Monsanto ordered to pay $857 million to Washington school students and parent volunteers over toxic PCBs
Monsanto on Monday was ordered to pay $857 million to a group of seven former students and parent volunteers at a Washington state school who claimed the company’s chemicals sickened them.
The judgment, which was reported by Bloomberg, AFP, Reuters and other news outlets, comes as Monsanto is facing thousands of lawsuits over its weed-killing chemical Roundup. Last month, the company was ordered to pay $332 million to a man who said Roundup caused his cancer.
In the most recent case, the former students and parent volunteers claimed that exposure to Monsanto’s polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, from fluorescent light fixtures caused a host of health problems, including brain damage and autoimmune disorders. PCBs, which were banned from production in 1979 due to their toxicity, were commonly used in caulking, light fixtures and other parts of buildings from the 1950s to 1970s, according to Massachusetts’ Bureau of Climate and Environmental Health.
one from the state of Vermont which alleged the chemical company knew its PCB formulations were toxic and could cause harm in humans.
Vermont’s Burlington School District has also sued Monsanto over PCBs, alleging that the company should pay for the construction of a new high school after it had to abandon the town’s high school due to PCB levels that exceeded the state’s limits.
Aimee Picchi
Source: cbsnews.com