Monsanto and PCBs

Today, we are highlighting internal records from Monsanto.

These are responses to a rule proposed on June 7, 1978 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA was introducing stricter regulations on the manufacturing, processing and distibution of PCBs. These new restrictions effectively banned Monsanto's heat transfer systems, since they had residual PCB concentrations above 50 parts per million.

The EPA justified this new rule by saying:
“The manufacture, processing, or distribution...of PCBs for export constitutes an unreasonable risk to health and the environment in the United States."

On August 4, 1978, in a letter to the office of Toxic Substances within the EPA, Monsanto recommended the “EPA withdraw this proposed reduction.”

Monsanto ignored the EPA’s conclusions and argued that the new rule would cause further environmental and economic damage:

Monsanto asked for an authorization to continue the operation of heat transfer systems with residual PCBs.

Still, a year later, the EPA announced a ban on PCB manufacturing. But though PCBs are banned, we are still reckoning with their legacy.