Document oDqqOEM6r3jveNj5E29Y3ganX

/ Tutt Qev^lflnd Press ctmiwio, ohio F jy( AU6111981 Monsanto claims government exaggerated dangers of PCB t jmiTMAam________ Ho said PCBa initially attracted industry in. .' tha 1930a because "it was vary unique and re- - from government and in markable, a highly stable chemical that resist-dustrial official ha* helped blow tha proMatn ad decomposition from all normal sources. . f PCB nottutfau way oat of proportion, uyi But later, the very properties that made it so on ofBeW of Monsanto Chemical Co- rolo > good lad to problems. In the environment, it.* thcchsnicaifor mors than 30 ' remains very stable, will not dissolve in water, and could stay around for 100 yearn" "PCBa an not on insignificant problem, bat tense abewt tba borrora of PCBa and deadly' He said a city would not want PCBa in its Maine Mt aren't true," raid Robert L. Her- water system. However, if PCBa did enter, aaaa, Manaanto director of governmental af they would sink right to the bottom of the res fair* Ha waa in Cleveland this weak to talk to i ervoir. PCBa would not dissolve and would several Monianto ellonta and make TV ! not be found in tap water, he said. He said hia firm is aware of the PCB prob PCBa -- polychloriaated biphenyls -- ara',, man-made chemicals banned ainca 1978, butu lem and ia correct it- working ' with the . government to whkh MU oxiat in toms electrical equipment. Monsanto* headquartered in St Louis, is Tba oily aubataaca baa leaked from several 11- the fifth largest U.S. chemical company. Tha hinriaariaf Co. capaciton found -atop 2,100-" company no longer produces PCBs, but haa l%ht polaa ba tbit area, and baa attracted tba. . 1,500 other products, including plastics, drugs attention of numaroua environmental and chr-.". ami insecticide* Salas last year totalled $6.5 kofflciak. . billion. "PCBa an not a cancor-oauainf substance;: . and than an atudiaa by tba National Cancer - Inatbnta which back that up," said Hantaan'' "lt`e net a deadly toxin, cither. Than have' " boon no documented caaee whan a human " aver died from PCBa. It baa a toxicity roughly-.', equal to that of tabic salt. . STRHGHED THTTOrY SPRINGFIELD. MASS. "Tm not saying PCBa aren't a problam," he * said, "but public hyataria la such that maw ' paopta tbiak they will die if they touch it, and-- that'a not so. PCBa an to bo avoided if pooai-,,'" bio, and than tbould be no iwinafoaeary or in- **dhxrhnianto uea. Nothing should bo eaten. Bam a garden that haa boon contaminated* * Once in the food chain, PCBa tend to Harness facie the solution taken by industry and udBUee it e proper one. A gradual re placement of electrical equipment containing. PCBa near a period of years makes more sense- than panicking and trying to do it all at ones,, he tarn. CXI officials estimate they will spend- up to |7J million to replace their 10,000 cm- - paaitece containing the chemical over the nett hr to 10 yean. . Hamass, an engineer who helped manufac- - tore FCBt for 10 yetis, said tht chtmical is t combination of chlorine, carbon, hydrogen-:1 and osygen. It could be mode in moat high ' school chemistry laboratories, but It requires y AUG 141981 ]Monsanto Co. wins industry safety award The Manaaato Co. oi SL Louis, Ms, which wwvw two manu facturing plants fee Springfield, has beau preeenled the Lammor ds Pout Safety Award by tha Chendcai Manufacturers AsMctadoo. The award la presented aotmaily to the two CMA firms that achieve tbs greatest percent age redoedoo la workplace injuries for two couaecuUvu yuan la comparlaen to tha threa pruvtous years. Mousaasofs wurtdwids rveurdablt injury rataa for lt7> aad 19*0 were l.U sod 1.4* per 200,00* mao hears, dews from 2.29 and 2.31 in 1*7* aad 1*77. For the chumtcsl industry aa a whole, the rate wm 7.2 ta 1*7*, while tha rata was t.l lor thu entire private tndeatry. Monsanto employee approxi mately 1.9*0 people la Its Mrcham Band and Springfield HONS 009281