Monsanto is already facing a large legal bill over its glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup. Image: GETTY IMAGES.
Toxic leaks cost Bayer Monsanto $857 million.
Monsanto, a chemical company, will pay $857 million (£676 million) to seven individuals who claimed to have been harmed by chemicals leaked from school light fixtures in the United States.
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were the substances that the plaintiffs claimed made them sick in a court dispute.
Jurors in Monroe, Washington, found the corporation guilty of selling the PCBs utilized in the Sky Valley Education Centre due to their negligence.
There should have been warnings about the chemicals’ lack of safety, the jury said.
Once upon a time, lubricants, coolants, and electrical equipment insulation all made use of PCBs, which are man-made substances.
They may also be present in caulk, paint, and carbon copy paper, among other everyday items.
After establishing ties to cancer, the US government banned the compounds in 1979.
Five ex-students and two parent volunteers who attended the school northeast of Seattle seven to eighteen years ago were named as plaintiffs.
Their complaints included issues with the neurological system, the endocrine system, and others.
The German pharmaceutical corporation Bayer, which owns Monsanto, was fined $73 million for compensatory damages and $112 million for punitive penalties, divided among the seven plaintiffs.
According to the manufacturer, they stopped making PCBs in 1977 and had been advising the school to get the light fixtures changed out multiple times since the 1990s, but they were disregarded.
The corporation has termed the verdict “constitutionally excessive” and has stated its intention to have it reduced or reversed.
According to Monsanto, the school’s personnel were not exposed to harmful amounts of PCBs based on blood, air, and other studies.
In additional instances involving the school, the chemical company is appealing a judgement that required it to pay $870 million.
Several lawsuits have been filed by individuals, including students and employees, alleging that the Sky Valley facility exposed them to PCBs, which caused cancer, thyroid issues, and other health concerns.
The corporation is already facing a large legal expenditure as a result of court lawsuits involving its glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup, and this is the latest setback.
In 2018, in a deal for $63 billion, the German pharmaceutical company Bayer (which produces aspirin) bought out Monsanto.
However, since acquiring Monsanto’s Roundup litigation, Bayer has been the target of other US lawsuits alleging the herbicide causes cancer.
Bayer reports that 113,000 out of 160,000 claims involving the weed killer have been either settled or rejected.
The claims are denied by Bayer, who has set aside $16 billion to deal with them.