Document oQeJVDyYgzBygeyXvXN1b3Ko

Monsanto D. R. Bishop - F3EE - 4-2891 : December 15, 1983 TO R. T. Berendt - E2ND D. T. Berns - E3SA T. M. Bistline - E2ND S. G. Collins - BIND A. M. Ford - G3WG W. J. McCarville - G3WG P. S. Park - G3WB J. D. Wilson - G3WG W. D. Carpenter - G3WG L. A. Furrer - C2NJ L. J. Guarraia - 1920 J. F. Hussey - F3EA G. D. Ingenthron - F3EE J. T. Nolan - D1A L. J. O'Neill - F3EE G. Roush -- G2WG M. C. Throdahl - DID F.Y.I., attached is the news release we will issue in the New Orleans area tomorrow, Dec. 16', re follow-up dioxin test results at the Luling plant. D R B :ec Attachment Dan R. Bishop SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER. C0984 NEWS Monsanto =OR R E L E A S E D. R. Bishop (314) 694-2891 (O ffic e ) (314) 432-2030 (Home) V. E. Boyen (504) 785-8211 (O ffic e ) (504) 785-8510 (Home) MONSANTO ANNOUNCES DIOXIN FOLLOW-UP TEST FINDINGS LULING, LA. Dec. 16 - - Monsanto Company sa id today th a t fu rth e r company te s ts a t it s p la n t here confirm ed th a t d io x in found in the s o il e a r lie r th is y e a r i s con fin ed to a sm all lo c a liz e d area o f the p la n t where the h e rb icid e 2,4,5-T.was handled in the m id-1960's. V in ce n t E. Boyen, L u lin g P la n t Manager, sa id the te s ts showed th a t the to t a l area where any d io x in whatsoever could be found was approxim ately 100 fe e t wide by 300 fe e t long and th a t over 80 percent o f t h is area contained le s s than 10 p a rts per b i l l i o n (ppb) d io x in c o n ce n tra tio n . The a ffe c te d area is along a s e c tio n o f r a ilr o a d s id in g where 2 ,4 ,5 -T was loaded and unloaded some 16 yea rs ago. Sampling f o r the d io x in was observed by an o f f i c i a l from the U.S. Environmental P ro tectio n Agency. Immediately a fte r the sam pling.the area was covered w ith p la s t ic sheeting and s h e lls to assure th a t no exposure would r e s u lt from d is tu rb in g the s o i l . Covering the area i s the most p r a c tic a l long term approach fo r lim itin g exposure at in d u s tria l s ite s . Boyen s a id the la t e s t t e s t re s u lt s show th a t the d io x in has not moved from the r a ilr o a d s id in g where 2 ,4 ,5 -T was handled. "C oncentrations are e s s e n t ia lly lim ite d to the upper 12 inches o f s o il and drop o f f sh a rp ly away from the loading and unloading s e c tio n o f the s id in g ," he sa id . "That fu rth e r more 009847 -2- v a lid a te s th a t d io x in binds i t s e l f t ig h t ly to the s o il and does not m ig ra te ." D io xin co n ce n tra tio n s o f le ss than 10 ppb were found in 89 percent o f the 28 core samples analyzed from 16 lo c a tio n s on and around the r a i l s id in g . R e su lts confirm ed the low le v e ls o f d io x in found in the o r ig in a l sampling and fu r th e r defined the lo c a liz e d area. In a l l , 50 lo c a tio n s have been sampled a t depths ranging from zero to 40 in ch es. The r a ilr o a d s id in g along which the d io x in was handled is more than o n e -h a lf m ile in s id e the boundaries o f the 1555 acre p la n t. Previous te s tin g showed no evidence o f d io x in in water samples or in products c u rre n tly made at the plant. Monsanto has d iscussed the la t e s t te s t re s u lt s w ith s ta te , fe d e r a l, and lo c a l o f f i c i a l s and has informed the p la n t w orkforce o f the fin d in g s . "We w i ll continue to manage the area in the fu tu re in a manner which w i l l ensure th a t there is no hazard to our workers, the community, o r the environm ent," Boyen s a id . Monsanto's L u lin g P la n t has been in op e ra tio n sin c e 1954. Approxim ately 830 employees work a t the f a c i l i t y which is on the west bank o f the M is s is s ip p i R iv e r 15 m ile s west o f New O rleans. - oOo - C09848