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Pollution Litigation Review - August 2000
World Wide Pollution Review, August 2000
Charlie Kingdollar, Stamford
North American Activity
On August 18, 2000, it was reported that Atochem North America has proposed to settle a toxic tort class action suit with residents living near their Bryan, Texas Elf Atochem agricultural chemical plant. Under the proposal, Atochem would pay $41.4 million to residents alleging bodily injuries caused by exposure to arsenic and other chemicals emanating from the facility between 1973 and 1992. The class includes residents living up to 2.5 miles from the plant, Mealey's Emerging Toxic Torts 8/18/00
On August 30, 2000, it was reported that two Superfund PRPs, Manistique Papers and Edison Sault Electric, have completed a $44 million cleanup of PCB contamination in Michigan's Manistique River. The cleanup project began in 1996 and included dredging 130,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment along a 1.7 mile stretch of the river. Lycos Environmental News 8/31/00
On August 30, 2000, California state regulators fined Chevron $2.25 million for a pipeline leak that released about 4.5 million gallons of jet fuel into the Old Sand Dune Aquifer underneath its El Segundo refinery. The leak allegedly commenced sometime in early 1998 and continued until February 1999. Chevron will also have to pay cleanup and monitoring costs. This is the third fine Chevron has paid for environmental violations at El Segundo facilities in the past three months. The previous two fines totaled $8 million. L.A. Times 8/31/00
On August 25, 2000, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, interpreting California law, held that CGL policies provide coverage for contamination that occurs within the policy period, even when the insured purchased the property after the policy period expired, but before the state issued its cleanup orders. The appellate reversed the district court's decision finding that insurers did not have a duty to defend because the insured bought the property after the policy expired. In this case K.F.Dairies Inc. filed suit against Fireman's Fund for denying its duty to defend the dairy in a Superfund liability action. The appellate court found "no language in the policy stating that the insured's liability, as opposed to the damage that serves as the basis for that liability, must arise within the policy period. An exclusion or limitation on policy coverage cannot be read into the insurance contract, rather such provisions must be conspicuous, plain and clear" (K.F. Dairies Inc. v. Fireman's Fund Insurance Co., No. 97055941).
On August 29, 2000, the Department of Defense (DOD) and the State of New Jersey reached an agreement on the cleanup of current and former military bases in the state. The DOD has agreed to spend $350 million to remediate 550 contaminated sites in New Jersey. The agreement did not contain a timetable for the cleanup operations. New Jersey is only the second state to reach such an agreement with the DOD. Pennsylvania was the first in 1998. New York Times 8/31/00
On August 30, 2000, the EPA reached an agreement with Manufactured Home Communities, which owns 150 mobile home parks across the nation, for sewage releases into Indiana's Little Calumet River. The agreement stipulates that the company will pay a $765,000 fine for sewage discharges from two of its mobile home parks in Indiana in violation of the Clean Water Act. According to the EPA, the wastewater treatment plant's at these facilities were poorly maintained and frequently noncompliant with environmental laws. PR News Wire 8/30/00
On August 31, 2000, it was reported that an old landfill on farmland in rural Pennsylvania has contaminated public and private drinking water wells and has been recommended for inclusion on the federal government's Superfund list. The Watson Johnson Landfill situated in a farm field operated as an unlined landfill from the 1960s to 1972. W.R. Grace is known to have dumped 3,200 tons of paints and pigments in the landfill in the late 1960s. Groundwater, including a Quakertown public well, is contaminated with the industrial solvents trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) as well as boron. TCE levels in the soil on the farm are 350 times the federal safety limit. TCE in the Quakertown well is 7 times federal safety levels. Residential wells in the area are also contaminated. The Inquirer 8/31/00
