PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island will receive at least $25 million in a settlement with Monsanto Co. and its affiliates over decades of pollution from toxic polychlorinated biphenyls that continue to contaminate waterways across the state, R.I. Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced Monday.
The agreement, which could be as much as $62.5 million, resolves the state’s claims against Monsanto, Solutia Inc. and Pharmacia LLC, which manufactured and distributed PCBs for widespread commercial use before the chemicals were banned in the United States in 1979.
The final payout will depend on the outcome of pending indemnity litigation between Monsanto affiliates and PCB purchasers, Neronha said.
Nicole Hayes, director of U.S. external communications for Bayer AG – Monsanto’s parent company – said Rhode Island is expected to receive an initial $12.5 million payment in June and could receive up to an additional $50 million through contingency payments over five years tied to that case, which is pending in Missouri.
Funds from the settlement will go toward environmental cleanup and restoration, including remediation of contaminated rivers, ponds and other natural resources, according to Neronha's office.
“Today we hold Monsanto accountable for the longstanding harms we allege were caused by its production of PCBs and misleading the public about these toxic chemicals,” Neronha said in a statement. “While the production of PCBs stopped in the 1970s, their lasting effects have endangered Rhode Island’s natural resources, as well as public health.”
PCBs were widely used in electrical equipment, hydraulic fluids, insulation materials and oil-based paints. Because they do not readily break down, they persist in soil and sediment and accumulate among wildlife.
In Rhode Island, PCBs have been detected in waterways, including the Woonasquatucket and Blackstone rivers, Mashapaug Pond and Narragansett Bay, where they move through the food chain via contaminated fish and shellfish.
Health officials have linked PCB exposure to cancer and other serious health effects, including damage to the endocrine, neurological and reproductive systems.
The attorney general’s office said Monsanto produced the majority of PCBs sold in the United States while allegedly aware of their risks but continued marketing and distribution. The state had been preparing to file suit before reaching the agreement.
Department of Environmental Management Director Terry Gray said the settlement will help accelerate cleanup efforts across contaminated sites.
“Although PCB production was banned nearly five decades ago, Rhode Island communities are still living with the lasting consequences of contamination,” Gray said. “This agreement will help provide the critical resources to clean up contaminated sites across Rhode Island and return them to productive reuse.”
The deal follows a series of similar PCB-related settlements in other states, including a 2025 Illinois agreement worth up to $280 million and a West Virginia settlement of about $60.5 million that same year, along with earlier 2024 resolutions in Washington state and Seattle totaling more than $150 million.
Monsanto said the Rhode Island agreement marks its 11th out of 12 state-level PCB settlements, with five remaining cases still pending.
(UPDATE: Adds comments from Nicole Hayes of Bayer AG in the fourth paragraph and includes additional information from Monsanto in final paragraph.)
Matthew McNulty is a PBN staff writer. He can be reached at McNulty@PBN.com or on X at @MattMcNultyNYC.
