Monsanto Company makes statement following $80 million settlement with Virginia
The Monsanto Company released a statement following Attorney General Jason Miyares’ announcement regarding the $80 million settlement reached between the Company and Virginia.
In the statement, Monsanto mentions they have reached settlements with Virginia and Pennsylvania to resolve all claims relating to polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs.
The statement also highlights that the settlement does not contain an admission of liability or wrongdoing by the Company and they will fully resolve all PCB claims in both states.
Monsanto also states they never manufactured or disposed of PCBs in Pennsylvania or Virginia’s environments.
The Monsanto Company’s full statement reads:
Monsanto has reached settlement agreements with the Commonwealths of Pennsylvania and Virginia to resolve all claims relating to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a legacy product the Company ceased producing in 1977, two years before EPA banned their manufacture. The settlements contain no admission of liability or wrongdoing by the Company and will fully resolve all of those states’ PCB claims. Under the terms of the agreements, Monsanto will make a payment of $99.5 million to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (plus $500,000 in costs) and $80 million to the Commonwealth of Virginia, terms that demonstrate the prior settlement with the State of Oregon was an outlier. The Company never manufactured or disposed of PCBs in Pennsylvania or Virginia’s environments.
“In 2022, Monsanto filed a lawsuit in Missouri against six former PCB customers seeking to enforce contracts under which these companies agreed to fully defend and indemnify Monsanto. The Company entered into these indemnity agreements, beginning in 1972, as a condition of continuing to provide these former customers with bulk PCBs for use in their closed-end finished products. Monsanto ceased its legal manufacture of PCBs more than 45 years ago. Prior to this time, PCBs were highly valued as nonflammable safety fluids, specified by many electrical and building codes as well as insurance companies to protect against serious fire risk. Monsanto remains committed to defending existing and future cases at trial and will only consider settlements when it is in the Company’s interest to do so.”
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Virginia receives $80 million settlement for environmental contamination
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares reached a settlement agreement of $80 million with the Monsanto Company for environmental contamination caused by polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs.
The carcinogenic chemical compound was used in industrial and consumer products until they were federally banned in 1979.
Monsanto produced 99% of PCBs in America from the 1930s to 1977.
Over 1,300 river miles, 75,000 lake acres, and over 2,000 square miles of bays and estuaries were impaired by PCBs.
AG Miyares said “PCBs have negatively impacted nearly every living thing in Virginia. They have harmed public health, our land, wildlife, fish and our beloved waterways like the Chesapeake Bay.”
The settlement funds will be used for environmental studies, stream restoration, drinking water improvements, and other environmental causes.
To view the AG’s statement and a video of his remarks, click here.
For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.