Monsanto settles 'Agent Orange' case with US victims

W.Va. judge OKs settlement in Agent Orange lawsuit against Monsanto; $84M medical fund set up

Monsanto settles 'Agent Orange' case with US victims

Activists protest against Monstanto, which has settled with US victims of 'Agent Orange'. Photograph: Nigel Treblin/AFP/Getty Images

Long-running suit claimed residents of Nitro, West Virginia were exposed to the carcinogenic Vietnam-era chemical weapon

Chemicals giant Monsanto has reached a settlement with US residents who claimed they were poisoned by chemicals used in the manufacturing of the Vietnam-era chemical weapon Agent Orange.

The long-running suit was brought by residents living near a now-defunct Monsanto plant in Nitro, West Virginia that between 1949 and 1971 produced the agricultural herbicide 2,4,5 trichlorophenoxyacidic acid, a key ingredient in Agent Orange.

The weapon was used extensively during the Vietnam war, killing and maiming an estimated 400,000 people and leading to 500,000 birth defects. In 2005 a US court rejected a case brought by Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange.

The suit – filed on behalf of tens of thousands of people who lived, worked and went to school in Nitro after 1949 – claimed Monsanto spread toxic substances including dioxins, which have been linked to cancer, all over the town.

The plaintiffs say they were exposed to levels of dioxins 100,000 times higher than acceptable levels. "Dioxin is a known human carcinogen and is so hazardous to human health that no "safe" level of exposure has been established," the suit claimed.

As part of the settlement, the chemicals firm has set up a 30-year medical monitoring programme. Thousands of people who lived or worked in the Nitro area during the time period covered by the lawsuit will be eligible to apply for benefits. The company said that a $21m fund has been set up to pay for medical testing with a further $63m available over the 30-year life of the screening programme.

In addition Monsanto agreed to pay $9m for the professional cleaning of eligible homes in the Nitro area. The company also agreed to the Nitro residents' court-approved legal fees and litigation costs.

The settlement made no findings of wrongdoing against Monsanto.

Scott Partridge, Monsanto's vice president, said: "These settlements ensure that both individual and community concerns are addressed, and services are made available for the people of Nitro. We are pleased to resolve this matter and end any concerns about historic operations at the Nitro plant."

Nitro has a long history with warfare manufacturing. The town was given its explosive name when it was created in 1917 to service one of the US's main ammunition plants. source:

WINFIELD, W.Va. — A West Virginia judge approved a settlement Friday in a class-action lawsuit filed by residents who say that chemical manufacturer Monsanto Co. burned dioxin wastes left over from the production of Agent Orange, polluting the area with unsafe levels of the chemical.
Putnam County Circuit Judge Derek Swope acted in the lawsuit filed on behalf of between 5,000 and as many as 80,000 current and former Nitro residents against St. Louis-based Monsanto and several related companies that operated the plant.
The settlement creates an initial $21 million fund, plus up to $63 million more for Nitro residents to have their health monitored over 30 years at a local hospital. It also provides $9 million to pay for professional cleaning of thousands of homes. Monsanto also has agreed to pay the residents’ legal fees.
Under the agreement, thousands of people who lived, worked or attended school in the Nitro area will be eligible to apply for benefits.
The plant operated between 1949 and 2004, manufacturing herbicides and other chemicals. Its production of warfare chemical Agent Orange created dioxin as a toxic chemical byproduct, and the lawsuit alleged that blood samples from some residents and dust samples from homes turned up extremely high dioxin concentrations.
“I’m glad it’s behind us,” Nitro Mayor Rusty Casto said Friday when told of the judge’s approval. “I’m glad it won’t be on the front page of the papers for the next three months.”
The long-running litigation began with a class-action case by plant workers in the 1980s, Casto said, but no one in the community really talks about it anymore.
Still, the prospect of seeing the word “dioxin” linked to “Nitro” more than necessary was an unwelcome prospect, said Castro, who said he doesn’t know any of the plaintiffs involved.
Several previous mediation attempts failed, and jury selection was under way this week in the case.
“These settlements ensure that both individual and community concerns are addressed, and services are made available for the people in Nitro,” Monsanto vice president Scott Partridge said in a statement Friday.
The residents’ lawyer, Stuart Calwell, said the litigation’s main goal was to gain long-term health monitoring and cleanup.
“The settlements provide needed medical benefits and remediation services to the people of Nitro and the broader community,” Caldwell said in a statement.
Dioxin has been linked to cancer, birth defects, learning disabilities, endometriosis, infertility and suppressed immune functions. It builds up in tissue over time, so even small exposures can accumulate to dangerous levels.
The Charleston Gazette (http://bit.ly/zkIlOA) reports that a June 18 hearing has been set to give those involved a chance to object to the deal before it becomes final.