Monsanto Ordered to Pay 

$93 Million to Small Town 

for Poisoning Citizens

AUGUST 20, 2014 / 92855 VIEWS

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Big wins can happen in small places. The West Virginia 
State Supreme Court finalized a big blow to the biotech
 giant Monsanto this month, finishing a settlement causing
 Monsanto to pay $93 million to the tiny town of Nitro, 
West Virginia for poisoning citizens with Agent Orange 
chemicals.

The settlement was approved last year, but details were 
worked out only weeks ago as to how the funds were 
to be spent.
The settlement will require Monsanto to do the following:
  • -$9 million will be spent to clean dioxin contaminated 
  • dust from 4500 homes.

  • -$21 million will be spent to test to see if people have 
  • been poisoned with dioxin.

  • -Citizens will be monitored for such poisoning for 30 
  • years, not just a few months.

  • -An additional $63 million is to be allotted if additional 
  • tests for dioxin contamination testing is necessary.

  • -Anyone who lived in the Nitro area between Jan. 1, 
  • 1948, and Sept. 3, 2010 will be tested for dioxin. 
  • Although they must show proof they lived in the area, 
  • they will be eligible for testing even if they no longer 
  • live in Nitro.

  • -Former or present employees of Monsanto are not 
  • eligible for any of these benefits.

  • -An office will be set up to organize testing for 
  • Nitro citizens. The registration of participants is
  •  to be overlooked by Charleston attorney Thomas 
  • Flaherty, who was appointed by the court.
Residents have a right to file individual suits against Monsanto
 if medical tests show they suffered physical harm due to
 dioxin exposure.

MONSANTO PRODUCED TOXIC 

CHEMICALS IN NITRO

Just how were Nitro citizens exposed to dioxin? 
Monsanto was producing the toxic herbicide Agent 
Orange in Nitro, and dioxin is a chemical byproduct of 
the substance. It is known to cause serious health conditions. 
The factory which produced Agent Orange was opened 
in Nitro in 1948 and remained in operation until 2004, 
even though usage of this herbicide in the past 
(in Vietnam and other Asian countries) was fatal to 
millions of citizens and the war veterans who were 
exposed to it.

“There is no doubt that during and after the war, many 
Vietnamese absorbed this very toxic material [dioxin].
 It is our belief from toxicological research and 
epidemiological studies from many countries that this
dioxin probably resulted in significant health effects in 

“It’s been a real long haul,” attorney Stuart Calwell told 
The Charleston Gazette. Calwell represented Nitro area 
residents in a class action suit that prompted Monsanto 
to make the settlement.

“The politics of dioxin has been bitterly debated since 
the Vietnam War, but … we know that there is a health 
issue there and hopefully people will get their house 
cleaned and the risk will come to an end and those 
exposed in the past will have the benefit of keeping an 
eye on their health.”

The people of Nitro still need to fill out a register to 
receive the benefits outlined in the settlement. Due to 
the pivotal nature of this landmark settlement, Nitro 
citizens need to participate as fully as possible to set a 
precedent for other class action suits that farmers and 
consumers of GMO foods around the world might wage 
against Monsanto in the future to finally take them down. 
If enough of us do it at once, then even their bloated coffers 
will finally be depleted, and we can enjoy a world without 
being poisoned to death.

While this case did not involve glyphosate, another deadly 
toxin used in Monsanto herbicides such as RoundUp, 
its time will come soon.

Credits: Written by Christina Sarich 
of naturalsociety.com, Guest contributor.