# PCBs' in Escambia River and Bay



## BBshot (Oct 2, 2007)

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Fifty residents along Escambia Bay are suing the companies they say are responsible for polluting the water and fish near their property with cancer-causing industrial chemicals.<DIV class=articleflex-container><DIV class=articleflex>
http://gannett.gcion.com/?adlink/5111/223522/0/154/AdId=59606;BnId=1;itime=883291754;</DIV></DIV>

The lawsuit filed in Circuit Court names Monsanto Co., Pharmacia Corp., Solutia Inc. and the Solutia plant manager as defendants.

It claims past and ?continuing release? of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, from a plant now operated by Solutia on Old Chemstrand Road.

The former Monsanto plant has been operated since 1997 by Solutia, a subsidiary of Monsanto Co. Monsanto, founded in 1901, was acquired by Pharmacia in 2000, which in 2002 completed a spinoff of its biotechnology and agricultural businesses to form the current Monsanto Co. 

The plaintiffs, who all live downstream from the plant, are seeking unspecified damages. They also want cleanup of the water and sediments in the bay and river, claiming that their property values have been or will continue to be hurt by PCB contamination.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs include Pensacola-based Sam Bearman and Anniston, Ala.-based Donald Stewart. Stewart filed a successful multimillion-dollar class action lawsuit against Monsanto related to PCB contamination in Anniston.

Bearman said cleanup of Escambia Bay and connected waterways is a top priority for the plaintiffs: ?My clients have made it clear that is goal No. 1,? he said.

Glynn Young, spokesman for Monsanto, said PCBs were never manufactured at the Escambia plant.

?The plant, like most of American industry, used PCBs in transformers, as hydraulic fluids and in other applications until the late 1970s,? he said.

In 1969, a government laboratory found that the former Monsanto plant was discharging 1 to 32 gallons of hydraulic fuel containing PCBs into the Escambia River a day. The toxic releases reportedly did not stop until the early 1970s.

?Any alleged PCB contamination related to the plant stems from a leak that occurred in 1969, nearly 30 years before Solutia existed,? said Solutia spokesman Dan Jenkins.

He said a legal agreement between Monsanto and Solutia places the responsibility for that leak on Monsanto.

But Monsanto?s Young said there was no health threat by PCBs in local waterways.

?The tiny amounts of PCBs reportedly found in the Escambia River and bay pose no threat to human health, wildlife or the environment,? Young said. ?The lawsuit is without merit, and Monsanto will vigorously defend itself against it.?

Recent fish samples taken from the middle of Escambia Bay by researchers at the University of West Florida found PCBs in mullet and other fish that were several times higher than state and federal thresholds.

Previous samples from the lower Escambia River prompted a health advisory for some fish caught there.</DIV>


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## BBshot (Oct 2, 2007)

I know that there have been a few topics about pollution in Escambia Bay posted on here before but I did not know that there was a case building against Monsanto Inc. I have fished Escambia all my life and have consumed in that time large amounts of fish. I heard from the old tymers on a lengthy thread on the Old Forum about how the Escambia Water System used to consist of some types of plants and vegetation that are inexistant now. How the water used to be "crystal clear with white sandy bottoms." From first hand i have seen clean white boats with dark brown stains after a day or two of use, skiers with ear infections and nose bleeds, fish with horrific open wounds (mostly finger mullet i have cast netted for bait). With the company already acknowledging the leak of PCB in 1969-1970 it would not have been hard for it to continue since then and just say that it was from back then. I do know that PCBs' do not really break down and dissolve over time like some pollutants might. I really feel that no one will ever know what all has been drained off in our water system so a multi-billion dollar company can save a few bucks and not dispose of this kind of crap properly. I hope that the prosecutors come away with a W and that our river and bay will be restored to the best that it possibly can.


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## Flounderpounder (Oct 3, 2007)

A friend used to work in the Monsanto lab there during that time. He remembers the laborers pouring 55 gallon drums of waste into the drainage ditch leading to the river. 

Unfortunately, the damage is done. I can't imagine how they could possibly get that all out of the bay system!! So much for the argument against "too much regulation of industry"!

:banghead


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## Dagwood (Oct 1, 2007)

I was a chemical engineer at that plant for 22 years and doubt if "continuous release" of PCB's is possible with all of the checks and balances and monitoring of wastewater at that site. They deepwell inject at about 2000 feet deep their neutralized hazardous waste which is mostly ammonium nitrate and the only thing going to the river is stormwater and cooling tower water blowdown. No doubt their was releases in the late '60's that are still in the sediment in the river and upper bays. My question is, "What has caused the residents to initiate legal action 40 years after the releases were made public?"


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## gator7_5 (Oct 4, 2007)

> *Outawitz (7/1/2008)*
> 
> 
> > *Dagwood (7/1/2008)*I was a chemical engineer at that plant for 22 years and doubt if "continuous release" of PCB's is possible with all of the checks and balances and monitoring of wastewater at that site. They deepwell inject at about 2000 feet deep their neutralized hazardous waste which is mostly ammonium nitrate and the only thing going to the river is stormwater and cooling tower water blowdown. No doubt their was releases in the late '60's that are still in the sediment in the river and upper bays. My question is, "What has caused the residents to initiate legal action 40 years after the releases were made public?"
> ...


look how much cleaner Bayou Texar is after the Levin firm pocketed their 10 million and all the waterfront residences got their 5k/ piece. BTW, Who do you think is going to pay for their settlement in Pace and who is paying for the one on the Bayou.... asnwer: everyone else.


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## imkilroy (Oct 27, 2007)

I'm sorry but this ispeople who run with what the media feed's them. I work at Solutia right now, and I don't know about their practice's back in the 60' and 70's back when everything that was made in this country contained asbestos or had lead paint covering it. I see the safe guard's and back-up safeguard's every day. If the water used to be crystal clear with a sandy bottom then why is it muddy from Alabama down?? Did Solutia and Gulf Power pollute 25 mile's up river? Speaking of Gulf Power are they listed in this anywhere? You think that oil slick behind half the boat's on the river has no effect?


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## Brad King (Sep 30, 2007)

You think it's bad now.. Wait till they start drilling off our coast and put a huge Refinery up there on Escambia River...

That's when things will get interesting!!!!!:banghead


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## BBshot (Oct 2, 2007)

> *imkilroy (7/1/2008)*I'm sorry but this ispeople who run with what the media feed's them. I work at Solutia right now, and I don't know about their practice's back in the 60' and 70's back when everything that was made in this country contained asbestos or had lead paint covering it. I see the safe guard's and back-up safeguard's every day. If the water used to be crystal clear with a sandy bottom then why is it muddy from Alabama down?? Did Solutia and Gulf Power pollute 25 mile's up river? Speaking of Gulf Power are they listed in this anywhere? You think that oil slick behind half the boat's on the river has no effect?


This was in the PNJ on June 9 2008. This is simply the "media" writing an artical about a legit case being built against these companies. Can i assume that since you worked at solutia that the head honchos reported back to you about disposing of all toxins in a proper way? Where the mud meets the sand.... While i do not claim to be a marine biologists or any thing of that nature i will asure you the big hill at the mouth of Escambia River is consisted of sand. And i cant discredit the word of multiple people that fished that lower river and bay system up to 60 years ago, *Reminiscing* on how they have personaly seen it change. I'm sure that Solutia is not the only contributing factor, but this case is holding them accountable thier actions.


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## BBshot (Oct 2, 2007)

> *gator7_5 (7/1/2008)*
> 
> 
> > *Outawitz (7/1/2008)*
> ...




$65 million to be divided in varying amounts among a maximum of 7,000 people who own, or have owned, some 3,000 pieces of property since 1957.
$3.6 million for medical monitoring of the 3,000 or so residents included in one of the lawsuits.

Attorneys also will apply to the court to determine their fee. That figure, separate from the $70 million settlement, could reach as high as $25 million.

Papantonio said several factors caused the final settlement to be much less than the $500 million he initially sought.

Among those factors:
When Judge Michael Jones decided on the area of affected property, he reduced the number of current property owners in the suit from about 11,000 to 3,000.

Plaintiff's attorneys were prevented from pursuing action that would make Conoco responsible for pumping, treating and removing contaminants from the groundwater.

The $70 million figure was arrived at because it is the amount of money Conoco saved by not pumping, treating and removing the contaminants from the property, Papantonio said.

"They never admitted doing it, but we have documents that show that they saved about $76 million," he said. "So that's where those numbers are coming from."


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## Dagwood (Oct 1, 2007)

When Monsanto spun Solutia off in 1997 they also legally transferred all future liabilities to the new company. That's one main reason they went bankrupt. Monsanto has been Pharmacia, Pfizer, and probably a couple of other companies since then. Solutia does not have deep pockets and no way could that small company financially tackle cleaning up the river and bay if it were possible at all. Is their credible evidence that the levels of PCB's are any higher than any other river system and are they high enough to really cause a health risk? The PCB's are in the sediment at the bottom and will never biodegrade. They lawyers are going to have a blast with this one and probably be the only one's benefiting.


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## De Anza Jig (Jan 16, 2008)

I'm glad there is a lawsuit. My family has lived on or near the bay for over 60 yrs. My grandfather had a house on mulat back in the 40's and he really saw the bay go downhill. In 1964, there was a fish kill so bad(due to PCBs) that there were dead fish 3 feet deep on top of the water all up and down Mulat bayou. Supposedly that fish kill was the worst, and I've heard that the PCB's from that kill are under 18 inches of bay muck,but who knows.I've always eaten fish out of that bay, but after the recent UWF study i'm too damn afraid too. It's a shame. I'm glad they are suing for bay restoration, however i don't know how it can possibly be restored. If anything, i hope this raises public awareness to the condition of the bay, and attempts to clean it up.


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## imkilroy (Oct 27, 2007)

> *BBshot (7/1/2008)*
> 
> 
> > *imkilroy (7/1/2008)*I'm sorry but this ispeople who run with what the media feed's them. I work at Solutia right now, and I don't know about their practice's back in the 60' and 70's back when everything that was made in this country contained asbestos or had lead paint covering it. I see the safe guard's and back-up safeguard's every day. If the water used to be crystal clear with a sandy bottom then why is it muddy from Alabama down?? Did Solutia and Gulf Power pollute 25 mile's up river? Speaking of Gulf Power are they listed in this anywhere? You think that oil slick behind half the boat's on the river has no effect?
> ...


 

I understand that this is an actual lawsuit that the New's Journal reported on. My point isthat people are making comment's on assumption's. It's not that I "worked" at Solutia, I WORK at Solutia right now. I know the safeguard's in place. We retrain every year on our waste water. I can't say what they did 40 year's ago, but any release is well documented. As for the clarity of the water and the change on the river. How can Solutia or Gulf Power be responsible for the water being MUDDY? Change's in logging has increased runoff that has a major effect on the water. Increased runoffincreases contamination of surrounding water's.I have personally watch Pond Creek go from a clear water to tea colored in the last 19 year's on our hunting club. There are no chemical plant's out there. As for responsibility for what happened 40 year's ago it fall's directly on Monsanto. I understand there are contaminates in all the water's around this area, but to try to blame it on one company that goes thru the extent that Solutia goes thru is ridiculous.


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## snakeman14 (Apr 17, 2008)

well escambia is basically the only place we fish and in the last few years we have seen a major increase in the amount of fish with sores on them. the two fish that seem most effected are the mullet and flounder. its pretty sick when you can look at a school of finger mullet in the water and see the bright red/pink sores covering them. in a way i hope these people win this lawsuit and escambia is cleaned up.


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## Murphy's Law (Sep 27, 2007)

?Any alleged PCB contamination related to the plant stems from a leak that occurred in 1969, nearly 30 years before Solutia existed,? said Solutia spokesman Dan Jenkins.

He said a legal agreement between Monsanto and Solutia places the responsibility for that leak on Monsanto.

*Monsanto *did it, Let *Monsanto *clean it up.


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## fla_scout (Sep 28, 2007)

PCB's and assumed pollutionbe damned, I will still eat the mullet and the oysters. Why all of the fuss? We have always eaten this but all of a sudden there might be a few dollars for some and there is a problem. Just eat the fish and shut the hell up! There is nothing wrong with the fish and quite frankly some of the best oysters I have ever eaten have come out of Escambia Bay. If you go to some of the most pristine waterways some lawyer or tree hugger will try and sue someone for pollution. I don't understand the mentality of some that want to sueafter they have just bought a half million dollar house and property. I have lived on Escambia Bay all my life and see more dolphins today than I ever have in my 43 years. Hell I even see a sign that warns me about Manatee's when I paddle my kayak out.. If you would have asked me 20 tears ago if I would see dolphins and a manatee sign I would have told you that you wre crazy. The lawsuit is for the privelaged that shouldn't be on the bay to begin with. Just my opinion. Give it back.


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## SandyKeys (Oct 10, 2007)

Monsanto/Solutia should havepockets full... hell they've taken everythng away from all the retirees they forced out. :nonono


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## Flounderpounder (Oct 3, 2007)

> *fla_scout (7/2/2008)*shut the hell up! There is nothing wrong with the fish....


On what do you base that assertion? You might want to read the UWF study! That's like saying "i've smoked cigarettes for 40 years, so they don't cause cancer"! I'm still gonna eat 'em too, just notso many.


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## jigflipper (Feb 12, 2008)

> *fla_scout (7/2/2008)*PCB's and assumed pollutionbe damned, I will still eat the mullet and the oysters. Why all of the fuss? We have always eaten this but all of a sudden there might be a few dollars for some and there is a problem. Just eat the fish and shut the hell up! There is nothing wrong with the fish and quite frankly some of the best oysters I have ever eaten have come out of Escambia Bay. If you go to some of the most pristine waterways some lawyer or tree hugger will try and sue someone for pollution. I don't understand the mentality of some that want to sueafter they have just bought a half million dollar house and property. I have lived on Escambia Bay all my life and see more dolphins today than I ever have in my 43 years. Hell I even see a sign that warns me about Manatee's when I paddle my kayak out.. If you would have asked me 20 tears ago if I would see dolphins and a manatee sign I would have told you that you wre crazy. The lawsuit is for the privelaged that shouldn't be on the bay to begin with. Just my opinion. Give it back.


COOL can me and all my buddies come piss in your pool?

.


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## imkilroy (Oct 27, 2007)

> *BBshot (7/2/2008)*
> 
> 
> > *SandyKeys (7/2/2008)*Monsanto/Solutia should havepockets full... hell they've taken everythng away from all the retirees they forced out. :nonono
> ...


Has everyone missed the fact that Solutia just came out of BANCRUPTCY due to being saddled with all of Monsanto's debt after the spinoff. Plus the fact that Solutia just announced that their nylon business is up for sale due to the insane increase of raw material and fuel prices. My dad retired from Monsanto and yes, at 65 he lost his insurance. This has been becoming a regular thing for big corporation's to try to cutback on overhead, and Solutia is not a BIG corporation. When did Monsanto "force out" retiree's?? Most that left early got large buyout's and did so willingly. In the almost 20 year's I have been out there I have never seen a retiree forced out.One of the reason's for the lawsuit is the claim that it is hurting their property value. Who's property valueIS NOT going down? Mine is, your's is, everyone's is. I would love to see all waterway's around P-cola cleaned up, but to sit there and try to place blame on a company that didn't even exist 40 year's ago is B.S. Tell everyone with blue smoke coming out of their outboard and an oil slick behind them to cut off their engine's. Is that the next lawsuit?


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## Dagwood (Oct 1, 2007)

I was forced out at 48 (2 years from receiving benefits) in 2001 along with several hundred dedicated employees. Monsanto was a good place to work and supported my family for many years but when Solutia came about the first thing they did was change the policy manual that specified seniority as the major consideration when layoffs were required. I'm still pretty bitter about it but I don't think some people realize that if this small company is required to remediate the PCB that may exist in the river and bay, a lot of good hardworking people at that site will loose their jobs because it will shut it down. If it hasn't caused any health problems in 40 years, I don't think it will in the next 40.


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## Death From Above (Sep 28, 2007)

Somebody should be sueing the Federal government. Check out the sludge on your anchor next time you fish around NAS. And that stuff ain't 18" down.


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## bayougrande (Oct 4, 2007)

i can second the fact that solutia watches EXTREMLEY close the waste streams that go into our deep wells and come out of our cooling towers. Because i work there. And i do this process every day. Trust me there are alot of enviromentalist running around out there taking samples and i have to take many myself. everything is documented and think about seriously.......if something was spilt many many years ago ....and we don't even use pcb's any more do u really truely think the effects of the bay are from that? It's called human popullation and time !!! As for the retired workers i hear from alot of them and solutia and monsanto are two completley different company's and that lies completly on monsanto. (but i do feel their pain i would be pissed to) and as far as all the _small bussiness_ coments ...were the second largest nylon manufacture in the world ,not including everything else solutia manufactures at other plants.... try multi billion dollars company for small........as far as those sue happy folks on the bay stop :reallycrying .....just my .02


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