Document nqJq2D8pon05pmLrLBynxB8z

Monsanto ci'icnumujc PRIORITY ,, F. J. Camargo-St. Louis p* January 20, 1972 PCB-HEAT TRANSFER FLUIDS Thermlnol FR TO ALL MONSANTO OFFICES cc J. Roder-i52SO W. R. Corey-B2SL E. Oreene T. Qossage-B2SL H. S. Bergen-B2SL J. E. Tucker N. J. Hamper R. 0. Wltterscheln-C2SD W.A. Stewart/H. W. Hayden-C2SD Announcement.of our withdrawal of Thermlnol FR* products from the market was made by my telex of January 7. No further shipments of FR will be made after January 31, 1972. Please notify all your heat transfer customers immediately by mall. Use the wording of the attached form letter, under your own letterhead, and translate If you feel local law or practice would so require. Mall a copy of your letter, plus a list of all recipients, to F. J. Camargo indicating the date or dates when sent. While the letter of notification must be standard, each customer's conversion and disposal problem must be handled on a case-by-case basis. He Is naturally going to feel that he is being put to a lot of expense and trouble by our decision. In your personal contacts, you must convince him that we sold him material In good faith, and that only the most compelling reasons have forced us to this decision. Sut ultimately conversion and disposal are his problems. You should be helpful but avoid accepting any direct responsibility for successful conversion and safe disposal. The stakes are simply too high for us to accept any such risks. We,obviously, cannot offer personalized conversion counselling, but will handle your mall Inquiries as promptly.and as fully as possible. Complete destruction of FR fluids require Incineration temperatjres of 2000F, and It is highly doubtful that such facilities would be available in your area. The business group has agreed to prepare a description of suitable disposal techniques for the guidance of your customers as far as this may be possible. We certainly cannot accept responsibility far supervising each customer's disposal, but we will try to tell him methods to avoid, at least. Material from MCL may have been sold as Santotherm FR- MONS 09978b -2- Obviously, he should avoid sewering, any possibility of contaminating water supplies, feeding areas for wildlife, open dumps where scavengers might have access to the fluids, or materials or containers which have had contact with the fluids. You will probably find there are some carefully selected and properly supervised covered landfills for the disposal of toxic ohemlcals. Also, your customer would find himself In the most secure legal position If he seeks out and follows the advlae of local authorities. We do not yet know whether or when Bayer, Prodelec and other competitors will follow our lead, and some of your customers may choose to go to them for continuing supplies. We are prepared to lose this business, but would like to be rully Informed of competitive developments. As the product literature points out, Thermlnol 55 and 66 can be used In some of the same heat transfer applications as the PR series. However, they are not fire resistant and require different gaskets and fittings so do not recommend 55 and 66 as direct substitutes. Further, recommending another Monsanto fluid simultaneously with the withdrawal of the FR series might make the whole exercise look like a sales gimmick and dilute the sense of urgency we wish to convey to our customers. The ban on further sales of PCB heat transfer fluids applies to local stocks as well as to Indent sales. Let us know what materials you have in stock, and how you would propose disposing of them. Under no circumstances is any Monsanto office or branch to sell these products after the deadline specified. FJC/mJk MONS 099789