Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are chemical compounds that had been produced by the biotech firm Monsanto and had been utilized in a variety of merchandise as a consequence of their capability to resist excessive temperatures and strain. Nonetheless, they had been banned in 1979 after their carcinogenic potential and toxicity had been revealed — though, apparently, Monsanto has identified about their toxicity for many years.
Now, the biotech large (now underneath Bayer) is being sued as soon as once more, this time by Aaron Frey, the lawyer common of Maine. “I’m taking motion to demand that Monsanto pay for the hurt it knowingly triggered our state,” he stated.1
Monsanto Accused of ‘Many years-Lengthy Marketing campaign of Misinformation and Deception’
On April 11, 2024, Frey filed a 47-page grievance2 in Cumberland County Superior Courtroom, accusing Monsanto of promoting PCBs regardless of being conscious of their risks to human well being, wildlife and the atmosphere. In line with an article printed on Maine Wire:3
“The grievance alleges that Monsanto, regardless of ‘early information of the grave risks related to PCBs,’ ran a ‘decades-long marketing campaign of misinformation and deception’ to extend their charge of manufacture and sale of PCBs in Maine and elsewhere.
‘From 1960 to the mid-Seventies alone, Monsanto offered not less than lots of of 1000’s of kilos of business PCB mixtures to prospects in Maine,’ the swimsuit reads.”
PCBs have triggered intensive injury to the state’s sources, polluting over 400 river stream miles and over 1.9 million ocean acres, classifying them as “impaired” because of the presence of those chemical substances.
The lawsuit claims that PCB-specific fish and shellfish consumption advisories have additionally been issued by the state due to contamination, and the general public is suggested to both keep away from consuming fish or to severely restrict the consumption of sure fish.
PCBs: One among Monsanto’s Most Poisonous Legacies
PCBs are artifical chemical substances consisting of hydrogen, carbon and chlorine atoms. They don’t have any style or odor and have a liquid construction that’s both oily or waxy. They had been first produced in 19294 by the Swann Chemical Company.5 Throughout that point, PCBs had been sought-after chemical substances due to their excessive resistance to excessive temperatures and strain, making them useful to be used as hearth retardants and insulators.
The U.S. Environmental Safety Company’s web site lists among the makes use of of PCBs in industrial and business purposes, akin to:6
- Electrical and hydraulic gear, in addition to warmth switch purposes
- Paints (as plasticizers), plastics and rubber merchandise
- Carbonless copy paper
- Pigments and dyes
After Monsanto bought and absorbed Swann Chemical in 1935, they continued to fabricate and commercialize PCBs (offered underneath the model title Aroclor), licensing these chemical substances to different firms as nicely. Up till its ban, general world manufacturing of PCBs was estimated to be between 1 and 1.5 million tonnes.7 The Maine Wire stories:8
“Monsanto manufactured and offered PCBs from about 1935 to 1977, throughout that interval accounting for 99 p.c or extra of all PCBs used or offered throughout the U.S., and used PCBs in all kinds of merchandise, together with paints, caulks, inks, dyes, lubricants, plastics, and different purposes.”
Frey says that he has copies of Monsanto inner memos verifying his claims — that the corporate was conscious of the dangers of PCBs however selected to show a blind eye for the sake of revenue.
There Are Dozens of Lawsuits Regarding PCBs’ Risks
Frey’s grievance provides to the rising checklist of lawsuits towards Monsanto over their PCB merchandise. In December 2023, the biotech large was ordered to pay $857 million to college students and oldsters from a Washington state college who claimed that the PCBs from fluorescent lighting fixtures triggered mind injury, autoimmune problems and different well being points. In a CBS Information article, Keri C. Hornbuckle, a professor and environmental engineer on the College of Iowa, stated:9
“Though they had been banned in 1979, they’re nonetheless current within the atmosphere. PCBs are known as eternally chemical substances as a result of they break down so slowly — PFAS compounds are additionally known as that for a similar motive.”
In July 2023, 90 college districts in Vermont additionally sued Monsanto citing poisonous PCB contamination of the indoor air of their academic buildings. In line with an article from the Related Press,10 college students and faculty workers might be uncovered to PCBs once they breathe in or inhale contaminated mud and vapors. Touching surfaces with their palms, then utilizing them for consuming or ingesting may cause them to ingest PCBs.
