Document LKy0NE0XkyBD0LO9D5J3bOg75

Monsanto W^ R.G aff ey Dept, of Medicine & Environmental Health G2WE 4-8811 *Ti September 26, 1983 susjcct D i o x i n s t r a t e g y TO J . D. W ils o n - G3WG I t h i n k the s t r a t e g y c o r r e c t l y emphasizes more t e c h n i c a l stu d y o f the b e h a v i o r and d i s t r i b u t i o n o f 2 , 3 , 7 , 8 TCDD and r e l a t e d compounds. Not much more work can be done on th e r e l a t i o n s h i p o f such compounds to c a n c e r in the Monsanto work f o r c e o t h e r than the updates mentioned in p a r t 2 on page 5, but i t i s c e r t a i n l y a p p r o p r i a t e t o do t h o s e . I would f a v o r i n c r e a s i n g our PR e f f o r t s . P a r t o f th e problem i s t h a t we c a n n o t g e t pe o p l e to l ook a t d a t a t h a t we a lre a d y have, and I a n t i c i p a t e a s i m i l a r problem w ith d a ta t h a t we o b t a i n in the f u t u r e . Perhaps the answer i s t o d i r e c t more e f f o r t toward the academic s c i e n t i f i c community. 0<M W illia m R. G a f f e y ajn IN -10M ( R E V . 2/78 CONFIDENTIAL SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER. G 04982 . *< PRESS QUERY f iCOMPANY (OpUnit or Corporate): MIC |SUBJECT: OCP S P I L L IN STURGEON I REPORTER & MEDIA: L i z F o r r e s t a l \/ C h e m i c a l Week TIME & DATE/ May 9, 1, 907_,90 - 11:55 a . m . QUESTION & RESPONSE: R e p o r t e r i s d o in g round-up s t o r y on d i o x i n found in blood o f Western Environmental Services workers. X News Bureau X J. T . Nolan X J. E. McKee X D. R. Bishop ____ VV. J. McCarville ____ W. R. Mulhnll __ J. F. Hussey-Washington, D.C. ____ S. Pickard-Washington, D.C. X New York Public Relations ____ Brussels Public Relations ____ MAP PR _ X _ MCI PR X MIC PR (Glynn Young) ____ MPRPR ____ MTCPR _____ INT'LPR _X_ E . L . Head X J . C. McPhillips X J . S. Metcalf Q. What k i n d o f d i o x i n was found i n t h e w o r k e r s ' b l o o d ? A. E x p l a i n e d t h a t t h e r e are 75 t y p e s o f d i o x i n and t h a t I d i d n ' t know which typ e was found by th e EPA. ( S u g g e s t e d she c a l l them. R e p o r t e r s t a t e d she c a n ' t g e t an answer from th e EPA.) Q. Were we s u r p r i s e d t o f i n d TCDD i n our OCP? A. Y e s . Reviewed p a s t p r o d u c t t e s t i n g and l a c k o f TCDD f i n d i n g s h is to r ic a lly . Q. W i l l Monsanto e l i m i n a t e th e TCDD from th e p r o c e s s ? A. Y e s . We're committed to e l i m i n a t i n g th e TCDD. I t wTa s n ' t t h e r e in +-y>/=* o a s t and w e 1re o o i n g t o e l i m i n a t e f ^ i s u n d e s i r a b l e p r o d u c t i o n contaminant. Q. Did the OCP ca u s e the d i o x i n i n th e b l o o d s a m p l e s ? A. In the p a rt per t r i l l i o n range the media has reported th a t d io x in con t a m i n a t e d th e b l o o d o f the w o r k e r s , t h i s may be a t e s t i n g a b n o r m a l i t y . We've g o t v e r y s o p h i s t i c a t e d equipment and can o n l y measure down to 10 ppb. We know o f no t e s t t h a t can measure a c c u r a t e l y i n th e low p a r t per t r i l l i o n range. A lso the c o n tra ct clean -u p workers have been exposed to other poten tial contaminants besides th is s p i l l . SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER. SOURCE OF ANSWER F i l e s 50 HANDLED BY: u r . C. Isham