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Because of the long-term effects of the chemical PCB, which has been banned for decades, Chicago is suing the German chemical company Bayer. The city is taking action against Bayer and others, among other things, for allegedly polluting water, air and soil with PCB chemicals, according to court documents. Bayer and its U.S. subsidiary Monsanto deny the allegations.
"Monsanto believes that the case is unfounded, as the company has never manufactured or disposed of PCBs in or near the greater Chicago area," the Leverkusen-based Dax group said on request. "In addition, the products that are supposedly the source of environmental damage were manufactured by third parties and not by Monsanto."
Bayer had brought the PCB trouble in 2018 with the more than 60 billion US dollar acquisition of the U.S. agrochemical company Monsanto in house - as well as the disputes over the weed killer glyphosate. Monsanto had produced polychlorinated biphenylene (PCB) in the United States from 1935 to 1977. In 1979, the chemical was banned there.
Chicago's lawsuit follows numerous others claiming personal injury and property damage due to PCB products. Bayer has already received damages judgments, but is taking action against them. Experts such as analyst Sebastian Bray of the private bank Berenberg nevertheless assume that the settlement of the PCB cases could cost Bayer a low to mid single-digit billion dollar amount in total.
dab/dpa