A yr earlier, Vermont turned the primary state within the nation to require older faculties to check their indoor air for these chemical substances. The lawsuit11 states that eradicating PCBs might be costly, because it may require demolishing buildings and constructing new ones. This might doubtlessly value lots of of thousands and thousands (if not billions) of {dollars}.12
Monsanto Responds, Claims Allegations Are ‘Meritless’
The Maine Wire stories that Frey can also be looking for damages for the accidents and contamination Monsanto’s poisonous chemical substances triggered to the folks and the atmosphere. This may cowl the prices wanted for cleansing, monitoring and mitigating the state’s waterways which have been polluted by PCBs.13
In response to the Maine lawsuit, Monsanto issued an announcement, claiming that they’ve “robust defenses and can vigorously defend towards these claims.”14 In line with their press launch:15
“We’ll reply to the grievance in larger element in courtroom on the applicable time, nonetheless, we imagine this case is meritless as Monsanto by no means manufactured or disposed of PCBs within the State of Maine, and any PCB-containing merchandise that could possibly be the supply of any impairments within the state had been manufactured and disposed by third events …
Beneath relevant legislation, a producer of element elements isn’t answerable for the downstream, third-party makes use of of a product that it lawfully launched into the stream of commerce and over which it has had no management for practically 5 a long time …
Monsanto discontinued its manufacturing of PCBs practically 5 a long time in the past, performed lots of of research about their security, and offered warnings to its prospects primarily based on the state-of-the science on the time.”
PCBs Have Been Linked to Most cancers and Different Well being Considerations
Regardless of being banned for many years, PCBs are nonetheless pervasive within the atmosphere, primarily as a result of they “resist degradation, relatively than breaking down over time.”16 Consequently, they’re discovered all around the world — each considered one of us has been uncovered to those poisonous chemical substances. The EPA web site explains:17
“PCBs don’t readily break down as soon as within the atmosphere. They’ll stay for lengthy intervals biking between air, water and soil. PCBs might be carried lengthy distances and have been present in snow and sea water in areas removed from the place they had been launched into the atmosphere. As a consequence, they’re discovered all around the world. On the whole, the lighter the type of PCB, the additional it may be transported from the supply of contamination.
PCBs can accumulate within the leaves and above-ground elements of vegetation and meals crops. They’re additionally taken up into the our bodies of small organisms and fish. Consequently, individuals who ingest fish could also be uncovered to PCBs which have bioaccumulated within the fish they’re ingesting.”
PCBs have been related to numerous antagonistic results and several other research18,19,20 have confirmed that they will put folks vulnerable to most cancers and different well being issues. A 2022 evaluate21 printed within the journal Toxics notes that they will goal your nervous, endocrine (thyroid, thymus, pancreas and gonads), reproductive, cardiovascular and immune programs.22 The extra they accumulate, the extra harmful they change into.
In Utero Publicity to PCBs Might Result in Autism in Kids
What’s alarming about PCBs is that they will even have an effect on unborn kids. In line with a 2021 meta-analysis23 that checked out 12 beforehand printed research, being uncovered to PCBs and pesticides throughout being pregnant can put your unborn little one at the next danger of autism. The researchers famous:24
“We evaluated the affiliation between pesticide and PCB publicity throughout being pregnant and the danger of creating ASDs amongst totally different kids in keeping with out there proof from case-control and cohort epidemiological research.
The outcomes of the current examine point out the importance of the affiliation between pesticide and PCB publicity throughout being pregnant and the danger of ASDs amongst kids.”
One Strategy to Cut back Your PCB Publicity: Select Secure Seafood
Regardless of the ever present nature of PCBs, the excellent news is that there are specific measures you may take to cut back your publicity. In Maine’s lawsuit,25 for instance, they famous that residents have been warned of PCB contamination in fish and shellfish, permitting them to make the sensible option to keep away from these contaminated merchandise.
The actual fact is that the majority main waterways on the planet are actually contaminated with PCBs and different toxins like mercury, heavy metals, dioxins and different agricultural chemical substances that wind up within the atmosphere. Nonetheless, sure marine fish species are at a decrease danger of carrying these chemical substances. Your greatest decisions are small, cold-water, fatty fish, that are a really perfect supply of omega-3s with a low danger of contamination.
- Anchovies
- Sardines
- Mackerel
- Herring
- Wild-caught Alaskan salmon (licensed)
There’s a low danger of genuine wild-caught salmon accumulating excessive quantities of mercury and different toxins due to its quick life cycle, which is just about three years. Moreover, bioaccumulation of poisons can also be lowered because it would not feed on different, already contaminated, fish.
