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The Port of Portland is the latest entity to sue Monsanto

UPDATE: This story was updated with comments from Monsanto.

The Port of Portland has sued Monsanto in federal court, alleging the agricultural chemical giant knowingly produced toxic chemicals for decades and left the port with the bill to clean it up.

Monsanto was the sole producer of the chlorine compound polychlorinated biphenyl, known as PCBs, for decades, until the federal government banned it in 1979.

The lawsuit alleges Monsanto knew as early as 1937 that its product -- used in paint, transformers, caulk and other items -- was hazardous to humans and wildlife. But the company did nothing, the lawsuit alleged. PCBs have been connected to cancer and other serious health conditions, including developmental delays in children, reproductive issues and decreased resistance to viruses.

"Any decision to conceal facts about human health should have consequences," Curtis Robinhold, the Port's deputy executive director, said in a statement. "Monsanto reaped huge profits from the manufacture and sale of PCBs, and it is entirely appropriate for those faced with the cost of cleaning up this contamination to hold them accountable."

The Port of Portland is just the latest public entity to sue the agricultural giant on allegations it conspired to conceal its role in producing the industrial and commercial contaminants. Eight West Coast cities - including Portland - have sued the company. Washington state also filed suit last month.

The port hasn't attached a dollar amount to the lawsuit, but is seeking compensatory and punitive damages that could range from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars for the cost of "past, present and future" cleanup costs, according to its attorney.

According to the lawsuit, a 1937 company memo showed the company knew its Aroclor product caused a "acne-form skin eruption." A report two decades later indicated the company knew the product was "toxic, but the actual limit has not been precisely defined."

Scott Partridge, Monsanto's vice president of global strategy, said in a statement the port's case lacks merit. "PCBs have not been produced in the U.S. for four decades, and the Port is now pursuing an experimental case on grounds never recognized in Oregon history," he said.

Monsanto said the lawsuit targets a past product that was "lawful and useful" for decades.

The company had more than $13.5 billion in net sales in 2016, according to its annual report.

John Fiske, an attorney with Dallas-based Baron & Budd, which is representing all 10 entities, said his clients believe "the cause is absolutely righteous."

"Cities, taxes, ratepayers are having to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to clean up Monsanto's PCBs," he said in an interview.

PCBS are one of the principal pollutants identified by the Environmental Protection Agency as dangerous in the Willamette River's Portland Harbor, a federally recognized Superfund site.

The Port is one of several public and private entities expected to help pay for cleaning up those contaminants.

The Port operates four terminals on the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, plus the airport, all of which have documented PCBs on or around their property. City of Portland officials documented PCBs on Swan Island Lagoon, in the heart of the Superfund site, as recently as 2012, according to the lawsuit.

The EPA is expected to release its latest cleanup plan for the 10-mile stretch of river within days.

Fiske said the lawsuit is independent of the federal cleanup plan, but the Port expects to pay somewhere between "tens and hundreds of millions" to remediate, remove, manage and reduce pollutants along the Willamette River.

Partridge, the Monsanto representative, said the port's lawsuit "threatens to delay and derail" the Superfund cleanup.

Last fall, Monsanto's shareholders approved a $66 billion offer from Bayer to buy the company. That deal must be approved by federal regulators.

UPDATE: A previous version of this story had the incorrect offer price for Monsanto. It's $66 billion.