Editing Polychlorinated biphenyl (section)

===Lawsuits related to health effects===
{{POV section|date=July 2023}}
In the early 1990s, Monsanto faced several lawsuits over harm caused by PCBs from workers at companies such as Westinghouse that bought PCBs from Monsanto and used them to build electrical equipment.<ref>Robert Steyer. ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch''. November 25, 1991. "Settlement Doesn't End Monsanto's Woes". Accessed via Factiva July 12, 2020.</ref> Monsanto and its customers, such as Westinghouse and GE, also faced litigation from third parties, such as workers at scrap yards that bought used electrical equipment and broke them down to reclaim valuable metals.<ref>{{cite court |litigants= Monsanto Company, Appellant, v. William Reed, et al., Appellees. Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Appellant, v. Monsanto Company, et al., Appellees |vol= 95-SC-549-DG, 95-SC-561-DG |court= Supreme Court of Kentucky |date= April 24, 1997 |url= https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ky-supreme-court/1243307.html |access-date= }}</ref><ref>{{cite court |litigants= High v. Westinghouse Elec. Corp |vol= 610 So.2d 1259 |court= Supreme Court of Florida |date= June 11, 1992 |url= http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx?xmldoc=19921869610So2d1259_11621.xml&docbase=CSLWAR2-1986-2006|access-date= }}</ref> Monsanto settled some of these cases and won the others, on the grounds that it had clearly told its customers that PCBs were dangerous chemicals and that protective procedures needed to be implemented.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lawsuit: Monsanto PCBs Continue To Drain Into Los Angeles Harbors, Lakes Decades After Being Banned By EPA |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/lawsuit-monsanto-pcbs-drain-los-angeles-harbors-lakes-decades-after-epa-ban/ |access-date=2022-06-17 |website=www.cbsnews.com |date=8 March 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2003, Monsanto and [[Solutia Inc.]], a Monsanto corporate spin-off, reached a $700 million settlement with the residents of [[Anniston, Alabama|West Anniston, Alabama]], who had been affected by the manufacturing and dumping of PCBs.<ref name="The New York Times">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/21/business/700-million-settlement-in-alabama-pcb-lawsuit.html | title=$700 Million Settlement in Alabama PCB Lawsuit | newspaper=The New York Times | date=21 August 2003 | access-date=12 July 2020}}</ref><ref name="Alabama"/> In a trial lasting six weeks, the jury found that "Monsanto had engaged in outrageous behavior, and held the corporations and its corporate successors liable on all six counts it considered&nbsp;– including negligence, nuisance, wantonness and suppression of the truth."<ref name="60 Minutes CBS News">{{cite web | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/toxic-secret-07-11-2002/ | title=Toxic Secret Alabama Town Was Never Warned Of Contamination | publisher=CBS News | date=November 2007 | access-date=12 July 2020 | vauthors = Crean E }}</ref>{{unreliable source?|reason=I don't think that's a real charge|date=July 2023}}

In 2014, the Los Angeles Superior Court found that Monsanto was not liable for cancers claimed to be from PCBs permeating the food supply of three plaintiffs who had developed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. After a four-week trial, the jury found that Monsanto's production and sale of PCBs between 1935 and 1977 were not substantial causes of the cancer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.law360.com/articles/540961/jury-finds-monsanto-pcbs-not-to-blame-for-cancer-cases|title=Jury Finds Monsanto PCBs Not To Blame For Cancer Cases| vauthors = Scurria A |publisher=Law360|date=22 May 2014|access-date=12 June 2020}}</ref>

In 2015, the cities of Spokane, San Diego, and San Jose initiated lawsuits against Monsanto to recover cleanup costs for PCB contaminated sites, alleging that Monsanto continued to sell PCBs without adequate warnings after they knew of their toxicity. Monsanto issued a media statement concerning the San Diego case, claiming that improper use or disposal by third-parties, of a lawfully sold product, was not the company's responsibility.<ref>{{cite news|title=Spokane sues Monsanto over Spokane River contamination|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/spokane-sues-monsanto-over-spokane-river-contamination/|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=The Seattle Times|date=3 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| vauthors = Johnson EM |title=Spokane, Washington, sues Monsanto over PCBs in polluted state river|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/aug/3/spokane-sues-monsanto-over-spokane-river-contamina/|access-date=23 September 2015|agency=Reuters|date=August 4, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| vauthors = Payton M |title=City of San Diego Sues Monsanto Over PCB Pollution|url=http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/City-of-San-Diego-Sues-Monsanto-Over-PCB-Pollution-322446342.html|access-date=22 August 2015|publisher=NBC 7 San Diego|date=21 August 2015}}</ref>