On August 31, 2000, it was reported that residents of Chicago's suburbs have begun filing suits against Nicor Gas seeking damages for mercury contamination and exposure to mercury which spilled into houses when Nicor and its sub-contractor, Henkels & McCoy, removed old gas regulators from the homes. Over 200,000 homes will be tested for mercury contamination. So far, of the 322 homes tested 44 had been contaminated. Ten families filed a lawsuit against both the utility and its contractor seeking $50,000 for each person exposed to the mercury. Subsequently, a second similar suit was filed. Associated Press 8/31/00
On August 23, 2000, a sewage lift station operated by the City of Olathe, Kansas malfunctioned and released 180,000 gallons of untreated sewage into Mill Creek. Fecal matter in the creek measured 60,000 parts per 100 milliliters of water. The state safety limit is 200 parts per 100 milliliters. It wasn't until 5 days later that the State's Department of Health and Environment issued public health advisories not to swim, wade or fish in the creek. A week later, new tests still showed levels of sewage in the creek were above state safety limits. Kansas City Star 8/31/00
On August 23, 2000 a U.S. District Court held that two insurers were liable to pay for the costs of wetlands restoration despite the absolute pollution exclusions contained in their General Liability (GL) policies. The case involved a California farmer who plowed soil into a wetland in violation of the Clean Water Act destroying and damaging the environmentally valuable wetland. American Manufacturers Mutual Insurance Co. and Reliance Insurance Co. denied coverage arguing that the act was intentional and was also excluded by the absolute pollution exclusion contained in the GL policies. The court found the definition of "pollutant" to be ambiguous as it could be read to include or exclude soil as a pollutant. The court also held that while the plowing was intentional, the farmer did not intend to discharge soil into areas protected by the Clean Water Act. The restoration of the wetland is expected to run about $1.8 million. Knight Ridder Tribune News Business News 8/25/00
Tyler Pipe Industries is ordered to pay 15 asbestosis plaintiffs $26 million. On August 28, 2000, a Texas jury ordered Tyler Pipe Industries, a subsidiary of Swan Transportation Co., to pay 7 plaintiffs with asbestos-related illnesses $17 million. Individual awards ranged between $1.9 million and $3.12 million. This award follows another Texas jury award, on August 19th, where Tyler Pipe was ordered to pay $9 million to 8 other employees. At least one other suit against the company is scheduled to go to trial and between 350 and 400 additional current and former employees already diagnosed with asbestos-related illnesses have stated their intent to sue. Tyler Pipe used equipment to transport molten metal to molds which was lined with cement containing asbestos. Air ducts in the facility were also lined with asbestos and workers wore coats and gloves which contained asbestos. PR Newswire 8/28/00
On August 27, 2000, it was reported that a new study completed by two environmental consulting firms concluded that air pollution emanating from aircraft at Chicago's O'Hare Airport cerated an additional risk of cancer far above what are considered acceptable levels by the EPA. The area affected by the emissions covers about 1,000 square miles. The emissions include benzene, aldehydes and naphthalene. Communities closest to the airport were reported to have a cancer risk five times higher areas outside of the affected area. The authors of the study have suggested that earlier studies which found that the airport was not a major cause of air pollution may have substantially underestimated the volume and types of pollutants emitted. The City of Chicago owns O'Hare. Chicago Sun-Times 8/27/00
On August 25, 2000, approximately 1,100 lobstermen from New York and Connecticut filed a suit against pesticide manufacturers alleging that pesticides sprayed last year to kill mosquitos seeped into Long Island Sound and decimated the lobster population. The suit is seeking $125 million in damages. The defendants are Cheminova Inc. of Wayne, New Jersey and its parent Cheminova Agro A/S of Denmark, Agrevo Environmental Health Inc. of Frankfurt, Clarke Mosquito Control Products of Roselle, Illinois and Zoecon Corp. of Schaumberg, Illinois. The suit alleges that the manufacturers should have warned that local governments which sprayed the pesticides of the potential dangers to the environment. The suit alleges that because 90 % of the adult lobster population was killed along with many young lobsters the ecosystem would take 5 - 10 years to recover. New York Times 8/26/00.
