Document zzVDQdErMNMVY43j4V9nGVm1m

r*mri3romnQnta neo eo jrc,n -f ouna a u i <j h w t k j v -j o j-v * y j. *jj. >3 FAX COVER SHEET To: Paul Merrell & Carol Van Strum Bradley & Merrell From: Peter Montague Environmental Research Foundation (410) 263-1584 (voice) (410) 263-8944 (fax) 4 pages (including this cover sheet) Sent on 13-Nov-93 at 16:14 Sent via FaxWorks OS/2 Environmental Research Foundation 13-Nov-9 3 16:14 page 2 of 4 November 13, 1993 Hi, Paul-- It has occurred to me that an important aspect of this case may be showing a jury reasons why Monsanto might have been interested, in 1979, in conducting studies that were foreordained to Show no harm from exposure to 2,4,5-T and dioxin. The attached news story shows the tip of the iceberg: $50 BILLION in lawsuits pending against Monsanto. There were also, of course, Nitro workers suits, the Sturgeon citizens, the Sturgeon clean-up railway workers, and probably others who were suing Monsanto in 1979-1980 or whom Monsanto knew had been exposed to dioxin and therefore might sue. It would be good to get Monsanto to tell us the total number of lawsuits that were filed against them during this period (nay, 1978 through 1983) and the total amount of liability they believed they faced* TOTAL P.01 Environmental Research Foundation 13'-Hbv-93 16 j 14 page 3 of 4 LEVEL 1 - 976 OF 1020 STORIES The Associated Press The materials in the A P file were compiled by The Associated Press. These materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The Associated Press. July 25,1980, Friday, AM cycle SECTION: Domestic News LENGTH: 431 words HEADLINE; Additional $990 Million Sought From Agent Orange Manufacturers BYLINE: By JANET McCONNAUGHEY, Associated Press Writer DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS BODY: Vietnam veterans from Louisiana and Mississippi have added $960 million to the tens of billions of dollars already being demanded in lawsuits against chemical companies that manufactured the toxic herbicide Agent Orange. "The ballpark figure is well over $50 billion, with a B. I don't know exactly what it is," Dan Bishop of Monsanto Chemical Co. said Friday. Monsanto is one of seven companies named as defendants in a U.S. District Court suit filed here Thursday. Like other lawsuits concerning AgBnt Orange, the suit by the Louisiana and Mississippi veterans claims that they, their children and their wives have suffered ailments ranging from boils to cancer and miscarriages because the men were exposed to Agent Orange during duty in Vietnam. T h is is the 84th suit that's been filed, so our comment is the same as we've given on the other 83," Bishop said in a telephone interview from St. Louis. "Simply stated, available scientific and medical evidence does not support the claims alleged by the veterans in these lawsuits." Dow Chemical Corp. spokesman Phil Schneider made a similar statement. He also said the suit was unnecessary because the plaintiffs could have added their names to s master class action suit pending In federal court in Long Island, N.Y. "I can only assume this was an effort to attract additional publicity,'' Schneider said in a telephone interview from ftffidland, Mich. Bishop said most of the 83 suite are being consolidated into the Long Island Environmental Research Foundation 13-Nov*93 16:14 page 4 o 4 suit. But ha said some, like the one brought by the Louisiana and Mississippi veterans, are individual rather than class actions and stand alone. In addition to Dow and Monsanto, defendants in the, latest suit are Hercules Inc., Uniroyal Merchandising Co., North American Phillips Corp., ThompsorvHayward Chemical Co- end Diamond-Shamrock Corp. The plaintiffs comprise 84- veterans, 24 of their wives and 60 of their children. The United States used Agent Orange to defoliate large areas of Vietnam, but there is concern now that it may have contributed to ailments ranging from nervousness to cancer among servicemen exposed to it. These are Hamad on exposure to dioxin, a poisonous contaminant in the now-banned herbicide. The suit claims the companies either ignored or should have known about the contamination, and had both a moral and legal obligation to let the troops know the weed-kllfar could make them ill. The suit also accuses the companies of fraud for "falsely and knowingly" representing that the herbicide w as safe and harmless for its intended use, when it was n o t LANGUAGE: ENGLISH TOTAL P .0 2