Document 9JZy3DzEn88q51x9qzNmY6pY6

SMlfrflyito FROM INAME - LOCATION --PHONE I ). R. Bshop - F3EE - 4-2891 D ATE November 7, 1983 SUBJECT REFERENCE TO : H. J. Corbett - E2SA R. W. Duesenberg - DIP J. T. Nolan - DIA F. E. Reese - DIO M. C. Throdahl - DID T. M. Bistline - E2ND A. M. Ford - EISA D. S. Frazer - 1670 J. F. Hussey - F3EA F. E. Kearney - E3NA W. J. McCarville - G3WG Attached for comment/approval is a draft news release concerning results of follow-up testing for dioxin in residential/industrial areas near the Nitro plant. This information has already been reviewed with EPA and we'd like to release it in Charleston on Nov. 9, if possible. Please let me have any comments as soon as possible at 4-2891. Thanks. DRB:ec Attachment .JhDan R. Bishop SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER. IN - t o <RE V . 8 / 7 7 > 0 J4595 IMMEDIATELY DRAFT \ D. R. Bishop (314) 694-2891 PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT Monsanto Company 8 0 0 N. L in d b e rg h Boule vard St. Louis. M isso u ri 63 16 6 NITRO, W. Va. , Nov. 00 -- Monsanto Company said today that extremely small, almost indistinguishable amounts of dioxin -- all well below the one part per billion (ppb) safety guideline set by the Federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) -- were found in tests of soil samples taken in residential and industrial areas near its Nitro plant. Nitro Plant Manager David S. Frazer said eight of the 19 off-site samples contained no measurable dioxin and that the remaining 11 produced results ranging from less than .1 ppb to .7 ppb. All samples were taken from the top two inches of soil. According to Frazer, these samples were among some 300 taken the week of August 29 as part of a scientifically designed sampling program conducted by Monsanto with EPA representatives present as observers. "The soil samples were taken at specific points on a grid system, both on and off the plant site. The 19 off site samples were the first to be tested. The remaining 280 samples, all taken within the plant boundaries, are still being analyzed at Monsanto's EPA certified research laboratory in Dayton, Ohio. Results from the remaining samples will be available by the end of the year." -more- I -2 - Frazer said this second round of sampling was prompted by the discovery last July of small amounts of dioxin within the plant boundaries. "Those earlier samples were drawn from well below the surface in areas covered over and protected from exposure by a layer of crushed rock," Frazer said. "Because dioxin binds tightly to soil and doesn't move," he continued, "leaving it buried in an undisturbed state and covered with crushed rock is the most practical and accepted method for preventing exposure at an industrial site." -0 O0 - Nitro 110083