Document VJYoDGDr1g9Kk9wrJr15v7odZ

I1 Monsanto e- -Location-Phonei s G . Co 11 in s " A3 ND - 4-3860 A TE : May 27, 1982 SUBJECT REFERENCE TO R. T. Berendt - E2ND T. M. Bistline - E2NJ J..* R-.* C oifd pirG 3W G r - G. D. Ingenthron - A3NB Attached are updated versions of our Agent Orange' Position Statements. Comments? `( :cm Attachments Sarah Gainer Collins a f\ AGENT ORANGE . . . MONSANTO COMPANY POSITION We genuinely sympathize with the plight of our Vietnam Veterans. But we believe that the substantial amount of scientif and medical evidence available today suggests that there is no link between Agent Orange and human health problems of the magnitude claimed by the veterans. Monsanto was one of the companies asked to produce this herbicide mixture for the U.S. Government during the Vietnam War. Now, much to our regret, we find that we are both an object of the veterans' frustrations and a target of a class action suit filed by thousands of veterans against the producers. The suit seeks $40 billion trust fund to compensate Vietnam veterans for cancer, miscarriages, and birth defects allegedly caused by the use of Agent Orange. Agent Orange, used in Vietnam between 1962 and 1970, was supplied at the government's request, formulated to government specifications, applied by military personnel under the orders of the government, and used in war situations ... utterly beyond the control of the manufacturers. The controversy surrounding Agent Orange has continued to grow despite the lack of virtually any scientific evidence that this herbicide posed a danger to the veterans. To the contrary, there is a substantial amount of scientific/medical evidence on the record (attached that says there is no link between Agent Orange and human health problems of the magnitude claimed by the veterans. Obviously, this conflict is not of our making. However, having been drawn into it, we have no alternative but to defend ourselves. We are confident that good science will ultimately prevail over th emotions of the moment and exonerate the producer of Agent Orange. At the same time, we sincerely hope that good science will also provide many of the answers the veterans now seek regarding possible service-related health problems. June, 1982 For additional information, contact: Sarah Gainer Collins Environmental Communications Monsanto Company 800 N. Lindbergh Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63167 314-694-3860 AGENT ORANGE MONSANTO COMPANY BACKGROUND Monsanto began producing the components of Agent Orange ...2,4,5-T and 2,4-D in the late 1940s. We continued the manufacture of these herbicides until 1970 when we decided to get out of the business for economic reasons. During the Vietnam War, Monsanto was one of the companies asked by the U.S. government to produce a special formulation of these herbicides for use in Vietnam. Consequently, today, we are a target of a class action suit filed by thousands of veterans against the producers. The suit seeks $40 billion trust fund to compensate Vietnam veterans for cancer, miscarriages, and birth defects allegedly caused by the use of Agent Orange. We genuinely sympathize with the plight of our Vietnam Veterans. The unpopular war they fought has left inevitable scars and Agent Orange has become an outlet for accumulated frustrations. Also, in the past few years, a great deal of information has been gathered from health studies on human populations exposed to dioxin...a trace contaminant found in 2,4,5-T. One such study offers us a good insight into long-term or chronic health effects of dioxin exposure. In 1949, there was an accident at one of Monsanto's plants during which 121 employees were exposed to relatively high concentrations of dioxin. A standardized mortality analysis...or a study of the cause of death...was recently conducted on these 121 employees of which 32 were exposed in 1949 and have since died from any and all causes. That study... conducted by Monsanto and the Institute of Environmental Health at the University of Cincinnati found no apparent excess in death from cancer or cardiovascular disease based on statistics taken from the total U.S. population. Monsanto is confident that good science will ultimately prevail over the emotions of the moment and exonerate the producers of Agent Orange. At the same time, we sincerely hope that good science will provide answers to Vietnam veterans regarding their health problems. -oOo- June 1982 CONFIDENTIAL 6-4-82 Q/A AGENr/ORANGE FINAL Q. A GOVERNMENT DOCUMENT ^GAYS THAT A SAMPLE TAKEN FROM THE AGENT ORANGE SUPPLIED Br MONSANTO WAS HIGHLY CONTAMINATED WITH DIOXIN. IS T H ^CORRECT? / A. We are aware of one government doci^tnent that purports to show numer ical.p&nges for samples of Agent Orange from various prqduqerg including Monsanto. 2. Q. WHAT OPINION OF THE DOCUMENT? A. At this timp', we don't have sufficient information to draw anyr^pnclusions from the/document. For exmple, we don't noy how the Agent Orange allegedly produced by Monsanto~^as identified as such, how the product had been stored, Hiow the samples were taken or analyzed. Further, it is impossible ,to determine from this one document whether the Agent Orange sampled by the Government in this one test was representative of all the product supplied to the government by Monsanto or any other producer. Therefore, it would be improper to draw general conclusions based on this single document as to the level of dioxin contained in the Agent Orange supplied by any producer during the Vietnam conflict. 