Document MMZKzpXKd7Ee9YMOvJL8aQmB7

Monsanto W. B. Papageorge July 21, 1975 PCBs - BEER BARREL CONTAINERS B2SK cc H. S. Bergen T. L. Gossage C. Pa ton TO : d. Wood I have given some thought to General Electric's proposal that PCBs be shipped to them in a container similar to a beer barrel which would later accompany a transformer to its destination. The PCBs would then be transferred under pressure into the transformer which has previously been filled with the proper amount of trichlorobenzene. I can appreciate the benefits to G.E. in minimizing the loss of PCBs from transformers involved in shipping accidents. At the same time I can also see the following disadvantages: (1) Transfer of liquids under pressure always introduces the risk of uncontrolled loss through faulty piping connections since there is no way to quickly release the pressure in the barrel. (2) Washing of the barrels will result in an increase in the PCBs in the WGK plant's effluent streams. (3) The possibility does exist that on occasion the barrels will be improperly cleaned, resulting in product contamination. (4) The probability may not be great, but the possibility that the barrel may find its way into beverage use concerns me. (5) My personal experience with returnable nickel drums in Benzyl Chloride service leads me to predict that the use of beer barrels for PCBs will result in a logistics and accounting nightmare. I strongly recommend that we do not become involved with beer barrel containers but that we emphasize with G.E. ' that the problem appears to us to be associated with the attitudes of the drivers and the types of instructions they have been given. I personally believe that a properly designed transformer, adequately secured in a truck and driven by a responsible, careful driver, should result in a minimum of accidents. W. B. Papageorge /pd TOWOLDMONOQ57699