Monsanto To Pay D.C. $52 Million Over Chemical Pollution In Rivers
JUL 20, 12:02 PM
Monsanto To Pay D.C. $52 Million Over Chemical Pollution In Rivers
Jacob Fenston
The chemical giant Monsanto will pay the District of Columbia $52 million dollars, as part of a
settlement over toxic contamination in D.C. waterways. Its one of the largest environmental settlements ever in the city.
D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine
filed suit against Monsanto in May, alleging the company had polluted all 36 waterways in the city with
toxic polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. The company knew how harmful the chemicals were for decades, according to the lawsuit, but continued to promote and sell them.
PCBs were outlawed in 1979, but prior to that ban, they were used in all sorts of products, including caulking, fluorescent lights, and floor finish. Monsanto
produced 99% of the PCBs used by U.S. industry in their Illinois facility.
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The majority of the $52 million will help fund cleanups of the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers, per the suit. The District is currently working on a lengthy and expensive
plan to remediate PCB contamination in the sediment of the Anacostia River.
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