Editing Monsanto (section)

=== United States ===

==== PCBs ====
In the late 1960s, the Monsanto plant in [[Sauget, Illinois]], was the nation's largest producer of [[polychlorinated biphenyl]] (PCB) compounds, which remained in the water along Dead Creek there. An EPA official referred to Sauget as "one of the most polluted communities in the region" and "a soup of different chemicals".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06276/727066-28.stm |title=Tiny Sauget, Illinois, likes business misfits |publisher=Post-gazette.com |date=October 3, 2006 |first=William |last=Spain}}</ref>

In [[Anniston, Alabama]], plaintiffs in a 2002 lawsuit provided documentation showing that the local Monsanto factory knowingly discharged both [[Mercury (element)|mercury]] and PCB-laden waste into local creeks for over 40 years.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Monsanto Hid Decades Of Pollution|url=http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0101-02.htm|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|first=Michael|last=Grunwald|date=January 1, 2002|access-date=May 26, 2013|archive-date=November 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108111529/https://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0101-02.htm}}</ref> In 1969 Monsanto dumped 45 tons of PCBs into Snow Creek, a feeder for [[Choccolocco Creek]], which supplies much of the area's drinking water, and buried millions of pounds of PCB in open-pit landfills located on hillsides above the plant and surrounding neighborhoods.<ref>{{Cite news|title= PCB Pollution Suits Have Day in Court in Alabama |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04EED7143AF934A15752C0A9649C8B63|work=The New York Times| first=Kevin | last=Sack | date=January 27, 2002}}</ref> In August 2003, [[Solutia]] and Monsanto agreed to pay plaintiffs $700 million to settle claims by over 20,000 Anniston residents.<ref>{{cite news |author=The Associated Press |title=$700 Million Settlement in Alabama PCB Lawsuit |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/21/business/700-million-settlement-in-alabama-pcb-lawsuit.html |work=The New York Times |date=August 21, 2003}}</ref>

In June 2020, Bayer proposed paying $650 million to settle local PCB lawsuits, and $170 million to the attorneys-general of New Mexico, Washington and the District of Columbia.<ref name=bayerpays /> Monsanto was acknowledged at the time of the settlement to have ceased making PCBs in 1977, though State Impact of Pennsylvania reported that this did not stop PCBs from contaminating people many years later.<ref name=bayerpays /> State Impact of Pennsylvania stated "In 1979, the EPA banned the use of PCBs, but they still exist in some products produced before 1979. They persist in the environment because they bind to sediments and soils. High exposure to PCBs can cause birth defects, developmental delays, and liver changes." On November 25, 2020, however U.S. District Judge [[Fernando M. Olguin]] rejected the proposed $650 million settlement from Bayer and allowed Monsanto-related lawsuits involving PCB to proceed.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.semissourian.com/story/2853810.html|title=Bayer's $650 Million PCB Pollution Settlement Rejected by Judge|first1=Joel|last1=Rosenblatt|first2=Mark|last2=Chediak|publisher=Claims Journal|date=December 1, 2020|access-date=December 15, 2020}}{{dead link|date=October 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

In January 2025, Monsanto was ordered to pay $100 million to four people who say they were sickened by PCBs at a school in [[Monroe, Washington#Education|Monroe, Washington]].<ref>{{cite news | last1=Pierson | first1=Brendan | last2=Knauth | first2=Dietrich | title=Jury orders Bayer to pay $100 million over PCBs in Washington school | date=January 14, 2025 | url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/bayer-must-pay-100-million-latest-trial-over-pcbs-washington-school-jury-finds-2025-01-14/ | work=reuters.com }}</ref>

==== Polluted sites ====
As of November 2013, Monsanto was associated with nine "active" [[Superfund]] sites and 32 "archived" sites in the US, in the EPA's Superfund database.<ref>[http://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/srchsites.cfm EPA superfund search engine] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024164408/http://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/srchsites.cfm |date=October 24, 2012 }} Search for "Monsanto" in "Alias/Alternative Site Name" field, first in "active" sites, then "archived" sites, October 20, 2012</ref> Monsanto was sued and settled multiple times for damaging the health of its employees or residents near its Superfund sites through pollution and poisoning.<ref name="washingtonpost">{{Cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-338869.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402115751/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-338869.html  |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |title=Monsanto Held Liable For PCB Dumping | newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 22, 2002}}</ref><ref>[http://www.chemicalindustryarchives.org/dirtysecrets/annistonindepth/toxicity.asp "The Inside Story: Anniston, AL In-depth: Monsanto knew about PCB toxicity for decades"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050718082623/http://www.chemicalindustryarchives.org/dirtysecrets/annistonindepth/toxicity.asp |date=July 18, 2005 }}. Chemicalindustryarchives.org.</ref>

