The Pacific Northwest port has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Oregon, alleging agrochemical manufacturer Monsanto was aware of the danger posed by polychlorinated biphenyl prior to a federal government ban in 1979.
The Port of Portland is suing agrochemical manufacturer Monsanto Co. for “widespread” contamination of the Willamette River and the port’s harbor, the port said in a statement.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Oregon, stems from Monsanto’s production of the chlorine compound polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), which has been linked to several human health impacts, such as cancer and damage to immune, reproductive and endocrine systems.
Prior to a federal government ban in 1979, PCBs were used widely in industrial and commercial applications and could be found in paint and caulk, electric transformers and capacitors, wire and cable coatings, as well as coolants, sealants and lubricants.
Monsanto was the sole producer of PCBs for more than 40 years, and according to the lawsuit, was aware of the dangers posed by PCBs well in advance of the government’s decision to ban them. The lawsuit further alleges Monsanto conspired to conceal this information in order to continue to profit from products containing PCBs.
According to the port, PCBs are the “primary contaminant driving cleanup in the Lower Willamette River and the Portland Harbor Superfund site,” and the port has spent millions studying legacy PCB contamination in and along the Willamette River and Portland harbor.
“Any decision to conceal facts about human health should have consequences,” Port of Portland Deputy Executive Director Curtis Robinhold said in a statement. “Monsanto reaped huge profits from the manufacture and sale of PCBs, and it is entirely appropriate for those faced with the cost of cleaning up this contamination to hold them accountable.”
The port is the 10th public entity in the western U.S. to sue Monsanto over PCB contamination. Law firms Baron & Budd, P.C. and Gomez Trial Attorneys are representing the port in the case, as well as the cities of Portland, Seattle, Spokane, San Jose, Oakland, Berkeley, Long Beach, San Diego, and the state of Washington.
“It’s time Monsanto do the right thing and contribute to the clean-up of their own toxic chemicals,” added John Fiske, an attorney representing the Port of Portland in the case.
Scott S. Partridge, vice president global strategy for Monsanto, said in a statement the lawsuit lacks merit as it “targets a product manufacturer for selling four to eight decades ago a lawful and useful chemical that was used by the U.S. government, the state of Oregon and local cities, and incorporated by industries into many products to make them safer.
“PCBs have not been produced in the U.S. for four decades, and the port is now pursuing an experimental case on grounds never recognized in Oregon history and which threatens to delay and derail years of Portland Harbor Superfund allocation proceedings involving the responsible parties who actually discharged PCBs,” he added. “Most of the prior cases filed by the same out-of-state contingency fee lawyers have been dismissed, and Monsanto believes this port case similarly lacks merit and conflicts with the ongoing Portland Harbor case.”
The U.S. District Court case number is 17-cv-00015, filed Jan. 4, 2017.
Port of Portland sues Monsanto over PCB contamination
