Decades ago, the St. Louis-based Monsanto company -- now
known as Solutia Inc. -- reaped the benefits of a 40-year
monopoly on the production of PCBs... The Monsanto factory
in Anniston discharged toxic waste into a nearby creeks and
millions of pounds of PCBs  into open-pit landfills. The
Washington Post describes what remains of Anniston as "one
of the most polluted patches of America."    fyi-janet
 
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http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0106-03.htm Common
Dreams News Centre Published on Sunday, January 6, 2002 in
the St Louis Post-
Dispatch
 
Corporate Ethics The Story of Anniston
 
Editorial
 
THE story of Anniston, Alabama, provides a chilling glimpse
of the dark side of corporate culture. Decades ago, the St.
Louis-based Monsanto company -- now known as Solutia Inc. --
reaped the benefits of a40-year monopoly on the production of
PCBs, an industrialcoolant since outlawed as a pollutant and human
health hazard. The Monsanto factory in Anniston discharged so
much toxic waste into a nearby creek that fish turned belly-up
within 10 seconds.
 
As early as 1970, PCB contamination was also found in
wastewater and creeks in Sauget.
 
Millions of pounds of PCBs were dumped into open-pit
landfills. The Washington Post describes what remains of
Anniston as "one of the most polluted patches of America."
 
It is one thing to make a human mistake out of ignorance --
which is how this sad tale began. But once a company knows
it is selling tires that explode, or spewing lead dust that
impairs brain function or hawking highly addictive products
that cause cancer -- and then conceals this knowledge or
refuses to act on it -- it has broached even the minimum
standards of ethics. This is where the tale of Anniston
takes a nasty turn, apparently failing the all-important
questions: What did you know? And when did you know it?
 
According to thousands of documents acquired by The
Washington Post, even after the damage was discovered some
30 years ago, the company did not tell the trusting folks of
Anniston that the streams where their children swam and the
dirt in their gardens had become thoroughly, dangerously
polluted.
 
In 1997 Monsanto spun off this chemical division, which is
now Solutia Inc.
 
The actual human beings who hid the truth in documents
labeled "CONFIDENTIAL: Read and Destroy," are either dead,
retired, elsewhere or unknown. Although the story has now
surfaced in the Washington Post because of a civil complaint
finally making its way to court, the sad truth is that no
matter what the verdict is, no person will be held truly
accountable.
 
As their stock plummeted 28 percent in a single day, current
Solutia officials sprang to the defense, noting that the
company has spent more than $40 million on remediation
activities in Anniston. Monsanto ceased manufacturing PCBs
in Anniston in 1971 and in Sauget in 1977, two years before
they were banned in 1979. Monsanto is now focused solely on
agriculture, declaring a new pledge of openness and
accountability. It disclaims any connection to current
events in Anniston.
 
While a citizen who throws trash out a car window might be
fined hundreds of dollars, corporate directors are rarely,
if ever, held personally responsible for actions many times
more harmful. It is this systemic failing that needs to be
addressed -- a tall order when big corporations are largely
funding the campaigns of those who make -- and change --
laws.
 
Corporations must be pushed -- by citizens, laws or both --
to hold themselves accountable to stakeholders, to
communities, employees, customers and greater society -- as
well as stockholders.
 
 
© 2002 St Louis Post-Dispatch
 
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Still marches round this globe,
Until the mothers of this earth
Put all the wars on hold."
SM 1997
 
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