Chain link is what Karen McFarlane sees when she looks outside the place she calls home.
It surrounds her mobile home. Its similarity to a cage is a symbolic reminder of the contaminated soil where her four children play.
Virtually surrounded by property that has been bought by Solutia Inc., the McFarlanes are among 3,500 plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Monsanto and its spinoff company, Solutia. The plaintiffs are seeking compensation for polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination of their properties.
The Environmental Protection Agency lists PCBs as suspected human carcinogens.
McFarlane claims her family has suffered mental and physical damages from the contamination and wants to move.
Solutia offered McFarlane $25,000 for her property, but she refused, she says, because she doesn't feel the money covers the damage or the cost of a house in the area.
McFarlane and others like her say Solutia's actions have been like a slap in the face. Yet many area residents welcome the company's contributions to the community.
The Wellborn schools the McFarlane children attend have benefited from the chemical company's donations of money, computers, and science equipment.
The donations continue a decades-old reputation Solutia/Monsanto have for helping in the community. Solutia is the largest donor to many school systems and community groups.
It's no coincidence that the owner of the plant responsible for the pollution that has brought Anniston national attention for its pollution problem is also one of the area's largest donors.
A company memo dated Dec. 23, 1998, used in the Gadsden court case in which McFarlane is a plaintiff, stated Solutia's plan to increase community involvement through a "multiple impact" approach, rather than a "big bang" approach. The memo stated:
"The 'multiple impact' strategy calls for significantly increasing Solutia's Alabama community outreach, contributions, and political involvement, while aggressively seeking inclusion of our position in the media and trying to contain media issues regionally. We'll supplement this with communication targeted to our employees and retirees in the area."
Despite repeated requests for information on contributions Solutia has made in the Anniston area, plant manager David Cain and employees in the company's Missouri headquarters would not supply that information or comment for this article.
In 1999, Solutia budgeted $97,000 for community contributions, according to previous Anniston Star reports.
Representatives of the Calhoun County and Anniston school systems both cited Solutia as one of their largest donors.
Solutia has donated at least $34,000 in the last two years to the Anniston City Schools, according to Josie Jones, city schools director of business services.
Over the past two years, the Calhoun County School System has benefited from $60,000 in grants for science lab equipment and supplies, public relations director Carolyn Conner said.
The company also has sent several science teachers from both school systems to Colorado for professional development opportunities over at least the past two years.
Donations such as those from Solutia are crucial for schools on tight budgets.
The lawsuit against Monsanto/Solutia is being tried in Gadsden, and the jury has ruled that the companies are liable on six counts. But the jury has not deliberated yet on damages.
Aware of the lawsuit the city and residents such as McFarlane are engaged in with Solutia, Anniston High School Principal Darren Douthitt, like other beneficiaries, said he tries not to get involved.
"What happened in the past needs to be corrected, but if they want to give to the schools to correct that on a higher level, I'm for it," he said.
From paper to laptop computers to lab equipment to grant money for teachers, Solutia's donations helped the high school get through a parched budget last school year.
Without help from its corporate benefactor, Douthitt said, the school would have struggled more.
"It would have stifled progress a little," the principal said.
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Calhoun County also have enjoyed attention from Solutia.
"They're giving us more than they ever have," executive director Earl Warren said.
Recently, the club received $30,000 to purchase two vans, used to transport students to after-school programs and field trips.
"We probably would have had to cut back if we didn't get that help," Warren said. "They're an integral part of our organization."
While he admits giving to community groups is a worthy cause, David Baker, president of Community Against Pollution, said he questions the company's spending priorities.
"Certainly, giving money to education is fine and I think it's a very admirable thing to do," Baker said.
However, Baker, also a plaintiff in the court case against Solutia, worries about developmental impairments that PCB harm might have on area children.
"The issue is whether the money is doing what it's supposed to. If a child can't learn, then a computer won't help that child. It's like having an automobile with no motor," he said. "They need to start focusing on health monitoring and clinics."
To date, Solutia has spent $46 million on environmental cleanup efforts in Anniston.
A proposed consent decree, which Solutia has agreed to, provides that the company spend $3.2 million on special education services in western Anniston over a 12-year period.
Despite the good she has seen Solutia's donations do in schools even since she attended, McFarlane says she grows frustrated.
Waiting through legal proceedings that have dragged on for the past six years, she is tired of worrying about the soil her children play on.
"It's like it's never going to be over," she said.
