Document dnKpDvMp13xV7Qo7DowoKLKJR

Monsanto MAY 2 7 1982 Enclosed is a draft of the section on Product Safety and Quality for the next Social Responsibility Report, which I've pulled together from a variety of sources. I'd appreciate your review and approval by June 3 if possible. I'll be away the rest of this week. If you want to respond by phone during that time, please call Sheryl Solomon at 4-2750. Many thanks. '-,W. J. W. Fullinwider Q.OJ. JWF/ue Enclosure IN . 10 (REV. 8/77) 0756072 EX P-3335 Page 1 of 6 PCB-ARCH0756724 PRODUCT SAFETY AND QUALITY DRAFT: 5/25/82 We will weigh the risks and benefits of all products we produce, and market only those we believe society will find valuable on balance. We will maintain the quality of our products at a level consistent with consumer expectations, Monsanto is determined that anv Droduct it makes and sells will poseTno _threa.y to the people who make it, to i the people who use it or to the environment. Monsanto sTumes responsibilit/^for the safety of its products. -------------------------------- -----. . y-- -- During 1981 a task force was formed to^evaluate practices throughout the corporation for assessing risks in new products. This is ' \ ----------- ' * s-i-nce 1-9-70. Eventually, the task force will dev-el-op strengthened and uniform procedures for quantitative risk calculations for all new Monsanto products. A second task force was created to do a similar evaluation of programs for determining the safety of many existing products. The task force will standardize and improve internal product safety documents thereby improving Monsanto's management of information about the risks of its products. This will enable the company to provide greater assurance to customers and to defend products more effectively against unfounded charges. Monsanto also initiated a survey to identify all gaps in its product safety data base. During 1982, the Company will determine these gaps and establish a schedule for filling them. 0756073 EX P-3335 Page 2 of 6 PCB-ARCH0756725 2 - - Part of the research necessary to establish the safety of a product involves the search for harmful impurities or trace materials that may be produced in the manufacture of an otherwise safe product. To strengthen Monsanto's capabilities in this area, the Company formed a separate analytical chemistry group, called the Ultratrace Laboratory, to test products for trace impurities. The importance Monsanto places on this is indicated by a commitment of more than $500,000 a year to this program. Beyond the best possible data and risk assessments for internal decisions on whether to manufacture a product, Monsanto is committed to communicating that information to its customers. Though this had been done in the past, the Company instituted greatly expanded ''material safety data sheets" in 1980 and 1981 to communicate to customers the product safety and health information Monsanto has in its possession. This expanded communication, which goes beyond OSHA requirements, will further protect Monsanto's customers from harm due to unintended or uninformed use of its products. Monsanto believes the government has an obligation to regulate the production and use of potentially hazardous materials. Monsanto also believes the manufacturers have a larger responsibility for the safe manufacture, transportation and. handling, and ultimate informed use of those products. In meeting this obligation, Monsanto took the lead within the Chemical Manufacturers Association to develop 0756074 EX P-3335 Page 3 of 6 PCB-ARCH0756726 -3- an industry-wide program for assessing the safety of a widely used family of chemicals, phthalate esters. In December 1981, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officially accepted this program, praising it as better than any they could have developed without industry assistance. This is the first voluntary program developed by industry which was ever accepted in lieu of a test rule developed and mandated by the EPA.. Monsanto's concern for the safety of its products also applies to problems related to products it no longer makes. Such is the case with polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. Between 1970 and 1977 Monsanto phased out production of PCBs after it was confirmed that PCBs were building- (^up"in the environment. Subsequently, there have been many allegations that PCBs are highly toxijfrand cjrrrinrigrrTTc, ' of' cancer-causing^.though these allegations have been based Je*' t * t more on frequent repetition than on scientific sftrtKfrre'S. Monsanto epidemiologist Dr. William Gaffey completed 11 "ft r*> an extensive^ireview of more than two dozen health studies dealing with human exposures to PCBs. That review found no link between PCBs and cancer or between PCBs and clinical utn 0 illness^except for temporary dermatitis or skin inflammation. At a recent symposium sponsored by the EPA, Dr. Gaffey's findings were supported by other studies presented at the conference. In addition, Monsanto has continued to. provide , assistance/to customers^'InJ-iijpu^lirg 6t femaining~PCBs c'' V7* 5 " f J /*) C r- 5 S ./ 0756075 r ? / *C* EX P-3335 Page 4 of 6 PCB-ARCH0756727 -4- In addition to product safety, Monsanto recognizes a business and social responsibility to provide quality products to customers. One way Monsanto meets this responsibility is through ''quality circles" which seek the ideas of production workers for improving the quality of products. Begun in 1980 in the Decatur, Ala., textiles plant, the number of quality circles grew during 1981. Today, 11 product quality programs now exist or are planned throughout the corporation in both operating and staff groups. Quality circles work well for full-time plant and office workers but less well for more mobile construction craftsmen. However, Monsanto pioneered a novel and highly successful employee motivation program in 1981 for construction craftsmen working on a major expansion of the St. Peters, Mo., silicon-wafer plant. This unique Monsanto program, called CHAMP for Craftsmen Helping America Maximize Productivity, has saved more than $12,000 a week by eliminating job-site delays. Absenteeism, normally about 10 percent on big construction projects, has averaged about 3 percent on the St. Peters project. Workforce turnover, considered good if less than 6 percent, has been between zero and 2.8 percent. CHAMP, which stresses excellent working conditions and worker involvement through "productivity circles," has been praised by local union leaders, who are often 0756076 EX P-3335 Page 5 of 6 PCB-ARCH0756728 -5skeptical of programs designed to increase productivity and quality. The president of the St. Louis Building and Construction Trades Council said," I've never seen anything like it in my 40 years in the building trades. You could not pry my men off the job. Monsanto deserves five stars for what they have done." -0O0- 0756077 EX P-3335 Page 6 of 6 PCB-ARCH0756729