3. Q. DOESN'T THE DOCUMENT SHOW THAT THE AGENT ORANGE USED IN VIETNAM WAS HIGHLY TOXIC AND CONTAMINATED WITH DIOXIN? A. Because we lack crucial infomation on how the Agent Orange allegedly produced by Monsanto was identified and analyzed, it would be inappropriate to draw any conclusions based on the information contained in the government document. As a general matter, keep in mind that there are 75 members of the dioxin family and that their toxicity varies widely. Of those, only one, 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-diox in (TCDD) is regulated by the government because of its toxicity. Further, the analytical capability to identify 2,3,7,8TCDD from all the other members of the dioxin family simply did not exist prior to 1979. We believe that the analysis reflected on/the government document was conducted prior to 1979. Tfyiis, we have significant doubt as to the accuracy, or even the meaning, of the figures reflected there. A// . A 4. Q. DID MONSANTO KNOW ITS PRODUCT WAS CONTAMINATED WITH DIOXINS? A. This is a matter which is the subject of litigation currently pending before the cour Accord ngly, we believe it would be inappropriate /i^r US to comment at this time. s. \ Q. DOESN'T THE FACT DI^XI^S WERE FOUND MAKE ANY LEVEL FOUND SIGNIFICANT? A. This is a matter which is the subject of litigation currently pending before the court. Accordingly, we believe it v7would be inappropriate for us to comment at this time. 6. Q. HAVEN'T STUDIES SHOWN THAT AGENT ORANGE CONTAMINATED WITH DIOXINS IS THEr CAUSE OF SERIOUS HEALTH PROBLEMS SUFFERED BY VIETNAM VETERANS ANU THEIR FAMILIES? A. The contCrLo/versy surrounding Agent Orange continues despite the lack pf virtually any scientific evidence that it posed a danger to veterans. The substantial amount of scientific and medical evidence available today suggests that there is no link between Agent Orange and the human health problems reported by the veterans. 7. Q. HOW MUCH AGENT RANGE DID MONSANTO PRODUCE FOR THE GOVERNMENT? A. Monsanto supplied approximately 3.8 million gallons for the U.S .government between the years 1963 and 1969. 8. Q. DOES MONSANTO STILL PRODUCE EITHER 2,4,5-T or 2,4-D? A. No. We got out of those businesses in 1970 for economic reasons. - 20- / ? fl~ kn Q: DID MONSANTO MANUFACTURE AND SUPPLY AGENT ORANGE TO THE U.S. GOVERNMENT FOR USE IN VIETNAM? A: Yes. Monsanto was one of several companies asked to supply this compound during the Vietnam War. Background: Monsanto manufactured the principal ingredients of Agent Orange -- 2,4,5-T at the Nitro Plant from 19481969 and 2,4-D at the Krummrich Plant from 1946-1970. At various times from 1963 to 1969 Monsanto provided quantities of a mixture of 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D to the U.S. government. In 1969 and 1970, respectively, Monsanto decided for economic reasons to stop production of 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D. The dioxin 2,3,7,8-TCDD can be formed in ultra-trace quantities during the manufacture of tri-chloro-phenol, which is used to make 2,4,5-T. The Agent Orange controversy involves this dioxin, which is extremely toxic to some laboratory animals, less toxic to others and of unknown toxicity to humans. Q: WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THE AGENT ORANGE LAW SUITS AND MONSANTO'S POTENTIAL LIABILITY? A: These lawsuits have been consolidated for pretrial purposes in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Discovery and other pretrial matters are continuing. Since this is a matter in litigation, it would be inappropriate to speculate on the potential liability to Monsanto, but I will say that, in our judgment, the available scientific and medical evidence does not support the claims of adverse health effects alleged in these lawsuits. e nds'!*} -n - 21- Q: WHAT IS MONSANTO'S POSITION ON AGENT ORANGE? WHY ARE YOU FIGHTING THE VETERANS ON THIS ISSUE? A: We sympathize with the plight of our Vietnam veterans. The unpopular war they fought has left inevitable scars, and Agent Orange has become an outlet for accumulated frustrations. As a result, this controversy has continued to grow despite the lack of virtually any scientific evidence that this herbicide posed a danger to the veterans. To the contrary, there is a substantial amount of scientific and medical evidence on the record that says there is no link between Agent Orange and the serious human health problems claimed by the veterans. That evidence includes the following: 1. The 1974 Report by the National Academy of Sciences on the effects of herbicides in South Vietnam. 2. A series of independent scientific workshops sponsored by the American Farm Bureau in 1979. 3. World Health Organization studies done to date on the human population exposed to high levels of TCDD during an industrial accident in Seveso, Italy in 1976. 4. Two recently completed mortality (cause of death) studies on groups of former Monsanto employees who had worked with 2,4,5-T since 1948. One group experienced high peak exposure more than 30 years ago. 5. An animal study, released in August, 1980, by HEW which cleared Agent Orange of causing birth defects in offsprings of males exposed earlier to TCDD. 6. A report on the chronic health effects of British World War II veterans of the Far East which found many of the same symptoms being reported by Vietnam veterans. This report was published in the July 19, 1980 issue of the prestigious British medical journal, Lancet. 7. A report by the American Medical Association dated Oct. 1, 19/ which found a lack of conclusive evidence that Agent Orange can produce the health effects being reported by veterans.