For a period spanning 20 years, a Monsanto chemical plant in West Virginia produced the herbicide 2,4,5-T. 2,4,5-T is a component of Agent Orange, the defoliant sprayed over Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Monsanto now faces a class-action lawsuit, filed on behalf of people living where the herbicide was manufactured.
The suit was filed on behalf of tens of thousands of people who lived, worked and went to school in Nitro, West Virginia after 1949. It alleges the company spread toxic substances all over town, primarily carcinogenic dioxins.
According to NPR:
“At issue in this case: whether Monsanto will have to pay millions of dollars to monitor the health of everyone included in the case ... This is not the first time lawyers have sued Monsanto over health effects in Nitro. In the 1980s a lawsuit was brought on behalf of seven former employees ... The cleanup issue is still being appealed. Meanwhile the medical monitoring case is headed to trial after settlement negotiations failed.”