A US House bill passed last year includes a paragraph that watchdogs call a "gift" to agrochemical giant Monsanto.
The bill, meant as a sweeping update to the 40-year-old Toxic Substances Control Act, included a clause that could nullify legal claims for damages from polychlorinated biphenyls, also known as PCBs.
It would also block states from from passing their own laws on PCBs.
That could give Monsanto an out when it comes to hundreds of millions of dollars in potential lawsuits. The paragraph in the bill specifically mentions a section of the old law concerning PCBs.
Monsanto manufactured nearly all of the PCBs produced from 1930 until the chemicals were banned in 1979 due to links with serious health problems.
The New York Times reports that a Monsanto spokesperson denied the clause was added at the company's request. The paper also reported that Congressional aides added the language at the request of staff members with the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
PCBs were once widely used as an industrial fire retardant in paints, pesticides and paper.
Studies have shown that the chemicals have contaminated the food supply and tend to accumulate in animal fats and marine food chains.
The EPA says PCBs can cause damage to the immune system, reproductive system, nervous system, and endocrine system, and has been shown to cause cancer.
Six cities have sued Monsanto to recover costs to clean up pollution from PCBs and allege that the company was aware of the health risks when the chemicals were still in production.
Attorneys general and environmental regulators from 15 states have demanded Congress change the bill's language.
Read More:
- Chemical Safety Bill Could Help Protect Monsanto Against Legal Claims (New York Times)
- In Chemical Reform Law A Hidden Bailout For Monsanto's Pollution (Environmental Working Group)
- Cancer-Causing PCB Chemicals Found Contaminating Food Supplies (Natural News)
