Monsanto ordered to pay $857 million to Washington school students and parent volunteers over toxic PCBs

Monsanto on Monday was ordered to pay $857 million to a group of seven former students and parent volunteers at a Washington state school who claimed the company's chemicals sickened them. 

The judgment, which was reported by Bloomberg, AFP, Reuters and other news outlets, comes as Monsanto is facing thousands of lawsuits over its weed-killing chemical Roundup. Last month, the company was ordered to pay $332 million to a man who said Roundup caused his cancer.

In the most recent case, the former students and parent volunteers claimed that exposure to Monsanto's polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, from fluorescent light fixtures caused a host of health problems, including brain damage and autoimmune disorders. PCBs, which were banned from production in 1979 due to their toxicity, were commonly used in caulking, light fixtures and other parts of buildings from the 1950s to 1970s, according to Massachusetts' Bureau of Climate and Environmental Health.

An attorney for the plaintiffs, Henry Jones, told CBS News, "No one who heard this evidence would ever change places with any of these people in exchange for all the money the jury awarded."

The jury ordered the firm to pay a total of $73 million compensation and $784 million in punitive damages to the five former students and two parent volunteers at the Sky Valley Education Center, which is located north of Seattle, according to AFP.

In a statement to CBS MoneyWatch, Monsanto said it disagreed with the verdict and plans to appeal. "We disagree with the verdict and will pursue post-trial motions and appeals to get this verdict overturned and to reduce the constitutionally excessive damages awarded," a spokesperson from Monsanto said in an emailed statement.

"The objective evidence in this case, including blood, air and other tests, demonstrates that plaintiffs were not exposed to unsafe levels of PCBs, and PCBs could not have caused their alleged injuries," the spokesperson added.

The company, which is now owned by German pharmaceutical giant Bayer, noted that it recently won a personal injury trial in Illinois with similar claims. 

Even so, Monsanto is facing additional lawsuits over PCBs, including one from the state of Vermont which alleged the chemical company knew its PCB formulations were toxic and could cause harm in humans. 

Vermont's Burlington School District has also sued Monsanto over PCBs, alleging that the company should pay for the construction of a new high school after it had to abandon the town's high school due to PCB levels that exceeded the state's limits.

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Aimee Picchi

Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports.

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