© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A bridge is adorned with the brand of a Bayer AG, a German pharmaceutical and chemical maker in Wuppertal, Germany August 9, 2019. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay
By Tom Hals
(Reuters) – Bayer AG (DE:) reached an $80 million settlement with Ohio to resolve environmental harm allegedly brought on by polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, made by the corporate’s Monsanto (NYSE:) enterprise, the state lawyer basic mentioned on Thursday.
The funds from the German firm, which didn’t admit legal responsibility, can be used for environmental cleanup, the lawyer basic mentioned.
Monsanto, which Bayer (OTC:) acquired for $63 billion in 2018, by no means manufactured PCBs in Ohio or discharged them into Ohio waterways, Bayer mentioned in a press release.
PCBs had been as soon as used extensively to insulate electrical gear, and had been utilized in carbonless copy paper, caulking, ground end and paint. They had been outlawed by the U.S. authorities in 1979 after being linked to most cancers.
Bayer has been attempting to resolve 1000’s of lawsuits associated to Monsanto’s PCBs, which had been utilized in business merchandise from 1935 till 1977, when Monsanto voluntarily ceased manufacturing.
Along with reaching authorized settlements with states, the corporate reached a $648 million proposed class motion settlement with cities and different native governments and final week it acquired preliminary approval for that settlement.
Class members should resolve whether or not to assist the deal, object to the phrases or choose out and pursue their very own case, as town of Los Angeles did earlier this month.
Bayer can withdraw from the settlement if greater than 2% of the category members choose out.
Bayer additionally faces private damage circumstances stemming from PCB publicity.
Two separate juries final 12 months awarded a mixed $247 million in damages stemming from publicity in a faculty in Washington state. Bayer mentioned the proof confirmed the plaintiffs weren’t uncovered to unsafe ranges of PCBs and the corporate mentioned it deliberate to enchantment each verdicts.
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