Document x5Z1BrBmykdRvLprYVVexx0kQ

MONSANTO TODAY ITEM: EPA Decision Affects Monsanto Pollution Reporting In past years, Monsanto has appeared on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) list of top polluters due in large part to our generation and disposal of high volume, low toxicity wastes. All chemicals on the EPA's Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) are treated equally so that a pound of certain chemical salts is counted the same as a pound of a carcinogen. This misleading accounting has pressured manufacturers, including Monsanto, to reduce low toxicity wastes to drive the big numbers down resources which would be better used to reduce more hazardous waste streams. The agency recently agreed with Monsanto and other petitioners by requiring the reporting of only 10 percent of the ammonia portion of ammonium sulfate, one of our largest volume wastes. This action dropped reportable releases significantly from 1993 levels. Other chemicals recently delisted include: sulfuric acid, acetone and butyl benzyl pthalate. Monsanto recently reported to the EPA in compliance with annual Community Rightto-Know laws, releases and transfers of 52.8 million pounds of reportable wastes in 1994 compared with 84.4 million pounds in 1993. Even though some of these high volume waste streams are no longer reportable, the company still has efforts underway to reduce them in keeping with its ongoing waste reduction commitments. The Monsanto $1 Million Challenge, announced last year, seeks a way to recover ammonia from high volume salt streams and recycle it back into the process. The winning proposal, now under development, looks promising. A number of real reductions have also been achieved over the past year. For instance the W.G. Krummrich plant in Sauget, 111. recovered for sale an additional 1.7 million pounds of hydrochloric acid previously sent offsite for neutralization; the NutraSweet plant in Augusta, Ga. treated more than 600,000 pounds of methanol on-site, reducing the amount released; and the Luling, La. plant reduced the emission of methyl chloride by almost 600,000 pounds with the installation of a thermal oxidizer. Additional decreases can also be attributed to owners of guest operations at some Monsanto facilities now reporting their own waste. Employees who helped to improve the usefulness of the TRI by contributing to the ammonium sulfate delisting petitions include: Pat Kenworthy, Chuck Malloch, Rich Kimerle, Kathy Carr and G eriy Coyle. OSW 135783 STLCOPCB4035759