==== GM wheat ====

In 2013 a Monsanto-developed transgenic cultivar of [[glyphosate]]-resistant [[genetically modified wheat|wheat]] was discovered on a farm in Oregon, growing as a weed or [[volunteer (botany)|"volunteer plant"]]. The final Oregon field test had occurred in 2001. As of May 2013, the GMO seed source was unknown. Volunteer wheat from a former test field two miles away was tested and was not found to be glyphosate-tolerant. Monsanto faced penalties up to $1 million over potential violations of the [[Plant Protection Act]]. The discovery threatened world-leading US wheat exports, which totaled $8.1 billion in 2012.<ref name="BloombergWheat">Alan Bjerga, [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-29/monsanto-modified-wheat-unapproved-by-usda-found-in-oregon-field.html "Monsanto Modified Wheat Not Approved by USDA Found in Field"], ''Bloomberg News''. May 29, 2013.</ref><ref>Andrew Pollack, [https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/30/business/energy-environment/genetically-engineered-wheat-found-in-oregon-field.html "Modified Wheat Is Discovered in Oregon"], ''The New York Times'', May 29, 2013.</ref> This wheat variety was rarely exported to Europe and was more likely destined for Asia. Monsanto said it had destroyed all the material it held after completing trials in 2004 and it was "mystified" by its appearance.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23638-monsanto-modified-wheat-mystery-deepens-in-oregon.html|title=Monsanto modified wheat mystery deepens in Oregon |author=Andy Coghlan|magazine=New Scientist|date=2013-06-03}}</ref> On June 14, 2013, the USDA announced: "As of today, USDA has neither found nor been informed of anything that would indicate that this incident amounts to more than a single isolated incident in a single field on a single farm. All information collected so far shows no indication of the presence of GE wheat in commerce."<ref>Staff, ''Food Safety News''. June 17, 2013. [http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/06/gmo-wheat-found-in-oregon-was-isolated-incident-says-usda/#.Ub_B8ufksl8 GMO Wheat Found in Oregon Was Isolated Incident, Says USDA]</ref> As of August 30, 2013, while the source of the GM wheat remained unknown, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan had all resumed placing orders.<ref>Associated Press. August 30, 2013. [http://bigstory.ap.org/article/source-gmo-wheat-oregon-remains-mystery "Source of GMO wheat in Oregon remains mystery".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130914124347/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/source-gmo-wheat-oregon-remains-mystery |date=September 14, 2013 }}</ref>

==== Cancer risks of Roundup ====

Monsanto has faced controversy in the United States over claims that its herbicide products might be carcinogens. There is limited evidence that human cancer risk might increase as a result of occupational exposure to large amounts of glyphosate, as in agricultural work, but no good evidence of such a risk from home use, such as in domestic gardening.<ref name=cruk>{{cite web |publisher=Cancer Research UK |title=Food Controversies—Pesticides and organic foods |url=http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/diet-and-cancer/food-controversies#food_controversies4 |date=2016 |access-date=November 28, 2017}}</ref> The [[scientific consensus|consensus]] among national pesticide regulatory agencies and scientific organizations is that labeled uses of glyphosate have demonstrated no evidence of human carcinogenicity.<ref name=Tarazona>{{cite journal |last1=Tarazona |first1=Jose V. |last2=Court-Marques |first2=Daniele |last3=Tiramani |first3=Manuela |last4=Reich |first4=Hermine |last5=Pfeil |first5=Rudolf |last6=Istace |first6=Frederique |last7=Crivellente |first7=Federica |title=Glyphosate toxicity and carcinogenicity: a review of the scientific basis of the European Union assessment and its differences with IARC |journal=Archives of Toxicology |date=April 3, 2017 |volume=91 |issue=8 |pages=2723–2743 |doi=10.1007/s00204-017-1962-5 |pmid=28374158 |pmc=5515989|bibcode=2017ArTox..91.2723T }}</ref> Organizations such as the [[World Health Organization]] (WHO), the [[Food and Agriculture Organization]], [[European Commission]], Canadian [[Pest Management Regulatory Agency]], and the German [[Federal Institute for Risk Assessment]]<ref>{{cite web |title=The BfR has finalised its draft report for the re-evaluation of glyphosate – BfR |access-date=August 18, 2018 |url=https://www.bfr.bund.de/en/the_bfr_has_finalised_its_draft_report_for_the_re_evaluation_of_glyphosate-188632.html}}</ref> have concluded that there is no evidence that glyphosate poses a carcinogenic or [[genotoxic]] risk to humans.{{citation needed|date=April 2019}} However, one international scientific organization, the [[International Agency for Research on Cancer]] (IARC), affiliated with the WHO, has made claims of carcinogenicity in research reviews; in 2015 the IARC declared glyphosate "probably carcinogenic".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cressey |first1=Daniel |title=Widely used herbicide linked to cancer |url=https://www.nature.com/news/widely-used-herbicide-linked-to-cancer-1.17181 |journal=Nature |year=2015 |doi=10.1038/nature.2015.17181 |s2cid=131732731 |access-date=April 1, 2019|doi-access=free }}</ref>

