*

Bayer argues PCB levels were safe, blames school for

ignoring

warnings

*

Previous trials resulted in over $1.5 billion in verdicts

(Adds comment from plaintiffs' lawyer in paragraph 7,

information on verdict in paragraph 6)

By Brendan Pierson and Dietrich Knauth

Jan 14 (Reuters) - A Washington jury on Tuesday ordered

Bayer to pay $100 million to four people who say they

were sickened by toxic chemicals known as PCBs at a Seattle-area

school, but found the company was not liable for injuries

alleged by 11 others.

The verdict, which follows a two-month trial, is the latest

in a string of trials against the chemical company over the

alleged contamination at the Sky Valley Education Center in

Monroe, Washington.

More than 200 students, employees and parents have said

they developed cancer, thyroid conditions, neurological injuries

and other health problems from polychlorinated biphenyls, or

PCBs, leaking from the school's light fixtures. The chemicals

were made by Monsanto, which Bayer acquired in 2018.

Monsanto said in a statement it will pursue post-trial

motions, and an appeal if necessary, to overturn the verdict or

reduce the "excessive" damages awarded to the four plaintiffs.

Evidence at trial showed low to non-existent level of PCBs,

which could not have caused the injuries alleged, Monsanto said.

The jury concluded that Monsanto intentionally concealed

information about PCBs. It awarded $25 million in compensatory

damages and $75 million in punitive damages.

"Every case is different and the juries are clearly working

very hard to try to get things right for the generational harm

caused by PCBs," said Henry Jones, an attorney for the

plaintiffs.

Verdicts in previous trials over the alleged contamination

at the school, which have involved different groups of

plaintiffs, have totaled more than $1.5 billion, though some

have been reduced or overturned. The remaining judgments are

also the subject of appeals, Monsanto said.

Last year, a verdict for $185 million in favor of three

teachers and a teacher's spouse was overturned on appeal in

favor of Monsanto on multiple grounds.

The state appeals court agreed with Bayer that the trial

court wrongly applied the laws of Missouri, where Monsanto was

based, allowing the claims to be filed decades after the company

stopped producing PCBs in 1977. The company said Washington law

should apply instead, and it would block the plaintiffs' claims

as filed too late.

Washington's highest court is expected to hear an appeal of

that ruling.

In August, an $857 million verdict was slashed to $438

million, after a judge found it included excessive punitive

damages.

Bayer acquired Monsanto for $63 billion in 2018. Since then,

lawsuits over PCBs, and more significantly over claims that the

weedkiller Roundup caused cancer, have weighed heavily on the

company's shares.

PCBs were once used widely to insulate electrical equipment,

and were also used in such products as carbonless copy paper,

caulking, floor finish and paint. They were outlawed by the U.S.

government in 1979 after being linked to cancer and other health

problems. Monsanto produced PCBs from 1935 to 1977.

Plaintiffs have said Monsanto knew of the dangers of PCBs

for decades, but concealed them from the public and from

government regulators.

Bayer has argued plaintiffs have failed to prove their

injuries were caused by PCBs, and that the levels found in the

school were deemed safe by the Environmental Protection Agency.

It has also said the school ignored warnings from government

officials that the light fixtures in the aging building needed

to be retrofitted.