WESTPORT, Mass., May 12, 2104 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — The Town of Westport and Westport Community Schools have taken an important step to protect the health of students, teachers, administrators, and others who work in or visit schools in Westport. They filed a lawsuit against Monsanto Company and its corporate successors to recover the costs of removing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s) from their schools, says Weitz & Luxenberg.
In May 2011, PCBs were first discovered in Westport Middle School at levels that far exceeded minimal safety standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). PCBs are man-made chemicals that were widely used in hundreds of industrial and commercial applications from the early 1950s to the late 70s – including construction materials used in thousands of schools and governmental buildings. Monsanto is the only known U.S. manufacturer of PCBs during that period.
The Westport Middle School was completed in 1969, and during its construction, PCB-containing materials, including window and door caulking and light ballasts, were used. PCBs can migrate out of these products and into adjoining masonry, flooring, walls, and soil and can be released into the air causing danger to those who come in contact with it.
The EPA has determined that Monsanto’s PCBs are probable human carcinogens and exert significant toxic effects on the immune system, the reproductive system, the nervous system, and the endocrine system. Students, teachers, administrators, and other individuals who come in regular contact with PCBs at the levels found in the Westport schools may be at an increased risk of contracting these and other serious illnesses. For these reasons, EPA discourages the continued use of certain PCB-containing materials.
The Town of Westport and Westport Community Schools have asserted in their Complaint that Monsanto had knowledge of the dangers of this product going back decades but failed to warn of its dangers. The lawsuit seeks the costs associated with removing PCBs from all school buildings in Westport.
The lawsuit is brought by Attorney Richard M. Sandman of Rodman, Rodman & Sandman, P.C., in Malden, Massachusetts, together with Scott Summy of Baron & Budd in Dallas, Texas, and Robert Gordon of Weitz & Luxenberg in New York City.
About Weitz & Luxenberg:
Founded in 1986 by attorneys Perry Weitz and Arthur Luxenberg, Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C., today ranks among the nation’s leading law firms. Weitz & Luxenberg’s numerous litigation areas include: mesothelioma, defective medicine and devices, environmental pollutants, accidents, personal injury, and medical malpractice. Victims of accidents are invited to rely on Weitz & Luxenberg’s more than 25 years of experience handling such cases. You can contact the firm’s Client Relations department at 800-476-6070 or at clientrelations@weitzlux.com.
More information: http://www.weitzlux.com/ and http://www.weitzluxenberg.com/ .
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