Document vvG95mvqqo6ojQwQ3oamN9a9

Kid R. C. Isham - BIND 2621 ;,`,f I>1 MU February' 21, 1979 Toxicological Significance T O : C . F . Callis - B2SA J. R. Foehr - B2SA J. S. Metcalf B2NK IT'-` As we{ve discussed, analysis of our products for TCDD is giving us a white knuckle atmosphere around here. I'm beginning to * 'k r, wonder if we aren't our own worst enemies on our testing proce- -V fr - d u r e s . Your people can measure TCDD in amounts "even smaller . - *T'.-than .010 ppm. "Somebody" h a s `determined that .010 ppm is the _ 1' level of "toxicological significance," and we duly reported our r- OCP reserve sample had TCDD at an average amount .037 ppm to ; the E P A . . ' My question is, who is the "somebody" that said .010 ppm. has '"toxicological significance"! Why isn't the level o f s i g n i f i y l.canco 0.1 ppm? Is there any indication that lower concentra' tions^arc hazards? I'm not a chemist, but neither are most reporters. Jim Mieure helped me figure out that our trace TCDD contamination in'*the Sturgeon car works out to 1/8 ounce in 207,000 pounds of material. I don't know if that's hazardous or not, but I do know we reported our findings and we're greeted with both v regional and political concern. Could we have said, "We examined the reserve sample and found no TCDD at.the level of toxicological significance which is 0.1 ppm"? .` : .> k I also note that Federal pesticide regulations set an upper ' limit of 0.1 ppm of 2,3,7,8 TCDD in 2,4,5 -T pesticide. If that ' ;jiy parameter is okay for Uncle, why are we asking our people to y search for smaller concentrations in our products? :. 1 ' r -RCIsjt V* ,R. C. Isham v: i '. '__V. 7 * -yv j v^ f. \",,,M'f'H m m , I.-.Q. cf d" : * 3 MAY 23 1979 &*a iilonsauto Alters Production Of Toxic Chemical Element ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Monsanto Co. apparently has succeeded in removing delectable levels of a toxic substance in its production of a chem ical which was spilled in a train derailm ent n ear Stur geon, Mo., in Ja n u a ry . Company spokesm an R obert Isham said changes were m ade in the process for m anufac turing orthochiorophenol, the chem ical involved in the spill, and that initial tests snowed no m easur able amounts of the highly toxic im purity tetrachlorodib2nzo-para-dioxm (TCDD). Ish am said very low levels, .037 p a rts per m il lion, of TCDD w ere found in the 20,000 gallons of orthocholorophenol which were spilled near Stur geon, prom pting concern for the health of persons who cam e into contact with the chemical. " We a re continuing our evaluation of the process," Isiiam said ." Isham described TCDD as "one of the m ost highly toxic poisons*' and said it ccurrs as an im- . purity in orthocholorophenol, an interm ediate chem ical used in m anufacturing processes, espe cially in the production of wood preservative chem icals. The chemical spill was caused when a Norfolk [ & W estern Railway train derailed. coosio i n rrti::o :i city, mo, CAPITA!, fsvs ! D. 5. K 2 MAY 23 1979 I' *" ****- Dioxin reportedly removed from chemical ST. LOUIS (APi -- Monsanto Co._ apparently has succeeded in removing detectable levels of a toxic substance in its production of a chemical which was spilled in a train derailment near Sturgeon in January. Company spokesman Robert Isham said changes were made in the process for manufacturing orthochlorophenol, the chemical involved in the spill, and that initial tests showed no measurable amounts of the highly toxic impurity tetrachlorodibemo-para-dioxin (TCDD). Isham said very low levels, .037 parts per million, of TCDD were found in the 20,000 gallons of orthocholorophenol which were spilled near Sturgeon, prompting concern for the health of persons who came into contact with the chemical. ; `We are continuing our evaluation of the process,"- Isham said. J LIMA,OHIO HEWS D. 42,912 SUN. 47,505 JUH 7 1379 iM. Vj lU v Farm family suss for chemical spiil COLUMBIA. Mo. (API - A firm family has filed a $7.65 million damage suit against a railroad and three other firms, claiming a winter railroad derailment and chemical spill damaged their land and caus^xJ them `great bodily harm, the extent of which is still not known.** William K'.-mncr, his wife. Linda, and his mother, Frances, filed the suit in Boone County Circuit Court Tuesday, naming Norfolk & V.-i-icm Bail road. Dresser Industries. tt.A T:X. Corp. and the M> ".'nnto Chemical Co. as defendants. About I.ejO i^ersons wore evacuated tre-m their homes when the NaV.' train der.!ii-;ri dan. 10. spilhnc 20.000 gali.-as of cliiorophcnvl. a toxic chem ical. ..nd traces oi mexm. t; iugiiiy tox ic contaminant. 4A R e g i o n ST.LOUIS POST-DISPATCH T hurs., Jan . 2 4 ,1 9 8 5 Group: 2 Firms Here Exposed Workers To Toxic Substances By Jo Mannies Ptrt-Dispatch Washington Bureau /''WASHINGTON -- Two work sites iff the St. Louis area are among 249 in .the nation where federal investigators bilieve that more than 200,000 Workers have been exposed to 'dangerous substances, a public r^sdarch group says. !