Washington State Sues Monsanto

With today's Fruit Grower Report, I'm Bob Larson. Nearly four decades after production of PCBs were stopped, Washington becomes the first state to sue Monsanto for damages and cleanup costs.

State Attorney General Bob Ferguson says the Missouri-based company was polluting the environment for decades ...

BOB FERGUSON ... "What I find especially maddening about this situation is that when you look at Monsanto's internal documents, they literally have internal documents in which they are upfront about putting profits ahead of the environment and the safety of the population. And that's a part of our complaint and will be a part of our case moving forward as well."

Ferguson says it's a significant lawsuit ...

BOB FERGUSON ... "We'll be seeking hundreds of millions of dollars, if not more, from Monsanto. And what we are asserting is that Monsanto knew internally of the dangers and risks associated with PCBs. Despite that, they concealed that information and continued to manufacture.

You can't do that. And, as a result, there's been great harm to the state."

He says it's hard to measure, but the pollution continues to show up in our state ...

BOB FERGUSON ... "As Washingtonians, we value the beauty of our state, the natural resources of our state, and Monsanto, a powerful corporation, did not play by the rules, concealed information, and that's harming our environment and the people of our state. It's not right!"

PCBs were used in numerous products like automobile oil, paints and insecticides.

Monsanto says the case lacks merit.