Document NeX7R11BjO1ZzVx4Z1xXJKEaD

JAN-11-96 THU 16:11 LIGHTFOOT FRANKLIN FAX NO, 205 581 0799 P, 02 Q)q\i MEMORANDUM FROM: DATE: RE: MONSANTO FILE WILLIAM S. COX, III ^s>oc JANUARY 11,1996 CHANNEL 13 NEWS BROADCASTS AIRED ON 01/10/96 1. Channel 13 Midday News - 01/10/96 N&G. AfFiulATl NEWS PERSON: Residents in Anniston homes decide whether to stay or to accept a buy out from a chemical company. That company is held responsible for the houses being contaminated with cancer causing agents. Soil tests on property nestled behind the Monsanto Company have shown contamination to be hundreds of times higher than federal tolerance levels. A ditch common to the properties is believed to have carried the pollution to the homeowners' yards. Homeowners are being offered the appraised value of their home, plus 75%. 2. Channel 13 6:00 pm. News - 01/10/96 NEWS PERSON: A new opportunity for some in east Anniston. A local chemical plant is paying top dollar for nearby property that may be contaminated with harmful chemicals. But as our Wade Michaels tells us tonight, some residents are still not ready to go. REPORTER: East Anniston resident Jimmy Thomas has called this home for 8 years. But he is now facing a tough proposition from the Monsanto plant nearby. The company is buying up property more than a year after finding high levels of potentially cancer causing PCB's in area water. MAYAUSKY: Wre used to produce it at this plant from 1935 to the early 70's but some of the sedimentation that was seen in some of these ditches were in no way involved with any production, REPORTER: And residents are now getting the warning but some aren't ready to move DSW 139057 PCB-ARCH-EXT0381760 JAM-11-96 THU 16:12 LIGHTFOOT FRANKLIN FAX NO. 205 581 0799 P, 03 JIMMY THOMAS: Monsanto having exposed us to all these chemicals, okay, they haven't killed us yet ' REPORTER: So he is waiting for a better offer from the company. . REPORTER: In the middle of this quiet neighborhood is this ravine, one in winch investigators found some of the highest concentrations of PCB's in soil that had settled under the water, And to get people away from the stream, Monsanto is paying upwards of 75% above appraised prices, REPORTER: You couldn't have afforded it without this deal, EDDIE MURPHY: No I couldn't have. REPORTER: But he did. Thanks to Monsanto's paying almost $50,000 for his house, previously appraised at $20,000. EDDIE MURPHY: For 27 years I have been here Monsanto has always treated the people in here I thought was fair. REPORTER; But not all residents see it that way and are now ready to stay put and fight. In Anniston, Wade Michaels, NBC 13. NEWS PERSON: Now the company started offering the deals back in October. It is trying to acquire up to 50 acres there to build a holding pond. Monsanto aiready owns about 25 acres in the neighborhood. SECOND NEWS: PERSON And if you have been in the situation to buy property for a home or business, you need to know the history of the land, You might want to know if chemicals were ever used on that piece of land. We did some checking and have some news that matters in helping you find out If a bank makes a loan for property, they hire a company that does soil tests to see if it is contaminated. The company also does title searches to find out who the past owners of the property were. If contamination is found, it is the owners responsibility to clean it up. There are companies that handle chemical clean ups. 3. Channel 13 10:00 p.m. News - 01/10/96 NEWS PERSON: While some people in Anniston say living there is hazardous to your health, you'll meet them and find out why they are saying they are sick. Up next in Health Matters. Some Anniston property owners are on the move from a potentially cancer causing chemical That story tops Health OSW 139058 PCB-ARCH-EXT0381761 JAN-11-96 THU 16:12 UGHTFOOT FRANKLIN FAX NO, 205 581 0799 P.04 Matters tonight. The Monsanto plant is paying top dollar to buy out P homeowners near the plant This comes more than a year after analysts found high levels of toxic chemicals in area water. The company will pay more than 75% above the estimated value for some properties. MAYAUSKY: So the person's whole offer would be the appraised value plus the various markups and I think the average that we have come out with for that community is around $44,000 on the average, NEWS PERSON: Monsanto will use the land to build a holding pond for the contaminated water. cc: Ms. Diane Herndon Michael t. Kelly, Esq. (via facsimile) (via facsimile) DSM 139059 PCB-ARCH-EXT0381762