by Brent Addleman, for the Center Square
Bob LoCicero | Shutterstock
(The Center Square) – Polychlorinated biphenyl contamination is the focus of a first-in-the-nation lawsuit in Vermont.
Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark is taking Monsanto to court for alleged school and environmental contamination. The suit is designed to protect Vermont’s natural resources and schools that have been affected by contamination from the chemicals.
Polychlorinated biphenyls, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are mixtures of up to 209 individual chlorinated compounds, usually liquids or solids, that are colorless to light yellow and are used in coolants and lubricants in transformers, capacitors, and other electrical equipment, in paint, caulks, inks, dyes, paper products, and fireproofing.
“Monsanto manufactured, marketed, sold, and distributed PCBs while knowing that its products would cause significant, long-term damage in Vermont,” Clark said in a statement. “This lawsuit seeks to hold Monsanto accountable for knowingly misleading the public about the harmful impacts of its products. The cost of cleaning up after Monsanto’s deception will be considerable and should be borne by the multibillion-dollar company that profited from the misconduct, not by Vermont taxpayers.”
According to a release, the suit, State of Vermont v. Monsanto Co., Solutia Inc., and Pharmacia LLC, says Monsanto knew the formulations were “highly toxic” and “would inevitably produce the contamination and human health risks that have occurred. Vermont is seeking recovery of those contaminants in schools across the state.
According to the complaint, the company manufactured, marketed, and sold the toxic and dangerous compounds from 1929 to 1977. Through that period, Monsanto produced 99%, or more, of the chemicals used or sold across the country. The suit says the company knew “with substantial certainty” that the chemicals harmed the environment and human health.
Even though the chemicals were banned in the 1970s, the chemicals remain in and continue circulating in state waters and other natural resources, according to a release.
Act 74 was passed by the General Assembly in 2021, calling for all schools built or renovated before 1980 to test air quality for chemicals. Testing began in 2022 and is anticipated to be completed by July 2025 via the Agency of Natural Resources’ Department of Environmental Conservation.
“In our role as stewards of Vermont’s natural environment, we are committed to the remediation of toxic and dangerous PCBs distributed by Monsanto in Vermont and to the protection of our natural resources,” Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner John Beling said in a statement. “Through the work of the Attorney General’s Office, we hope to secure the necessary resources for comprehensive cleanup and prevention efforts that will benefit both present and future generations as well as compensation for damages to Vermont’s precious natural resources.”
Author is an Associate Editor of the Center Square publication and a veteran journalist with more than 25 years of experience. He has served as editor of newspapers in Pennsylvania and Texas, and has also worked at newspapers in Delaware, Maryland, New York, and Kentucky.
Categories: Commentary
Since we are losing tourism revenue now that the rest of the country associates Vermont with deadbeats and junkies staying in motels for months at a time, suing large corporations has become our best revenue model. Based on the success from suits against the tobacco and pain killer industry, “Charity” is licking her chops over a PCB suit….how pathetic Vermont has become.
As a layperson I would ponder an question. Wasn’t it the state that allowed PCBs into our water via rules and regulations that said these things were OK, ( kick it under the rug). And hasn’t hundreds of studies been published to tell EVERYONE that the stuff they use is poison (obviously) for even we the people? Isn’t it the States responsibility to keep toxic stuff out of the state via corporations who manufacture stuff with chemicals that poison and maimed and kill? Where has the State been to stop the proliferation of GMOs in the state, not here I say. We are conned into thinking things like Ben and Jerrys ice cream is NON GMO. Well hate to tell ya people GMOs are in pretty much any and everything. If you feed cows in VT any of the corn grown GMO milk comes out. same with chickens pigs and on. Same with fields that have pesticides sprayed. GMO grass now. They even put stuff in the water. So tell me who do you sue? Yourself. Stupid stupid stupid. Oh, and the only water that is free of contamination in VT is distilled or a great RO or Bone char filtration system anymore. Thanks