On August 24, 2000, Chevron USA agreed to pay and additional $7 million to settle federal allegations that it had violated the Clean Air Act at its offshore oil terminal at El Segundo, California. The EPA alleged that between 1995 and 1998 Chevron underestimated the emissions released into the air during tanker refilling operations by 100 times. Two months ago, Chevron agreed to pay $1 million to settle a portion of the allegations. L.A. Times 8/24/00
On August 24, 2000, it was reported that Nicor Gas has taken responsibility for mercury contamination in at least 32 homes, The President of the Chicago utility has blamed a subcontractor, Henkles & McCoy, for the mercury spills which allegedly occurred when the subcontractor was moving gas regulators from inside to outside. Some of the spills could have occurred more than a year ago leaving children exposed to the mercury for that time. Nicor has agreed to pay for the cleanup, temporary housing costs, any furniture or carpeting contaminated by the mercury and medical testing of the residents. Nicor believes it will have to test 200,000 homes for mercury contamination. Of the first 215 homes tested, 40 were contaminated. Nicor also believes that its insurers will cover the cleanup costs. Ten families have filed suit against the utility and its contractor seeking $50,000 for each person exposed to any mercury. A second similar suit was also filed. Chicago Sun-Times 8/24/00 & excite.news 8/31/00
On August 25, 2000, it was reported that Washington's Department of Ecology has decided to require more thorough cleanups at sites contaminated with several toxins, including dioxins, PCBs, mercury, furans, benzo(a)pyrene, and four banned pesticides. Sites contaminated with dust from steel plants, which contains dioxins, arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury, and was widely used in fertilizers will also be subjected to more stringent cleanup standards. The Spokesman Review 8/25/00
On August 24, 2000, a Pennsylvania jury ordered Monsanto to pay $90 million to replace a 12 story state Department of Transportation building that had to be demolished after toxic fumes contaminated the entire building during a hostile fire in 1994. Monsanto was the manufacturer of fire-retardant liquid PCBs which allegedly contaminated the building during the fire. Associated Press 8/25/00
On August 24, 2000, Chevron USA agreed to pay and additional $7 million to settle federal allegations that it had violated the Clean Air Act at its offshore oil terminal at El Segundo, California. The EPA alleged that between 1995 and 1998 Chevron underestimated the emissions released into the air during tanker refilling operations by 100 times. Two months ago, Chevron agreed to pay $1 million to settle a portion of the allegations. L.A. Times 8/24/00
On August 24, 2000, it was reported that Nicor Gas has taken responsibility for mercury contamination in at least 32 homes, The President of the Chicago utility has blamed a subcontractor, Henkles & McCoy, for the mercury spills which allegedly occurred when the subcontractor was moving gas regulators from inside to outside. Some of the spills could have occurred more than a year ago leaving children exposed to the mercury for that time. Nicor has agreed to pay for the cleanup, temporary housing costs, any furniture or carpeting contaminated by the mercury and medical testing of the residents. Chicago Sun-Times 8/24/00
On August 16, 2000, Appleton Papers, agreed to pay a $490,000 fine and install $10 million of pollution control equipment at its Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania facility to settle federal and state clean air violations. Regulators alleged that the paper manufacturer discharged excessive amounts of sulfur and sulfur dioxide after expanding the facility without installing the proper pollution control equipment. Lycos Environmental News Service 8/17/00
On August 15, 2000, the National Environment Trust, a U.S. environmental group, published a report detailing toxic air emissions released into the air by electric utilities. The majority of the information came from the federal government's Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). The report states that electric utilities released more than 1 billion pounds of toxins into the air during 1998, more than any other industry. The worst individual utilities were listed as Southern Company, American Electric Power and the Tennessee Valley Authority. In addition to the 1 billion pounds of toxics released into the air which were reported under the TRI, electric utilities also discharged another 104,000 pounds of mercury - another toxin. The mercury emissions were not reported because no individual facility discharged more than the reporting threshold of 25,000 pounds per year. Lycos Environmental News Service 8/16/00
On August 15, 2000, it was reported that the State of Idaho has proposed a cleanup plan for remediating mining pollution in the Coer d'Alene river basin which would cost $478 million and take approximately 30 years to complete. In July, mining companies deemed responsible for the contamination proposed to settle their liability by paying $250 million over 30 years. The EPA estimates that to cleanup the contamination caused by the mining industry over a 1,500 square mile area covering portions of Idaho, Montana and Washington could cost between $1 billion and over $3 billion. The Spokesman Review 8/15/00
