Memo: Even in 1984, SNE, A Sentry Enterprise, Aware Penta Contained Dioxin
- 130 W Thomas Street, Historical Documents, SNE / Wauleco / Sentry Insurance
- Wauleco - A Sentry Insurance Subsidiary
- August 14, 2018
From an SNE Memo, Then Labeled Confidential.
Source: Marathon County Courthouse
“Pentachlorophenol does contain HxCDD which is a dioxin. It is not as harmful as the dioxins found at Times Beach, Missouri or Agent Orange, but the one word, carcinogen, makes this a very important issue.”
— Memo from Pete Nygaard of SNE (A Sentry Enterprise) to Howard Dolce, August 17, 1984
Click image below to view the PDF of the SNE Memo
In 2016, the DNR stated (emphasis added): “While the department’s Bureau of Water Quality has made a determination that a WPDES permit will not be necessary to address the groundwater discharges that are entering the Wisconsin River, it must be clarified that this determination does not mean the department finds the ongoing discharge of approximately 6,000 parts per billion of PCP to the Wisconsin River to be acceptable under other state laws.”
View DNR Source Document
(Note: There is no pipe discharging pentachlorophenol into the river, but there are subsurface areas where contaminated groundwater from Wauleco flows into the river)
The DNR also asserted in the same document (emphasis added): “TRC has calculated that the remaining volume of free product in the subsurface is conservatively estimated at 171,000 gallons. The department estimates that it could potentially be as high as 420,000 gallons.”
View DNR Source Document