Maine AG Sued Monsanto for Harms Caused by PCBs

APRIL 11, 2024

Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey announced a lawsuit against Monsanto alleging that the large agrochemical company knew of the harms caused by the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) it manufactured, but continued to sell them anyway. PCBs are a type of toxic, man-made chemical that are extremely resistant to breaking down; most uses were banned by the federal government in the 1970s. According to the lawsuit, Monsanto “knew about PCBs’ toxicity many years before they were banned but continued selling them and even ramped up its sales after widespread harms were documented.” The lawsuit sought damages, including clean up costs for the waterways in Maine contaminated with PCBs—approximately 400 miles of rivers and 1.8 million acres of ocean.