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Monsanto hit by PCB verdict

A jury has ordered Bayer subsidiary Monsanto to pay $73 million in compensatory damages and $784 million in punitive damages to seven former students and two parent volunteers at Sky Valley Education Centre in Monroe, Washington State, for health damage caused by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) it supplied.

Bayer sells Environmental Science Professional business

Private equity firm Cinven has agreed to acquire Bayer’s Environmental Science Professional (ESP) business for €2.4 billion. The deal should close in Q2, subject to customary closing conditions. Bayer had originally announced plans to divest the business, which is headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, in February 2021.

ESP offers pest, disease and weed control in non-agricultural areas such as vector control, professional pest management, vegetation management, forestry, turf and ornamentals. In 2021, it employed about 800 people in over 100 countries.

Feature article - Recent R&D developments for biosolutions in agriculture

Karan Chechi of ChemAnalyst looks at why demand is growing for a key alternative to agrochemicals

Agrochemicals such as pesticides, fertilisers and plant growth enhancers have played a crucial role over the last century. They allowed agricultural productivity to keep up with population growth and saved billions from starvation.

Two dead, many injured in Chempark explosion

Two workers have been confirmed dead after an explosion at Chempark Leverkusen in Germany at around 09.40 on 27 July and a subsequent fire in the tank farm of the Bürrig disposal centre that sent a blanket of smoke across the city and was heard 40 kilometres away.

Bayer resolves most Monsanto litigation

Bayer has made a series of agreements that, it said, “will substantially resolve” major outstanding Monsanto litigation at a cost it up to $5 billion in 2020, the same in 2021 and any more outstanding amounts in 2022. These have been unanimously approved by its board.

Most significantly, the company will pay $8.8-9.6 billion to resolve about 75% of the ongoing litigation related to the Roundup brand of glyphosate under a series of agreements. These contain no admission of liability or wrongdoing.

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