As of October 30, 2019, there were 42,700 plaintiffs who said that glyphosate herbicides caused their cancer after the IARC report in 2015 linking glyphosate to cancer in humans.<ref name="8K Roundup lawsuits">{{cite news |title=Bayer's Monsanto faces 8,000 lawsuits on glyphosate |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bayer-glyphosate-lawsuits/bayers-monsanto-sued-by-8000-plaintiffs-on-glyphosate-idUSKCN1L81J0 |publisher=Reuters |access-date=September 11, 2018 |date=2018-08-23}}</ref><ref name=NatureonWHO2015>{{cite journal |first1=Daniel |last1=Cressey |name-list-style=vanc |url=http://www.nature.com/news/widely-used-herbicide-linked-to-cancer-1.17181 |title=Widely used herbicide linked to cancer |journal=Nature |date=March 25, 2015 |doi=10.1038/nature.2015.17181 |s2cid=131732731|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="IARC Mono 112">{{cite book |url=https://monographs.iarc.fr/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/mono112.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808103032/https://monographs.iarc.fr/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/mono112.pdf |archive-date=2018-08-08 |url-status=live |title=IARC Monographs, Volume 112. Glyphosate, in: Some Organophosphate Insecticides and Herbicides |last1=International Agency for Research on Cancer |date=2017 |publisher=IARC/WHO |location=Lyon |pages=321–412}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Bayer's Roundup Headache Grows as Plaintiffs Pile Into Court |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-30/bayer-is-now-facing-42-700-plaintiffs-in-roundup-litigation |access-date=31 October 2019 |work=Bloomberg |date=October 30, 2019}}</ref> Monsanto denies that Roundup is carcinogenic.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/15/health/roundup-herbicide-cancer-allegations/index.html|title=Patients: Roundup gave us cancer as EPA official helped the company|first=Holly |last=Yan |others=Photographs by John Francis Peters for |publisher=CNN |access-date=2018-08-13}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/10/health/monsanto-johnson-trial-verdict/index.html |title=Jurors give $289 million to a man they say got cancer from Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller |first=Holly |last=Yan |publisher=CNN |access-date=2018-08-13}}</ref>

In March 2017, 40 plaintiffs filed a lawsuit at the [[Alameda County Superior Court]], a branch of the California Superior Court, asking for damages caused by the company's glyphosate-based weed-killers, including Roundup, and demanding a jury trial.<ref name="rec">{{cite news|last1=Breitler|first1=Alex|title=SJ, Lode residents among those suing Monsanto claiming Roundup linked to cancer|url=http://www.recordnet.com/news/20170327/sj-lode-residents-among-those-suing-monsanto-claiming-roundup-linked-to-cancer|access-date=2017-04-25|publisher=The Stockton Record|date=2017-03-27}}</ref> On August 10, 2018, Monsanto lost the first decided case. Dewayne Johnson, who has [[Non-Hodgkin lymphoma|non-Hodgkin's lymphoma]], was initially awarded $289 million in damages after a jury in San Francisco said that Monsanto had failed to adequately warn consumers of cancer risks posed by the herbicide. Pending appeal, the award was later reduced to $78.5 million.<ref>{{cite news |title=Monsanto appeals Roundup cancer verdict |url=https://phys.org/news/2018-11-monsanto-appeals-roundup-cancer-verdict.html |work=Phys.org |access-date=November 30, 2018}}</ref><ref name="ABC7">{{cite web |title=Roundup maker Monsanto appeals $78.5 million verdict over Bay Area man's cancer |url=https://abc7news.com/society/roundup-maker-monsanto-appeals-$785-million-verdict-over-bay-area-mans-cancer/4728882/ |website=ABC7 San Francisco |access-date=November 30, 2018 |date=November 21, 2018}}</ref> In November 2018, Monsanto appealed the judgement, asking an appellate court to consider a motion for a new trial.<ref name="ABC7"/> A verdict on the appeal was delivered in June 2020 upholding the verdict but further reducing the award to $21.5 million.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Egelko |first1=Bob |title=Award to Vallejo groundskeeper in Monsanto cancer case slashed again - verdict upheld |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Award-to-Vallejo-groundskeeper-in-Monsanto-cancer-15421705.php |access-date=3 March 2021 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=21 July 2020}}</ref>

