Two Former Monsanto Companies Agree to Pay $700,000, Cleanup Superfund Sites -- Update
December 14 2021 - 5:44PM
Dow Jones News
By Kimberly Chin
Solutia Inc. and Pharmacia LLC, two successors of the former
agriculture giant Monsanto Co., agreed to pay $700,000 to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency in reimbursement costs for the
cleanup of four former landfills and waste lagoons in Sauget,
Ill.
The two companies, now under Eastman Chemical Co. and Pfizer
Inc., respectively, will also complete the cleanup at the so-called
superfund sites, or areas that are contaminated with hazardous
substances and require long-term remedial action. The cleanup is
estimated to cost around $17.9 million and will cover over 270
acres, the U.S. Justice Department said. The sites are located
across the Mississippi River from St. Louis.
"We are pleased to have concluded these negotiations and look
forward to working with EPA to implement a cost-effective remedy
for Sauget Area 2," referring to the superfund sites, an Eastman
Chemical spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.
A Pfizer spokeswoman, who said the company wasn't involved in
the case, referred questions to Bayer AG, which acquired Monsanto
in 2018. Pharmacia spun off from Monsanto in 2002 and merged with
Pfizer in 2003.
A Bayer spokesperson couldn't immediately be reached for
comment.
The sites were used by local industries to dispose of hazardous
and other wastes over much of the past century, the Justice
Department said Tuesday. The remedial actions will help mitigate
exposure to harmful contaminants, such as lead, cadmium, benzene
and chlorobenzene that can cause cancer, the agency said.
Solutia and Pharmacia have previously paid for the removal of
hazardous waste in the area and installed a wall to prevent
contaminated groundwater from leaching into the Mississippi River,
the Justice Department said.
This is one in a number of cases and settlements the Justice
Department and EPA are engaged in that call for polluters to pay
for the investigation and cleanup of superfund sites, the agency
said.
In October, Montrose Chemical Corp. of California, Bayer
CropScience Inc., TFCF America Inc., and Stauffer Management Co.
LLC agreed to pay more than $77 million for the cleanup and
investigation of two superfund sites in Los Angeles County and over
$8 million in reimbursement costs to the EPA and a California
agency.
Write to Kimberly Chin at kimberly.chin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 14, 2021 17:29 ET (22:29 GMT)
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