Lee, Massachusetts, has taken legal action against GE and Monsanto for river pollution due to the manufacture of PCBs upriver from the town.
Adam Frenier and Nancy Eve Cohen report for New England Public Media.
In short:
- The lawsuit accuses GE and Monsanto of intentionally polluting the Housatonic River with PCBs, known to be harmful.
- Documents from 1972 reveal GE's acknowledgment of PCB dangers, yet they continued their use.
- Monsanto, now a Bayer subsidiary, denies liability for the river's contamination, attributing it to the town's decisions.
Key quote:
"The abuses of multibillion-dollar corporations over decades, the lack of response of our elected representatives, and the ongoing deception in order to keep all of us in the dark must end here.”
— Bob Jones, Select Board chair
Why this matters:
Polychlorinated biphenyls are a group of man-made chemicals that were widely used in manufacturing electrical equipment, heat exchangers, and hydraulic systems until their ban in the United States in 1979 due to their environmental and health risks. Despite the ban, PCBs persist in the environment due to their resistance to breaking down, leading to ongoing contamination concerns, particularly in water sources.
