Monsanto to plead guilty to illegal pesticide use in Hawaii
By CALEB JONES
Associated Press
HONOLULU (AP) — Monsanto says in court papers that it has agreed to plead guilty to illegally using and storing pesticides in Hawaii and will pay $12 million in fines. The company in a court filing Thursday agreed to plead guilty to 30 environmental crimes after allowing workers to go on corn fields on Oahu after a glufosinate ammonium-based pesticide named Forfeit 280 was sprayed on the fields last year. Federal law prohibits people from entering areas where the chemical is sprayed within six days of application. Hawaii’s Department of Justice says Monsanto will also plead guilty to felony crimes related to the storage of a banned chemical on Maui,.