* The group, Public Citizen, made pTtilc a federally compiled list of sites Wednesday as part of a campaign to persuade the federal government to notify the workers of their exposure. ` "The rea work sites on the list are Monsanto Co.'s Sauget plant and an undisclosed area used by Union Electric. Two outstate Missouri sites also are listed: a Lead Corp. plant In V iburnum and a d efu n ct hexacblorophene plant In Verona, in southwestern Missouri. The list of sites was compiled by the federal N ational. Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and covers the 13 years that it has been studying work places where people might be subject to health risks because of th e ir exposure to dangerous substances. The list was recently obtained by Public Citizen through the Freedom of Information AcL Monsanto says that its employees have been informed of any health risks; Union Electric declined to comment because of a pending court case. In a statement Wednesday, Public `Citizen noted that the Department of Health and Human Services had turned down a request by the national institute for $4 million in this year's federal budget to notify the individual workers. The group said such notification could save lives. It cited a pilot project involving a chemical company in Georgia where a notification program found 13 employees with bladder cancer. The Monsanto plant in Sauget, as well as the Verona plant now owned by Syntex Agribusiness Inc., are sites where some workers were exposed to the toxic chemical dioxin. ' A Monsanto spokesman said Wednesday - that all employees exposed to dioxin had been notified by the company. Since 1969, Monsanto has made no chemicals that produce dioxin as a byproduct The list hlso cites Monsanto's plant In Nitro, W.Va., where workers were exposed to dioxin. The spokesman' contended that Public Citizen was "totally off-base" because' it assumed tbat employees had not been Informed of any health risks suffered by their exposure. ' The spokesman, Dan R. Bishop, said the national institute had obtained its in fo rm atio n on Monsanto's sites with the company's cooperation. In the case of Union Electric, the list says 25 workers have been exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, which can cause cancer. Union Electric sources Indicated tbat the 25 workers were probably those w hohad sued some chemical companies'because of exposure to a defoliant they used on the job. The Viburnum lead firm is cited for silica dust and diesel exhaust- that might cause respiratory disease. Experts Urge Davis Elu Shots For Elderly Laboratory confirmation of a 'Virulent .influenza virus in SL Louis means that the elderly and '^ C h ro n ic a lly 111 should be vaccinated Immediately, a panel *'^f health expertssays. '/ ' - Three cases of Type A -`'influenza have been confirmed ` **c by virologists at Cardinal ' Gleimon Memorial Hospital for nanpCnf doctors at From page one district for work at labor negotiations be had not attended. The sessions were between April and August 1982. From June 1981, when he began .working for the Special School District, and the end of 1982, Davis waspaid$162,170. George R. "Buzz" Westfall, St. Louis County's prosecuting attorney, spent 22 months investigating attorneys' fees charged to the school district. With Davis' guilty plea, "that's the end of It," Westfall said. Davis was the only attorney for the . school district to be indicted. The . Police Tow Car; Bosley Denies It's His Police say the car of Alderman Freem an Bosley Sr. was towed Tuesday because he had eight unpaid parking tickets. But Bosley, a mayoral candidate in SL Louis, denies that his car was towed. "My car's a red Ford," Bosley said. "I have never driven a greed Ford. "The car that was towed must have been registered to the campaign___It was not my personal car." A police offlcersaid be had been on routine patrol Tuesday when he noticed a green Ford with expired license plates parked on a private lot n e x t to B o s l e y 's c a m p a i g n headquarters, at 4308 .North Grand Boulevard. "The car had September plates, so I checked, and it came back issued to" Bosley, the officer said. He agreed to talk .only on the condition that his name be withheld: "The computer then showed that there were eight unpaid tags," or parking tickets, the officer added. The policeman said he then had ordered a tow truck for the can He added that no one had complained about the car -- he stumbled across the violation on his own. Bosley has bad problems with cars before. Last November, he said his car had been stolen, but a police check revealed that It had been scheduled for repossession. Bosley later said that his car had not been repossessed. It was missing because his daughter had it, he said.. He said the car had been scheduled for repossession because he had canceled his insurance in a dispute with the leasing company. . Two years ago, Bosley's wife, Marjorie, had to pay $120 In unpaid parking tickets to keep her car from being towed. Bosley claim ed harassment,'blaming Mayor Vincent C Schoemehl Jr. and Joseph Roddy. Roddy was unseated as St. Louis circuit clerk by Bosley'sson. The elder Bosley and Schoemehl a re opponents in the upcom ing Democratic primary.