Walnut Creek Joins Class-Action Lawsuit Against Monsanto Over PCBs

WALNUT CREEK, CA — Walnut Creek joined Concord and Contra Costa County in filing a class action lawsuit against Monsanto Corporation, Solutia, and Pharmacia LLC.

The complaint, which was filed in Contra Costa County Superior Court in December, alleges that these three companies knowingly spread the harmful polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in these jurisdictions. PCB contamination is widespread in the Delta and across the Bay Area. PCB contamination in the bay has been so high that the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has advised not to eat certain types of fish caught there.

PCBs have ended up in the county’s and municipalities’ wastewater and stormwater systems, and Walnut Creek and other cities are required to implement a wide range of expensive actions.

“Monsanto and the other defendants knew their products were harmful to human health and the environment, but chose to mislead the public about that in order to maximize their profits,” Karen Mitchoff, Chair of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, said in a statement. “Our lawsuit will hold them accountable for their actions, and for the massive costs of cleaning up the contamination. They should pay to clean up their mess, not our taxpayers.”

The suit alleges that Monsanto knew about the public health and environmental threats caused by PCBs for more than 50 years, but deliberately misled the public and environmental regulators. Monsanto produced nearly 99 percent of all PCBs used in the United States starting in the 1930s until their manufacture was banned in the 1970s. The lawsuit alleges that Monsanto’s own internal documents prove that company officials knew and warned about the dangers to human health and the environment from PCBs, but continued manufacturing them anyway.

Monsanto has been involved in a number of similar suits. In December, the Oregon attorney general announced a nearly $700 million settlement with Monsanto over its alleged role in polluting the state over decades with PCBs.

Monsanto could not be reached for comment.

Other plaintiffs include the county and the following municipalities:

• Brentwood
• Clayton
• Concord
• Danville
• Hercules
• Lafayette
• Martinez
• Moraga
• Oakley
• Orinda
• Pinole
• Pittsburg
• Pleasant Hill
• Richmond
• San Pablo
• San Ramon