Document zoXrzg42nkQ4Re62DgXXaJdzn

HYATEMaNT FROM: NSANCC company ST. LOUIS, MO. Oct. if, 1969 Late in February, 1969, a Wes-t Coast newspaper i carried a major feature about "a menacing new pollutant" >I found in the San Francisco Bay area. The article was based .j on marine life research carried outjby Dr. Robert Risebrough I- of the University of California. The article stated that 1. I. residues of pesticides (DDT and DDE) and polychlorinated .i biphenyl (PCB) were threatening thejwelfare of certain birds and posed a long-term threat to humans. . ii 4 Monsanto manufactures polychlorinated biphenyl and markets it under our Aroclor trade name. (There are other manufacturers in Europe and Japan.) We, therefore, would like to present some additional facts. The work done by Dr. Risebrough dates back to earlier research by other scientists who, while analyzing pesticide residues in wildlife, soil and water, encountered I. unknown or "interfering" substances iin the parts-per-million range. ' ' I. -more- | HONS 034085 TOWOLDMONOQ46263 --2 MONSANTO COMPANY Several years ago, two,Swedish scientists at Stockholm University's Institution of Analytical Chemistry, Professor Gunnar Widmark and Soren Jensen, reported they i had identified these other substances. They said some of the materials were polychlorinated biphenyl or PCB. Since PC3s are not "broadcast" or spread around the land as are pesticides, the scientists theorized that the source must be the industrial wastes of ^CB users.. In addition to the work of Dr. Risebrough and | the Swedish scientists, there have been other studies which . *i '! indicate the presence of PCBs in the environment. Monsanto { i is concerned over the situation and is cooperating fully ' with these studies. i .. . !I The common uses of commercial PCB would not . !. normally lead to its release into|the natural environment. A principal market for PCB is in electrical i applications where they are used as insulating fluids for transformers and capacitors. In this use, the chemical is completely sealed in metal containers. Another market is for heat-transfer applications, where the PCB fluid functions in a closed system. j -more- : ] i \ V MONS 034086 TOWOLDMONOQ46264 --3 MONSANTO COMPANY ' ' I PCBs are also used in several applications where u.ia chemical is incorporated into ajpolymer as an integral i' part or the solid material. Such.polymers are used in highly 1 . j i. smaeial' ...a amplications as an adhesive, elastomer or surface *` '| coating. Polychlorinated biphenyls are not sprayed or dusted on crops, woodlands or any other arejas, as are pesticides. To our knowledge, they are not used in jtires, house paints, household products, epoxy resins or major vinyl plastics, as has been charged. ' Therefore, conclusions as to the source of PCB found an the environment, are difficult to make. Some qualified scientists, using the latest laboratory equipment, have correctly identified the substances as being PCB. However, most scientists are not yet willing to indict commercially produced PCB as a pollutant. It has also been implied that polychlorinated biphenyls ' |' are "highly toxic" chemicals. This is not true. Just like other industrial chemicals and home products now in widespread use, PCBs j are not hazardous when properly handled and used. During more uhan 30 years of U.S. production and juse, cases of any toxic effect have been extremely rare -- and then jonly where the simple precautions recommended for use were hot followed. -more- \ MQNS 034067 TOWOLDMON0046265 MONSANTO COMPANY Monsanto has research programs under way to identify i the. compounds, reported to . be PCB, ani d locate their source. The . ii 'urograms involve precise. analysis of environmental sanities of water and soil. Also under way are studies to determine the . i, bic_ogicai effects of deliberate dosage of PCBs on fish, birds i me mammalian animals. Special emphasis is being paid to endocrinological effects, mineral metabolism and reproduction physiology. Some preliminary bxodegradibility studies are under way. Further studies to clearly demonstrate this phenomenon _re contemplated. , .. - Very early results of chronic toxicity studies confirm chat PCBs are not highly toxic. In 90-day studies on rats and other normal laboratory species, there have been no adverse effects when feedings of up to 100 parts-per-million were administered. Monsanto has always cooperated on a regular basis rth federal, state and university laboratories in their analysis s of chlorinated hydrocarbon residues. |We will continue to do so. Additionally, Monsanto will continue to exercise the highest .j ae.`f::_a of control in its manufacturing, shipping and storing p;,3 -- as we do with all products. In the functional fluids .-.a..wet, wo have carried out a program for s^eral years for the i reclamation of used PCBs to.rouse these valuable materials. -more- MQNS 034088 TOWOLDMON0046266 MONSANTO COMPANY The source of Che marine life residue identified ,. . PC3 is not yet known. i It will take extensive research ! a worldwide basis, to confirm or deny these initial ientific conclusions. IV/b -0O0- l .i . \ l! ' V i HONS 034089 TOWOLDMONOQ46267