CINCINNATI (Legal Newsline) — Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced March 5 that his office is suing Monsanto over allegations of producing and selling toxic chemical compounds known as PCBs despite knowing the products were hazardous.
“Ohioans deserve to enjoy their natural resources without contamination from these toxic chemicals, and we believe Monsanto should be held responsible for the damage it caused,” DeWine said. “Our goal in taking this action is to protect Ohio, its citizens and its natural resources.”
DeWine’s office wants PCBs removed from the state’s natural resources. DeWine also seeks compensation and damages for Ohio.
Monsanto manufactured and sold PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, for nearly 50 years from 1929 to 1977. Monsanto produced roughly 99 percent of all PCBs during that time. PCBs were used in a variety of applications: paints, inks, caulks, sealants, lubricants, electrical equipment, and carbonless copy paper.
PCBs are harmful to the environment because they do not break down over time. Instead, they build up in living things and contaminate food chains. According to DeWine’s office, Ohio’s rivers, creeks, lakes, ponds and other bodies of water are contaminated with the substance. In addition to these bodies of water, PCBs have been found in fish, soil, plants and the air.