M. J. Ziegler
(314) 694-8144

NEWS FOR RELEASE IMMEDIATELY

MONSANTO COMPANY SIGNS TECHNOLOGY
AGREEMENT WITH PHYSICAL ACOUSTICS

ST. LOUIS, June 4 - Monsanto Company and Physical Acoustics Corporation (PAC) of Princeton, N.J, announced an agreement in the marketing of acoustic emission equipment and technology for sale to customers and sublicensees.

Under the agreement, a Monsanto/PAC acoustic emission technology package will combine Monsanto's proprietary methodology and PAC's multi-channel/multi-processing acoustic emission SPARTAN system. In addition to the hardware and information package, potential customers will receive on-site training by both Monsanto and PAC personnel.

The new technological package will allow businesses using pressure vessels and large storage containers such as cryogenic ammonia tanks, steel, stainless steel, aluminum and zirconium columns and vessels to determine the structural integrity of the equipment. Eventual applications could include rail tank cars, boats and tank trucks. Presently, the usual procedure is to shut down and empty the vessel, decontaminate, and send a person inside to take X-rays or ultrasonic measurements and manually inspect. This procedure is expensive and often results in lost production and work time.

The Monsanto/PAC acoustic emission system works on a different principle. As the storage container is filled, energy release from defects in the structure creates shock waves and pressure changes measured by the acoustic emission instrument. The instrument uses a color display to alert petrochemical production personnel to cracks and areas of corrosion, underdesign, overstress and excessive wear, and tells the severity of the problem.

"We feel the sharing of safety-related information is very important," said Dr. Tim Fowler, Distinguished Fellow in the Corporate Engineering Department of Monsanto. "What we've got is a method of testing vessels to make sure they're safe. We feel we have a responsibility to make it available, so we're combining our technological know-how with PAC's equipment to produce benefits."

Monsanto has been an industry leader in the development of a system for testing fiberglass storage vessels which is now the standard method in the petrochemical industry.

"This new application for metal is simply an extension of our technological pioneering in fiberglass," said Dr. Fowler.

Dr. Fowler said the use of the acoustic emission system within Monsanto for both fiberglass and metal vessel emission applications during the last seven years has resulted in more than $20 million in savings for the company. Monsanto has been developing the technology for the last nine years.

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