State reaches settlement with Monsanto over PCB contamination

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The state Attorney General has announced a settlement with Monsanto Company and two of its affiliates over contamination caused by PCBs in Hawaii waterways and natural resources.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, are man-made organic chemicals that were used in a wide variety of products. They were banned under the federal Toxic Substances Control Act in 1979 following mounting evidence that they were toxic to human health and the environment.

The EPA said PCBs were once in everything from electrical equipment and motors and sealants and paper products, and could still be in old oil-based paints and plastics.

“PCBs, they’re very persistent, they don’t break down in the environment,” said Wayne Tanaka, chapter director of the Sierra Club Hawaii.

“They are very, very toxic. They are associated with cancers, tumors, developmental issues with children who are exposed through their mothers,” he added.

Monsanto was the sole manufacturer of PCBs in the U.S. from the 1930s until 1977, when it voluntarily ceased production.

The ag giant has now agreed to pay the state $10 million, and potentially up to $35 million more, depending on the outcome of other PCB-related legal actions.

State Rep. Amy Perruso is vice chair of the House Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection. She praised the attorney general for securing the settlement, but was not satisfied with the amount.

“This settlement, I would say, is minimal, considering the extent of the damage and the length of the time period in which we experienced that damage,” said Perruso.

In a statement, Monsanto said, “During the time of manufacture, Monsanto conducted hundreds of studies on PCB safety, provided appropriate warnings to its sophisticated industrial customers based on state-of-the science at the time and cooperated with the U.S. government’s 1972 interdepartmental study.”

The company also said, “Additionally, data reported to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about PCB impairments of waterways show that PCBs in the environment are generally declining 45 years after production ceased.”

The settlement doesn’t contain any admission of liability or wrongdoing by Monsanto.

“If corporations were actually treated as persons, this person would be in jail,” said Perruso.

“For me as a father of a young child, I worry, right?,” said Tanaka. “What am I exposing her at the beach? Can I take her fishing? Can we eat the fish that I used to enjoy, knowing now that these chemicals could be persistent in the environment?”

The settlement said the funds will be used for restitution and remediation for alleged harms due to PCB contamination, but a spokesperson for the attorney general said there are no specific projects or programs yet.