Document pmVQqybVMOVOMyYNg8bX6KK6a

1* Pones no health or environmental threat to anyone ,2. Dioxin Is limited to' a small, isolated area at least 5 mile from nearest boundary m 3. Dixxin result of brief handling of 2,4,5-T and not from PRESS BRIEFING' 7 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS * 1. Q: If a company as big as Monsanto handled a substance containing dioxin over a two-year period, why did it take you this long, to discover it? Don1t you keep better records? A: We handled 2,4,5-T only eight months over a 24-month period. v We didn't manufacture it, only turn it from solid to liquid form, so no dioxin was generated in manufacture. It was never a production item, only something we handled twice to avoid bottlenecks at other plants. An intermediate processing step/ 2. Q: Why did you start looking for dioxin? What made you suspect that it might be predent? i A: Investigation of past operations revealed x handling of 2,4,5-T# * . Knew that 2,4,5-T contains dioxin as a trace impurity. Tested in areas most likely to contain dioxin, as well as water, air, plant boudarles. -- 3. Q: If 2,4,5-T is a component of Agent Orange, why did you deny that xA Agent Orange was ever made at Luling? A: 2,4,5-T is a herbicide on its own. Agent Orange is a mixutre of 2,4,5-T and.2,4-D, which we never made at Lullng. We never made 2,4,5-T either, only concerted it from solid to liquid form. 4. Q: How exexz werex the people who handled 2,4,5-T protected? A: (V.E. Boyen to provide) . ,, . .J , C10327 **# ,\ QS.tfhat vaste vas generated? How vas it disposed of? Q6 # Were there any health problems in the plant at that time? If so, vhat steps vere taken? Q7 What future health studies are planned now? * < Q8 Besides dioxin, what other wastes have been generated at the plant? Disposal methods? f Q9 Where is the equipment used to handle 2,4,5-T? < i* Q10 How far Is the dioxin site from the nearest residential area? Qll What else,do you make at Lullng that has dioxin in t it? '* No other products contain dioxin, Q13 If dioxin contamination dates to 1965-67, isn't it likely that workers vere exposed to much higher levels of dx dioxin than 4 those levels that show up now? * Q13 If the 2,4,5-T was carried out by railcar,* Isn't it lxx likely that there is dioxin contamination outside the plant? Have you tested outside the plant? P 1 ft Q 9 ft COKFEDE?ITIAL SUBJECT.TO PROTECTIVE ORDER. CyrvWcac.*^ -- ----- T-- . fc (1981) Q14 How can you be sure that the chloracne outbreak was caused by something other than dioxin? Q15 How long did' the chloracne cases last? Q16 Isn't It true* that you experienced another chloracne outbreak -- \ In the middle 1960s? What was it attributed to? How long did ** it last? Did an you do anything about it? a Q17 The federal government purchased an entire town at Times Beach, Ho., and moved the people away, yet you tell us that there Is no hazard \ '* here although the concentrations found amounted to 1000s of times */ t greater concentrations than those found at t Times Beach. Why? \ T r* , C10329 m &L- * * Q18 .Ho long .did you handle 2,4,5-T and how much did you make? * -November,tkcungk 1965, through January, .1966; Hay through k October , kfic 1967 * total of 4.3 mtildairt million pounds. / Q19 C10330 .J PRESS BRIEFING QUESTIONS Page two j J. EPA scientists say that dioxin is the most potent cancer-causing substance they've ever studied, yet you say the only long-term health effect is chloracne. Who's right? EPA also says that dioxin presents an unacceptable risk when found in water in parts per quintillion. Since the lowest level of your measurements .is .2 parts per billion, how can you be sure dioxin is not in the wastewater leaving the plant? What's the margin of error in the tests you conducted? How many samples did you take? How long did you sample the air? Why did you object to the EPA testing for dioxin at the Luling plant? Is it because you knew you had it all along? % & . If there's no danger to workers, why are you adding more shell? Doesn't adding shell just cover up the problem instead of eliminating it? ^2. Have workers reported incidences of birth defects or miscarriages? C10331 SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER. PRESS BRIEFING QUESTIONS Page three . Will you be doing any studies of long-term health effects of workers at Luling? Mortality studies? Morbidity studies? e J*4 - Have any soft-tissue sarcomas been discovered among your workers? J ^ What is the EPA, DNR reaction to all this? Will they do their own tests? 2 Y M - If you find more dioxin, will you shut the plant down? 1 7 ?. Why did you stop making 2,4,5-T in 1969? `I ^ 0 If you knew dioxin was a contaminant in the mid-sixties, why didn't Monsanto do something about it then? I a*.3 Have you sampled the Mississippi River water? Taken any fish samples? C10332.O '* W 5U3J ECT. TO PROTECTIVE ORDER. PRESS BRIEFING QUESTIONS Page four 3O- 3*- Have you sampled the landfill? What about the flatbed truck that's supposed to be buried on the site? Is it contaminated with dioxin? 33 21 Why are you being sued by a former employee for * damage to his liver? Have you done any follow-up studies on the people who were treated for chloracne? If you knew about this problem last week, why did you allow women and children to take plant tours near the area of contamination? "I V Why did you start looking for dioxin on your own? :s it because you didn't want to get caught in a lies^(that you didn't make Agent Orange)? C10333 jU