Can you recall the days when you were a kid: playing house, making mud pies, swimming in the creeks, ponds and lakes near your home? Now picture yourself growing up and finding out that throughout your entire childhood, you, your love ones, and the place you call home, was intentionally poisoned and polluted by a multi-billion dollar corporation.
Unfortunately, the citizens of Anniston, AL, do not have to fantasize about this scenario, since they were intentionally poisoned for more than 40 years by Monsanto Corporation- a multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation.
Founded in St. Louis, Mo., in 1901 by John Francis Queeny, Monsanto knowingly hid the effects of PCB from the citizens of Anniston for decades. Considered one of the most profitable chemicals in the 20th Century, PCB is mixed into a multitude of things encountered every day, such as paint and newsprints.
Invented in Anniston in 1929, PCB was manufactured there nearly 40 years. A trusted and revered corporation, Monsanto provided employment for a majority of theAnniston citizens. Blindly trusting the corporation, residents of Anniston were unaware that Monsanto was knowingly dumping thousands of pounds of PCBs into their water supplies and local creeks annually.
Company documents show that Monsanto knew about the harmful effects of PCB as early as 1938, when a scientist, hired by the company, reported that rats exposed to PCB developed liver damage. In 1966, Monsanto managers found that fish dropped into a local creek died within ten seconds of submersion, usually turning belly up, spurting blood and shedding skin. In an attempt to cover up their findings, Monsanto embarked upon a 32 year effort of concealing the truth from the citizens of Anniston and the EPA (Environment Protection Agency).
Many company documents marked 'Confidential –FYI-Read and Destroy' proved the intent Monsanto had, which was money over people. One internal document from 1970 declared: "we can't afford to lose one dollar of business. Our attitude in discussing this subject with our customer will be the deciding factor in our success in retaining our present business."
In the end, the public's knowledge of the harmful effects of PCB was the deciding factor in successfully retaining the present business of the Monsanto Corporation. By the 1970's, the federal government became aware of the detrimental effects of PCB. It was officially banned in 1979, but the damage had already been done.
PCB has the ability to linger in nature for centuries, which caused the citizens, wildlife, water supplies, and homes in Anniston to possess unusually high-levels of PCB. Citizens with a billion times the normal level of PCB's in their bodies began to develop cancer and other life threatening diseases.
Many international and national health agency list PCB as a carcinogenic. In addition, PCB is known to cause liver damage, skin irritation, endocrine disruption and immune system suppression.
Although banned in 1979, Anniston citizens wouldn't find out about their contamination from PCB for another 14 years. In 1993, an unidentified man working with Soil Conservation Service pulled a deformed largemouth bass from Choccolocco Creek. After sending the fish to the lab, it was discovered to have high levels of PCB.
The secret was officially out and the citizens of Anniston had questions for Monsanto.
Throughout 2002-2003, Monsanto was ordered to compensate the citizens of Anniston. Monsanto paid over 700 million dollars in lawsuit settlements, and 40 million dollars on cleanup efforts in Anniston.
Although forced to pay restitution to many of the citizens in Anniston, it hasn't stopped Monsanto and its quest to make billions of dollars at the expense of human lives. Monsanto continues to be one of the paramount corporations in the world, leading producer of genetically engineered seeds and crops.
As for remorse, there isn't any. Environmental Affairs Director of Solutia (formally Monsanto), Robert Kaley told to the Washington Post in 2002 that the corporation is not embarrassed.
"Did we do some things that we wouldn't do today? Of course. But that's a little piece of a big story. If you put it all in context, I think we've got nothing to be ashamed of," Kaley said.
