Monsanto faces poison claims

5 June 2000



Monsanto faces poison claims

CLAIMS that life sciences giant Monsanto poisoned 3,000 people in a small US town are investigated in The Guardian.

Residents in Anniston, Alabama, believe a nearby Monsanto chemical plant was responsible for an array of health problems.

They say conditions ranging from damaged ovaries to acute toxic syndrome are caused by PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) discharged by the plant.

Before production in the US was restricted in 1979, PCBs were found in insulating material and electrical appliances.

Residents filing suit a against Monsanto claim the company knew it was introducing PCBs into the environment, knew the hazards, failed to inform the community, then tried to conceal this.

Monsanto denies these allegations but the company conceded that much of the area is contaminated by PCBs.

The company says its chemical discharges were negligible and the effect on the environment were not fully understood in the 60s and 70s.