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Graduate school of public health
of BkMettwbcs
September 19, 1980
3. L. heriahsw Ifept. of 1`feditSne & Lavironseatsl Health
A2 SC ifesseato Colony 800 If. Lindbergh Blvd.
8%, lnls, m 63166
Deer Mr. Benshaw:
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As you probably know, my upcoming analysis of the $pringfisld
will attempt to relate historic formaldehyde exposures at the pleat
to employee mortality patterns during 1950-1976. In order to do
this accurately I need to be certain which departments at the plnt>'
were associated with either formaldehyde production, useage, or
storage. For this purpose?*prlaary aource of date tbua fat
been the formaldehyde useage charts you developed, which were fdrA^fe "
warded to me through hr. Geifey. Hy interpretation of your cherteil-Lv
is that only four areas at the plant have used -formaldehyde and
these are associated with the following department numbers which .
appear on personnel records.
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Plant Area
Department huaber(sl
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2
3 4
Cast, Phepol ica . _ _ _
Rcainox
a. Resins Dept.
b. Resia Compounding Dept.
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c. Bolding Powder Dept.
Resimines
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Formalin Plant
13, 14, 15 .V c s- f/ ? r ; 50* 52, 53, 55, 56, 50.n; 52 53* 55, 56, 57 68,71, 72, 73, 74 54
Following the computer coding of the work histories for the 6Q0 decedents in the Springfield cohort* a number of departments were discovered whose names suggested formaldehyde exposure. Since theeb departments were not Ixteiudedyin your above scheme, I am uncertein
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RSV0029778
J. L, Bensbew 'Bage 2 Sept sher 19, 19S0
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as to their fo:msldehyde exposure sretus, The following is a listing of these tjuustiona-ble departments.
Desartaent Humber
17 Vuepaeh -M^ 53 Realnny ~
109 Eesinox-Tanh For Operator 114 Resinox "Ltib > > .
133 149 173 210 '312 509 V: - -513
General Blunt
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Shipping Res inox jUcv^O ~
Service Septs. Waste, Dispose! ./ ..c
iftjepack Strap Cutter
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Laboratoty-Soflex
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There are also some inconsistencies "that need to be resolved cofetettilng; the appropriate time periods of fme 1 debate exposure within ashy bf these
/iepartrat e,,
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tfesrc generally, I would also like, if available, any additional infor-- seation that you might have on the nature and intensity of the formaldehyde exposures which occurred in these departments. This could conceivably be used to rank order formaldehyde exposures among the study members taw permitting a more sensitive analysis rcTVe done.
Br. Gaffey and 1 thought that perhaps a Joint meeting with you at the Springfield plant might best serve to -answer these issues prior to y , btarietics1 analysis.
Please contact me by telephone shortly after'you have considered these problems- Due to the time constraints involved, 1 am hoping that ft say he possible to resolve these 16sues without visiting the pi ant you very much for your cooperation in this marrex.
iflTflUSincerely yours.
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Gary ff. fiat'sh, Sc.D* A;.: cistant Frcfessor of !: tu-iiet lazier.
RSV0029779
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Monsanto
December 12, 1980
MONSANTO PLASTICS & RESINS OO. 730 Worcester Street Indian Orchard, Massachusetts 01151 Phone: (413) 788-6911
Mr. Gary Marsh, Sc.D. Assistant Professor of Biostatistics University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Dear Gary:
I am sorry for being late in responding to your request for information to complete your case-control study. I have enclosed your original copy of Monsanto Department History for reference. Enclosure #2 is the abridged edition of the 149 original department codes.
Note that the departments were categorized by monomer used, finished product handled and service group and given an arbitrary department code. Please note that some departments indicated on the last page were not included because they are unknowns.
I hope this satisfies your request and please feel free to call (413-788-6911 ext. 2375) if you have any questions regarding this information.
Sincerely,
Catina S. Winfield
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cc: Dr. William Gaffey/Monsanto St. Louis Paul E. Bureau/Monsanto, Springfield
a unit of Monsanto Company
RSV0029782
University of Pittsburgh
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH Department of Biostatistics
November 6, 1980
Ms. Tina Winfield Industrial Hygiene Dept. Monsanto Company, Indian Orchard Plant 730 Worcester St, Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Dear Tina: Thank you again for the information you provided me with during our recent telephone conversation. I have enclosed a copy of a letter I sent to John Henshaw which describes the information I need in order to successfully conduct a case-control study, I have also sent you a copy of the Monsanto Product Department History which has served as the basis for our Springfield'plant work history analyses. Any thing you can do to help answer my^questions will be greatly appre ciated. I hope to hear from you soon.
Assistant Professor of Biostatistics
GMM/jmt cc: Dr. William Gaffey/Monsanto, St. Louis
Mr. Paul Bureau/Indian Orchard Plant
PITTSBURGH, PA. 15261
RSV0029783