German pharmaceutical company, Bayer AG says it has finalized a $698 million settlement with the U.S. state of Oregon as part of a resolve to claims that it polluted the environment with chemicals called polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs.
The deal follows similar agreements with five other states and the District of Columbia, and other municipal entities in the US as Bayer continues to face several other state lawsuits over PCBs.
The company said in a statement that it did not admit liability as part of the Oregon settlement, and would continued to defend the remaining cases.
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Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum called the settlement a “huge win” that would give the state resources to clean up PCBs.
The lawsuits against Bayer are linked to PCBs manufactured by U.S. seeds and pesticide company Monsanto, which Bayer acquired for $63 billion in 2018, which sold PCBs from 1935 until 1977 when it voluntarily ceased production.
Before the U.S. government outlawed PCBs in 1979 after discovering links to cancer, the chemicals were once used widely to insulate electrical equipment, and in carbonless copy paper, caulking, floor finish and paint.
In addition to lawsuits by states and cities, Bayer is facing claims by hundreds of people who say they were harmed by PCBs in fluorescent lights at a Washington state school. Some of those cases have gone to trial and resulted in jury verdicts against Bayer, totalling $543 million, which the company is appealing.
Story was adapted from Reuters.
