Washington State Launches Suit Against Monsanto for Toxic PCB Pollution
(COMMON DREAMS) Andrea Germanos, December 9, 2016 — Washington on Thursday became the first U.S. state to file a lawsuit against Monsanto for damages related to the company’s production of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
Monsanto was the only U.S. company to produce the toxic industrial chemicals from 1935 to 1979, when they were banned by the Toxic Substances Control Act.
The company “knew for decades that PCBs were toxic and knew that they were widely contaminating all natural resources and living organisms” yet “concealed these facts and continued producing PCBs until” the Congressional action, the suit (pdf), which sites several internal company memos, states.
“Monsanto knew the dangers of PCBs yet hid them from the public to generate profits,” declared Attorney General Bob Ferguson in a press statement announcing the legal action. “I will hold Monsanto accountable for its actions,” he said.
PCB pollution is pervasive and long-lasting—a concern given that the Environmental Protection Agency deems PCBs a probable carcinogen, and they have been linked to other serious health effects.
“Monsanto is responsible for producing a chemical that is so widespread in our environment that it appears virtually everywhere we look—in our waterways, in people, and in fish—at levels that can impact our health,” added Gov. Jay Inslee in the press statement.