Chemical giant Monsanto, now owned by Bayer, is compelled to pay $857 million to seven individuals who suffered health issues due to chemicals leaking from light fittings at a US school.
The leaked chemicals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), led to sickness, and the jury found Monsanto negligent for selling unsafe PCBs.
The plaintiffs, former students and parent volunteers at the Sky Valley Education Centre in Washington state, complained of health concerns.
Monsanto plans to appeal the verdict, stating it had ceased PCB production in 1977 and had warned the school to retrofit light fixtures.
This compounds Monsanto’s legal troubles, including cases related to its glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup.