A lawsuit filed by the mayor of Chicago accuses Bayer AG’s Monsanto and Univar Solutions Inc. of releasing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) into the environment, polluting Chicago’s air, soil and water. The city is now seeking financial compensation for cleanup expenses.

PCBs are dangerous chemicals found in products like paint varnishes, insecticides, coolants and electrical equipment, and were banned in the late 1970s. The chemicals from these products have been draining into Lake Michigan since then, and now Mayor Brandon Johnson says Chicago wants the polluters to clean it up, and pay for it, even though they claim they never manufactured or disposed of PCBs near Chicago.

Johnson isn’t convinced, though, and he wants Bayer and Univar to own up and pay for the contamination that flows into the lake and the city from storm water drainage. “Monsanto knew for decades that its commercial PCB formulations were highly toxic,” Johnson said.

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Yahoo Finance September 21, 2023