Bayer to pay over $10 billion in Roundup lawsuit settlements

Bayer will pay more than $10 billion to end tens of thousands of lawsuits filed over its Roundup weedkiller, the company announced Wednesday. The settlement also resolves many other cases over the herbicide dicamba as well as water contaminated with toxic chemicals called PCBs.

Many plaintiffs say Roundup's active ingredient — glyphosate — caused them to develop cancer. Roundup was developed by Monsanto, which Bayer bought in 2018 for $63 billion.

The decision to resolve the Roundup cases, Bayer CEO Werner Baumann said, will "return the conversation about the safety and utility of glyphosate-based herbicides to the scientific and regulatory arena and to the full body of science."

The Roundup settlement does not cover three cases that have already gone to trial and that will continue through the appeals process. In one of those cases, a California jury awarded a couple more than $2 billion in damages before a court sharply lowered that amount.

This story was originally reported by National Public Radio. For the whole story, click here.