Document O3bQmB7d6mZ4EaRrO7BX4KbvQ

A G E N T O R A N G E ____ M O N S A N T O C O M P A N Y P O S I T I O N tfe sympathize with the plight of our Vietnam Veterans. The unpopular war they fought has left deep scars. Agent Orange has become an outlet for their accumulated frustrations and, indeed, a rallying point for their various causes. As a result, this controversy has grown into a kind of national furor despite the lack of virtually any scientific evidence that this herbicide ever posed a danger to the veterans. To the contrary, there is a substantial amount of scientific/medical evidence on the record (attached) that says there is no link between Agent Orange and human health problems of the magnitude claimed by the veterans. Monsanto was one of the companies asked to produce this herbicide mixture for the government during the war. Now, much to our regret, we find that we are both an object of the veterans* frustrations and a target of the many lawsuits brought on their behalf. Obviously, this conflict*is not of our making. However, having been drawn into it, we quite naturally intend to defend ourselves. We are confident that good science will ultimately prevail over the emotions of the moment and exonerate the producers of Agent Orange. At the.same time, we sincerely hope that good science will also provide many of the answers the veterans now seek regarding possible service-related health problems. oOo Rev. Oct. 23, 1980 For additional information, contact: Dan R. Bishop Environmental Communications Monsanto Company 800 N. Lindbergh Blvd. St. Louis, Mo. 63166 (314) 694-2891 1 C0617 SCIENTIFIC STUDIES WHICH HAVE FAILED TO LINK AGENT ORANGE OR ITS 2,4,5-T/TCDD "DIOXIN" COMPONENT TO VIETNAM VETERANS' HEALTH PROBLEMS 1. Over 40,000 scientific papers on the phenoxy herbicides published in the past 35 years. 2. The 1974 Report by the National Academy of Sciences on the effects of herbicides in South Vietnam. 3. A series of independent scientific workshops in 1979, sponsored by the American Farm Bureau. 4. World Health Organization studies done to date on the human population exposed to high levels of TCDD during an industrial accident in Seveso, Italy in 1976. 5. Two recently completed mortality (cause of death) studies on groups of former Monsanto employees who had worked with 2,4,5-T since 1948. One group experienced high peak exposure over 30 years ago. 6. An animal study, released in August, 1980, by HEW which cleared Agent Orange of causing birth defects in offsprings of males exposed earlier to TCDD. 7. U.S. Array Surgeon General's report on an experimental anti-malaria drug, DAPSONE, which was used widely in Vietnam and is known to produce most of the health effects being reported by veterans. 8. A report on the chronic health effects of British WW II veterans of the far-east which found many of the same symptoms being reported by Vietnam Veterans. This report was published in the July 19, 1980 issue of the prestigious British medical journal, Lancet. oOo C06UI8