An Alabama jury found international company Monsanto liable for decades of pollution in a small US town named Anniston. The verdict has opened the door for millions of dollars of claims against the company and Solutia, its former chemicals business that was spun off in 1997. The jury has not yet determined the dollar value of the liability.

The company has been found guilty of contaminating the local river with chemicals called PCBs in the city between 1935 and 1971. It had also buried waste in a landfill. Lawyers have accused Monsanto of deliberately covering up evidence indicating that the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were harmful.