Sunday, January 8, 2012

Ruling leaves dioxin cleanup out of Monsanto trial



This was what the Monsanto Co. chemical plant in Nitro looked like in 1980.
http://sundaygazettemail.com/News/201201070062
By Ken Ward Jr.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- As the trial begins in a major toxic pollution lawsuit against Monsanto Co., jurors won't be allowed to tackle a key issue: Should the company pay to clean up dioxin it allegedly spewed across the city of Nitro?

Experts won't testify about the need for property remediation. Lawyers won't argue about the issue. Jurors won't be asked to force Monsanto to spend the hundreds of millions of dollars such a project could cost.

Judges O.C. Spaulding and Derek Swope issued rulings in July and November that threw out that part of the case.

As a result, Putnam County jurors will decide only if current and former Nitro residents should receive medical monitoring to detect diseases potentially caused by exposure to Monsanto's dioxin. They won't be able to do anything to clean up homes and businesses, ending the toxic exposure.

READ MORE: http://sundaygazettemail.com/News/201201070062

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