Spokane taking steps to prevent contamination
The city of Spokane, Washington is
taking Monsanto to court:
The city of Spokane has filed a lawsuit against the international agrochemical giant Monsanto, alleging that the company sold chemicals for decades that it knew were a danger to human and environmental health.
The lawsuit, which does not specifically state what the city is seeking in monetary damages, also alleges that Monsanto is responsible for the high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, in the Spokane River.
Marlene Feist, the city’s utilities spokeswoman, called the suit “long-term litigation,” and noted that the city will spend $300 million to keep PCBs and other pollutants from entering the river in coming years.
The Spokane River is
incredibly polluted:
The Spokane River is the state’s most polluted river for PCBs, industrial chemicals once widely used in lubricants for engines and machinery. The long-lasting chemicals build up in the environment. They get carried into the river through stormwater and wastewater, accumulating in fish and other aquatic animals.
Since 1994, health advisories have warned people to limit the number of meals of fish they eat from the Spokane River. In addition to cancer, PCBs can affect brain development and mimic the hormone estrogen.
In 2006, the Ecology Department released a draft proposal for total daily limits of PCBs discharged into the river. PCB loads would have had to drop by 95 percent to 99 percent to meet water quality standards along impaired stretches of the Spokane River.
Spokane officials seem down for the fight. Stay tuned.