Bayer to Settle Monsanto PCB, Dicamba Lawsuits for $1.2 Billion

Bayer AG said it agreed to pay $650 million to settle claims by cities, counties and ports across the U.S. that toxic chemicals produced by Monsanto Co. for decades before they were banned polluted rivers and bays after leaching into storm-water runoff.

The company said it also will pay an additional $170 million to resolve PCB contamination claims by three U.S. states and $400 million to end litigation involving another Monsanto product -- dicamba-based herbicide. Dicamba has been blamed for wreaking havoc on farms across the U.S. Midwest by drifting from fields where it was sprayed to neighboring crops that ...