO : D. R. Bishop - A3NB CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEY WORK PRODUCT ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE I've attached the memo Bill Gaffey sent me as we discussed today. If you can give me the appropriate replies from your Q&A, I'll get approval on the rest. jb enclosure A. M. Ford JN . 10 REV. 6 7 7 . so .? o:: 0 U- C zechesd evakia 19th Oct* 1981 w/ L Judith: A *Zack M*P*H., i Mans ante Co 800 N Lindbergh Blvd St Leuis MO 63166 Thank you very much fer the r.eprint of your paper" The morta lity experience of workers exposed to tetrachlorodibenzodioxin in a tri chi ere phenol process accident"* The mechnism of the accident seems to be very similar to that from Seveso.* I would be interested, how much the building was contaminated or the environment of the plant* P o s s i b l y because . the accident was in 1949, it v/as not ascertained* May I ask you to do me a great favour and tel me, what was the fate of the building, how it was decontaminated/ if it was decontaminated / and if you could post to me copies of the literature that are in referencies under number 3*,4 .,5*,6.,7* X could send y ou all papers about eur accident. \ -any thanks for your kindness and. kind regards. Sincerely yours? 2,4,5-T EQUIPMENT BURIAL When Che 2,4,5-T unic was dissent led in che early 1970s, the equipment was d e c o n t a m i n a t e d and b u r i e d or. the site. M o n s a n t o monitors che containment of all its solid waste buried at Micro. A series of monitoring wells are in place around the plant and throughout the solid waste disposal area. Periodic inspection of these wells enables M o n s a n t o to ensure that the w a ste is b e i n g contained. A wa t e r .sample taken from the well n e a r e s t to the site where che 2 , 4 , 5-T equipment is b u r i e d was also tested and failed to detect any tetra dioxin down to our limit of d e t e c t i o n -- 10 parts per trillion. 'W&J DETAILS Cr 2,4,5 TRICHLCECrKEhVDXYACETIC ACID (2,4,5-T) PRODUCTION AT THE NITRO PLANT 1. INITIAL PRODUCTION The production of 2,4,5-T vas initially started on an experimental basis during the summer of 1943 in the old pilot plant (E-32J. .At that time the intermediate, Sodium Trichlorcphenate (NaTC?), vas also produced there. From information gathered there, plant production was started in October, 1943. Production of the NaTC? was performed in a 500 gallon autoclave in 3-41, the M3T Department. The NaTC? was then transferred by pipeline to 3-34 where parts of the old rubber antioxidants (Ajone, etc.) were utilized to complete the 2,4,5-T produc tion steps through the wet filter cake steps. Since the material had to be dried elsewhere, operations were scattered over the plant. Some material was cried in the rotary dryer in 3-46, tray dryers in 3-21 (El-60 Department), tray dryers in 3-16 (dryer building)' and tray dryers in 3-79 (Thiefice Seeds) . Tray cried material vas returned to a section of 3-34 Flectol where it vas milled and packaged. 2. NaTC? ?RC DUCT ION The ir.itial plant production of NaTC? in the 3-41 500 gallon autoclave vas ceric by adding all the reactants T a trachloroteacene, (TC3), NaCH and Methanol to the autoclave . Heat vas applied and when the pressure reached'the desired point, th clave vas vented. On March 3, 1949, approximately six months after startup, a violert reaction ana decomposition occurred in the autoclave. The pressure rose from the desired 150 ?SIG to 1500 ?SIG in approximately five minutes. Fumes and the tarry residue from the autoclave vara discharged into the atmosphere and onto the entire interior of the autoclave section. The entire bui Icing was shut town, at this time and immediate ieccr.termination and cleanup was started. Since no cause for the viole:t reac ticn/ceccm.pcs itier, or physio logical effects of the femes cr Page 2. residue or. people vara known, the hourly personnel with union backing, refused to engage in cleanup and decontamination activities. Monsanto, due to lack of knowledge on the result of