It seems that Monsanto has been dumping banned, carcinogenic chemicals in the bay, and the city of San Diego isn’t too happy about it.
The city of San Diego and the San Diego Unified Port District filed a lawsuit on Monday against the biotech giant Monsanto, accusing the company for polluting the city’s bay for more than 30 years with a carcinogenic chemical that was long ago banned due to its abhorrent affects on human health.
The chemicals in question are Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs). According to a report published by Food & Water Watch, the biotech bully is responsible for creating more than 99% of this dangerous chemical. It has been found in the bay’s sediments, the water, and in the tissues of multiple forms of aquatic life including in fish and lobster sampled from the bay.
From the March 16 complaint:
“PCBs manufactured by Monsanto have been found in Bay sediments and water and have been identified in tissues of fish, lobsters, and other marine life in the Bay. PCB contamination in and around the Bay affects all San Diegans and visitors who enjoy the Bay, who reasonably would be disturbed by the presence of a hazardous, banned substance in the sediment, water, and wildlife.
PCBs were not only a substantial factor in causing the City and Port District to incur damages, but a primary driving force behind the need to clean up and abate Bay sediments. In addition, fish consumption warnings are posted at locations in and around Bay tidelands warning the public that fish within the Bay may contain contaminants and directing consumption limitations.”
Related: Monsanto’s Leftover Chemicals Poisoning Ft. McClellan Military Base
The San Diego Reader notes one of the charges put forth by the city of San Diego, stating how Monsanto continued to try and protect its profits while prolonging the use of PCB compounds – even in the face of PCB risks.
PCBs are named under the Toxic Substances Control Act by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and have specific storage and disposal requirements – none of which include dumping the chemicals in San Diego’s waterways.
This toxic substance is heavier than water and can easily be absorbed, even into microorganisms, though Monsanto would like us to believe otherwise.
The EPA’s own review of PCBs stated clearly that:
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“There is clear evidence that PCBs cause cancer in animals.”
- “An industry scientist commented that ‘all significant studies have been reviewed and are fairly represented in the document.”
- “The literature presents overwhelming evidence that PCBs cause cancer in animals.”
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“An industry-sponsored peer-reviewed rat study characterized as the ‘gold standard study’ by one peer reviewer, demonstrated that every commercial PCB mixture tested caused cancer.”
Monsanto should pay every man, woman, and child in San Diego and the surrounding area for exposing them to extremely high cancer risks as well as devastating marine life and water supplies.
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