Maine sues Monsanto, accusing chemical manufacturer of polluting land, water [Video]

Monsanto, the giant biochemical manufacturer, knowingly polluted streams, rivers, estuaries and wetlands in Maine for years with PCBs before the carcinogenic chemical compound was banned by federal law in the 1970s, the state said in a lawsuit filed Friday.

The suit, filed in Cumberland County Superior Court, accuses Monsanto of selling hundreds of thousands of pounds of commercial PCB mixtures, formally known as polychlorinated biphenyls, in Maine from 1960 to the mid-1970s.

The manufacturer knew the PCBs were harmful, yet sold the compound that’s used in paints, household products, dust suppressants and insulating fluids inside electrical devices such as capacitors and transformers, according to the lawsuit.

“We have evidence that Monsanto knew that its PCBs products were causing long-lasting harm and chose to continue to make money off poisoning Maine’s people and environment,” Attorney General Aaron Frey said in announcing the lawsuit.

Maine accuses Monsanto of damaging more than 400 miles of rivers and streams and …