On March 27, 2019, Monsanto was found liable in a federal court for Edwin Hardeman's non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and ordered to pay $80 million in damages. A spokesperson for Bayer, by this time the parent company of Monsanto, said the company would appeal the verdict.<ref>{{cite news |last=Levin |first=Sam |title=Monsanto found liable for California man's cancer and ordered to pay $80m in damages |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/mar/27/monsanto-trial-verdict-cancer-jury |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=March 27, 2019 |access-date=March 28, 2019 }}</ref>

On May 13, 2019, a jury in California ordered Bayer to pay $2 billion in damages after finding that the company had failed to adequately inform consumers of the possible carcinogenicity of Roundup.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-13/bayer-loses-its-third-trial-over-claims-roundup-causes-cancer |title=Bayer's $2 Billion Roundup Damages Boost Pressure to Settle |publisher=Bloomberg News |access-date=2019-05-14}}</ref> On July 26, 2019, an Alameda County judge cut the settlement to $86.7 million, stating that the judgement by the jury exceeded legal precedent.<ref>{{cite news |title=Judge cuts $2 billion award for couple with cancer to $86.7 million in Roundup lawsuit |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/07/26/judge-cuts-billion-award-couple-with-cancer-million-roundup-lawsuit |date=2019-07-26 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |first=Taylor |last=Telford |access-date=2019-07-27}}</ref>

In June 2020, Monsanto acquisitor Bayer agreed to settle over a hundred thousand Roundup cancer lawsuits, agreeing to pay $8.8 to $9.6 billion to settle those claims, and $1.5 billion for any future claims. The settlement does not include three cases that have already gone to jury trials and are being appealed.<ref name=bayerpays>{{cite news |last1=Chappell |first1=Bill |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=12 July 2020 |publisher=NPR |date=24 June 2020}}</ref>

====Dicamba lawsuits====
Following a lawsuit by a [[peach]] farmer alleging that Dicamba used as a weed killer drifted in the wind from adjacent crops to destroy his peach orchards, a [[Missouri]] trial jury found in February 2020 that Monsanto and codefendant [[BASF]] were negligent in design of Dicamba and failed to warn farmers about the product, awarding $15 million for losses and $250 million in [[punitive damages]].<ref name="ruff">{{cite news |url=https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/monsanto-basf-will-pay-250-million-punitive-damages-first-dicamba-trial |title=Monsanto, BASF Will Pay $250 Million In Punitive Damages In First Dicamba Trial |author=Corrine Ruff |date=15 February 2020 |work=St. Louis Public Radio |access-date=15 February 2020}}</ref> On February 14, 2020, the jury involved in a Missouri lawsuit involving tree damage caused by dicamba drift ruled against Bayer and its co-defendant BASF and found in favor of Bader Farms owner Bill Bader.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stltoday.com/business/local/jury-finds-in-favor-of-missouri-peach-grower-in-lawsuit/article_adcb9979-ca3e-557b-878e-7be4e301adbc.html|title = Jury finds in favor of Missouri peach grower in lawsuit against Bayer, BASF| date=February 14, 2020 }}</ref> In June 2020, Bayer agreed to a settlement of up to $400 million for all 2015–2020 crop year dicamba claims, not including the $250 million judgement which was issued to Bader.<ref name=bayerpays /> On November 25, 2020, U.S. District Judge [[Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr.|Stephen Limbaugh Jr.]] reduced the punitive damage amount in the Bader Farms case to $60 million.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.semissourian.com/story/2853810.html|title=District Judge orders reduction of punitive damages in dicamba case|first=J.C.|last=Reeves|publisher=Southeast Missourian|date=December 15, 2020|access-date=December 15, 2020}}{{dead link|date=October 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>