In July 2015, a St Louis county court in Missouri found that Monsanto, Solutia, Pharmacia and Pfizer were not liable for a series of deaths and injuries caused by PCBs manufactured by [[Monsanto Chemical Company]] until 1977. The trial took nearly a month and the jury took a day of deliberations to return a verdict against the plaintiffs from throughout the USA.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/monsanto-pcb-lawsuit-set-to-begin-in-st-louis-county/article_a5101269-fa99-520c-88c5-325ffa80ec16.html|title=Monsanto PCB lawsuit set to begin in St. Louis County|publisher=St Louis Post-Despatch| vauthors = Barker T |date=11 June 2015|access-date=29 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/monsanto-prevails-in-pcb-lawsuit/article_9a5699ef-f545-5ad2-8f67-624f78fb10b7.html|title=Monsanto prevails in PCB lawsuit|publisher=St Louis Post-Despatch| vauthors = Barker T |date=7 July 2015|access-date=12 July 2020}}</ref> Similar cases are ongoing. "The evidence simply doesn't support the assertion that the historic use of PCB products was the cause of the plaintiffs' harms. We are confident that the jury will conclude, as two other juries have found in similar cases, that the former Monsanto Company is not responsible for the alleged injuries," a Monsanto statement said.<ref>{{cite news| vauthors = Barker T |title=Monsanto faces another PCB trial in St. Louis|url=http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/monsanto-faces-another-pcb-trial-in-st-louis/article_d5f46e4b-0631-5a92-8fbb-cd814ac19f13.html|access-date=12 July 2020|publisher=St Louis Post-Dispatch|date=October 1, 2015}}</ref>

In May 2016, a Missouri state jury ordered Monsanto to pay $46.5 million to three plaintiffs whose exposure to PCB caused non-Hodgkin lymphoma.<ref>{{cite news| vauthors = Currier J |title=St. Louis jury orders Monsanto to pay $46.5 million in latest PCB lawsuit|url=http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/st-louis-jury-orders-monsanto-to-pay-million-in-latest/article_08e25795-0d36-5155-999c-c6bd954a6c2e.html|access-date=13 December 2016|newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|date=May 26, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | vauthors = Parker S |title=Monsanto Plans $280M for PCB Personal Injury Settlements |url= http://www.law360.com/articles/848456/monsanto-plans-280m-for-pcb-personal-injury-settlements |website=Law360.com|publisher=Law360|access-date=20 July 2020}}</ref>

In December 2016, the state of Washington filed suit in King County. The state sought damages and clean up costs related to PCBs.<ref>{{Cite press release | url=http://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/ag-ferguson-makes-washington-first-state-sue-monsanto-over-pcb-damages-cleanup | title=AG Ferguson makes Washington first state to sue Monsanto over PCB damages, cleanup cost |date=8 Dec 2016 |publisher=Washington State Office of the Attorney General}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://agportal-s3bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/uploadedfiles/Another/News/Press_Releases/WA_Complaint_FINALnew.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217143609/http://agportal-s3bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/uploadedfiles/Another/News/Press_Releases/WA_Complaint_FINALnew.pdf |archive-date=2017-02-17 |url-status=live|title=State of Washington v. Monsanto Company, Solutia Inc. and Pharmacia Corporation|website=Agportal-s3bucket.s3.amazonaws.com|access-date=June 26, 2022}}</ref> In March 2018 [[Ohio Attorney General]] [[Mike DeWine]] also filed a lawsuit against [[Monsanto]] over health issues posed by PCBs.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/monsanto-concealed-effects-toxic-chemical-decades-ohio-ag-alleges-n853866|date=March 6, 2018 |first=Tim |last= Stelloh| title=Monsanto concealed effects of toxic chemical for decades, Ohio AG says in suit| website=[[NBC News]]}}</ref>

On November 21, 2019, a federal judge denied a bid by Monsanto to dismiss a lawsuit filed by LA County calling the company to clean up cancer-causing PCBs from Los Angeles County waterways and storm sewer pipelines.<ref name=lacounty>{{cite news|url=https://www.courthousenews.com/judge-advances-la-countys-spat-with-monsanto-over-pcbs-cleanup/|title=Judge Advances LA County's Spat With Monsanto Over PCB Cleanup|author=Martin Macias Jr |newspaper=Courthouse News Service|access-date=June 26, 2022}}</ref> The lawsuit calls for Monsanto to pay for cleanup of PCBs from dozens of waterways, including the LA River, San Gabriel River and the Dominguez Watershed.<ref name=lacounty />

In June 2020, Bayer agreed to pay $650 million to settle local lawsuits related to Monsanto's pollution of public waters in various areas of the United States with PCBs.<ref name=healthafter>{{cite news | vauthors = Chappell B |title=Bayer To Pay More Than $10 Billion To Resolve Cancer Lawsuits Over Weedkiller Roundup |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/06/24/882949098/bayer-to-pay-more-than-10-billion-to-resolve-roundup-cancer-lawsuits |access-date=26 June 2020 |publisher=NPR |date=24 June 2020}}</ref>

In 2023, over 90 Vermont school districts joined a lawsuit against Monsanto alleging that PCBs created by the company were used in the construction of their schools. The [[Vermont Attorney General]]'s office also filed its own lawsuit against Monsanto related to the use of its PCBs.<ref>{{cite news |work=[[Seven Days (newspaper)|Seven Days]] |access-date=4 July 2023 |last=Novak |first=Alison |date=30 June 2023 |url=https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/more-than-90-vermont-school-districts-sue-monsanto-over-pcbs/Content?oid=38563024 |title=More Than 90 Vermont School Districts Sue Monsanto Over PCBs}}</ref>