U.S.

Monsanto Loses PCB Suit

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

February 22, 2002 / 7:59 AM EST / CBS

A jury ruled Friday that Monsanto Co. polluted an Alabama town with PCBs from a chemical plant over several decades, a verdict that sets the stage for more trials on claims the contamination harmed property and the residents' health.

The verdict by the state court jury came in a lawsuit against Monsanto and its spinoff, Solutia Inc.

The verdict also went against Pharmacia Corp., which merged with Monsanto in 2000. The companies were found liable for claims including negligence.

Jurors did not say how much money the plaintiffs should receive. Circuit Judge Joel Laird said that would be decided later.

The suit had more than 3,500 plaintiffs when initially filed, but the trial focused on claims by 16 residents and one business that said Monsanto's Anniston plant had harmed their property and caused emotional distress.

Donald Stewart, an attorney representing those who filed suit, said he was "gratified" by the verdict.

Attorneys representing the companies had no immediate comment.

PCB's - chemicals once sold as an insulating fluid in electrical capacitors and transformers - were banned in 1977 after the EPA ruled they were probable carcinogens.

CBS News Correspondent Mark Strassman reports fear of PCB contamination has caused entire neighborhoods in Anniston to disappear.

Elsewhere, the fear is there, but residents are living in homes that are now worthless - impossible to sell.

Opal Scruggs lives in one of those homes.

"I'm a ticking time bomb," said Scruggs, in an interview with CBS News. "That's how I feel."

Scruggs says she has a brain tumor and high PCB levels in both her blood and in the dirt outside her home.

Speaking at the trial, lead defense attorney Jere White said Monsanto was a corporate leader when it voluntarily closed the Anniston plant in 1971. It also capped landfills and built retention ponds to contain waste from the chemical once sold as an industrial coolant, he said.

"That was money going out the door, now they want to punish us for it," said White, who also represents Solutia Inc.

But defense attorneys described Monsanto and Solutia as deceptive and dishonest.

"They did everything they could ... to cover up the PCB problem and avoid cleaning up the mess," said Donald Stewart, representing residents. "I mean cover up the problem so no one could find out the extent or nature of the contamination and what it had done to this community."

Other phases of the trial could include personal injury claims and a request for an injunction requiring the removal of PCBs from contaminated areas in Anniston.