exposure tc the decomposed material, did not force the issue. A decontamination scuad consisting of the Plant Manager, John R. Durland; Area Supervisor (Mrg. Supt.), James Roe; Department Supervisor, Merlin Wunn; and a few salaried personnel from Mr. Roe's area proceeded with cleanup activities. The entire autoclave area was scrubbed with Sodium Hypochlorite and then the entire autoclave area was sprayed with aluminum paint. At this time Monsanto had no knowledge of chloracr.e and in the ensuing cleanup a number of people plus some operators in the department when the eruption occurred contracted the skin condition. Several were severe cases. After the autoclave area was cleaned up, M3? production resumed. After bench.study in the laboratory, the NaTC? process was chanced so that the possibility of a runaway reaction was vastly reduced or eliminated. This consisted of loading Methanol and caustic and then feed Tetrachlcrotenzone at a controlled rate while controlling temperature and pressure. This process was used without incident until production ceased in 1969. In the summer of 1950, a new NaTC? production unit (3-51) was put into operation. --:x --In November 1962, a new 2,4,5-T unit in 3-34 was put-into operation reducing the handling of the solids and reducing exposure through all steps of the process. In August, 1363, the NaTC? and 2,4,5-T production were combined in one unit (3-32) with vastly decreased eicccsure hazards. Page 3 In August, 1389, due to process and quality problems plus decreased 'industrial hygiene limits, production of 2,4,5-T was discontinued. In the late summer and early fall of 1972, the entire building and equipment were dismantled and disposed with much of it being buried in a landfill. Dismantling was performed by the Cleveland Wrecking Company. 3. MEDICAL PRC5LZMS There were no medical problems with chloracne or other complaints until after the 3-41 incident. After this, there were numerous cases of the acne. Seme of the workers were treated by dermatologists .(Dr. Bocgs, Dr. Ha H e r a n , etal) . 4. VOLUNTARY WORK Aftier the 5-41 incident, work in both the'M3T ana 2,4,5-T Departments were on a voluntary basis which caused severe labor problems since personnel could shut down either department if they so desired without fear of discipline. Staffing of 2,4,5was a problem while this presented no problem in the >-3T Department. In the spring of 1954, an agreement was worked out with the union where the 2,4,5-T Department could be staffed by assigning the people with the least plant seniority to the' department. In 1955 an agreement with the union was reached whereby it was necessa: for a worker to notify department supervision ih writing 30 cays in advance when thev desired to leave the department. 5. PREMIUM PAY In 1956 a premium of 39.04/hour was awarded to the department personnel. This was eventually extended to all pecnle involved in handling 2,4,5-T. 2,4, 5-T p r o d u c t :t n a c t i v i t i e s 1. Summer of 1943 - Interim production in 3-32. 2. October 1943 - N'aTC? production in 3-41 - 2,4,5-T production in 3-34 3. March 8, 1949 - 3-41 incident. Runaway reaction. 4. Summer of 1950 - NaTC? production in 3-SI. 5. November 1952 - New 2,4,5-T facilities in 3-34. 6. August 1963 - New facilities in 3-92. 7. August 1969 - 2,4,5-T production discontinued. 8. July-Sept. 1972 - Facilities dismantled by Cleveland Wrecking Company. O fr 2/1/79  nc V ".^,-loc*tion-phonei Allan M. Ford - St. Louis A2SA 4-257 8_________________ =*te December 8, 19 81 sb ct NITRO LITIGATION REFERENCE : TO : D. R. Bishop - A3NB - CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEY WORK PRODUCT ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE I've attached the' memo Bill Gaffey sent me as we discussed today. If you can give me the appropriate replies from your Q&A, 1*11 get approval on the rest. jb enclosure RPV * 7 7 . MEMO TO rij.f j)".. \2j 'tU* * i* '7 s j A & s d & J Orf/truA:, /(A u d /yy-diy^ Ja ^ X U 4JL 'M- CpAc/^-^v-A^i^ JfisAt Aflu,''A -/f FROM