On August 15, 2000, it was reported that 11% of the children under 10, and 26% of those 2 and younger, living miles from the former Bunker Hill smelting site in Idaho have lead levels higher than the federal safety limit. Gulf Resources and Chemical Co. continued to operate the smelter after a 1973 fire destroyed the facilities pollution controls. Company documents discovered stated that compensation to lead poisoned children would cost the company only a fraction of what they would earn by keeping the smelter running. During that year alone the smelting operation deposited over 30 tons of lead per square mile over the surrounding communities. Cleanup of the 21 acre smelter site and adjacent properties cost over $200 million. The Salt Lake Tribune 8/15/00
On August 14, 2000, it was reported that health experts believe that asbestos-related illnesses will kill another 250,000 people in the United States over the next several decades. Seattle Post-Intelligencer 8/15/00
On August 15, 2000, it was reported that an assessment by health experts working for W.R. Grace concluded years ago that 30,000 cases of lung cancer would develop among those involved with the installation of asbestos-contaminated attic insulation. An Assistant U.S. Surgeon General recently stated that Zonolite insulation poses a "substantial health risk" to those doing work in residential attics. According to the Public Health Service "even minimal handling by workers or ersidents poses a substantial health risk." Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 8/15/00 & New York Times 8/15/00
On August 14, 2000, it was reported that attorneys have filed another class action toxic tort suit against Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) on behalf of 56 Barstow, California residents and their volunteer fire department. The suit alleges that the utility discharged chromium 6 into the groundwater. The plaintiffs allege that the exposure to the chromium 6 caused a variety of illnesses including four wrongful death claims. In 1996, the utility settled a class action filed by residents of Hinkley, California with similar allegations for $333 million. Another attorney firm is preparing another class action suit against the company on behalf of over 2,000 other plaintiffs alleging damages caused by exposure to chromium 6. Dow Jones International News Service 8/14/00
On August 2, 2000, the Attorney General of Illinois filed suit against BP Amoco Corp., alleging that between June 1991 and October 1997 the company was responsible for 73 petroleum spills from underground storage tanks (USTs) at 61 Chicago area gas stations. The suit alleges that the company's failure to abate and properly report the leaks violated state environment laws. The state is seeking $50,000 per violation and $10,000 per day per violation. A 1998, Illinois suit against the company over UST violations resulted in BP Amoco agreeing to remediate 394 leaking USTs and pay a $2.6 million fine. BNA Toxics Law Daily 8/7/00
On August 7, 2000, a federal appellate court upheld a $4.6 million jury verdict finding a contractor and a transit agency liable for cleanup costs incurred by Unocal for an oil spill from a ruptured pipeline (Unocal Corp. v. United States, 9th Cir., No. 9955342). Kruze & Kruse, a subcontractor hired by the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (d.b.a. Metrolink) to work on a new railway station ruptured a Unocal pipeline on February 20, 1995, spilling 45,000 gallons of oil into storm drains leading into Coyote Creek and the San Gabriel River. The jury found that Metrolink was liable for 80% ($3,680,000) of the cleanup costs and the contractor for 20% ($920,000). The court also ordered the parties to pay prejudgement interest of 5.87%. BNA Toxics Law Daily 8/10/00
On August 7, 2000, the City of New York settled federal allegations that it continuously violated the Clean Air Act between 1992 and 1999, by releasing chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone depleting chemicals into the atmosphere. The government stated that the violations occurred when the city did not properly remove the chemicals from discarded appliances before crushing them as required by law. The city will pay a $1 million fine to settle the case (United States v. City of New York, S.D.N.Y., No. 99-2207). BNA Toxics Law Daily 8/9/00
On August 11, 2000, it was reported that additional buried drums of solvents were found at an abandoned facility in Northvale, New Jersey. Town officials only recently discovered the hazardous waste and cleanup crews have already removed 750 decayed barrels that contained trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) from the two acre site, formerly occupied by Tect Inc. The former president of Tect, Inc. reportedly has admitted to having buried drums of solvents on the property in the 1960s. It is now believed that as many as 400 additional barrels may be buried under a building added to the facility in the 1960s. This is the second time that additional drums were unexpectedly discovered on the site. Most of the 750 barrels already removed had leaked their contents into soil and groundwater. Samples have shown TCE levels in groundwater as high as 11,000 parts per billion (ppb), far above the allowable limit of 1 ppb. Over $500,000 has been spent on the site investigation alone. The Bergen Record 8/11/00
On August 10, 2000, it was reported that high levels of lead and other heavy metals in the soil of the town of Eureka, Utah may land the entire town on the federal Superfund list, Blood samples taken from Eureka children have also found high levels of lead and other metals present in the children's bloodstream. The EPA will search for potentially responsible parties to pay fro the required remediation. Eureka is a small town of 800 and is in Utah's historic mining district. It is likely that historic mining activities are responsible for the contamination. The Salt Lake Tribune 8/10/00
On August 8, 2000, a Baltimore, Maryland jury awarded 14 plaintiffs suffering from asbestosis $10.3 million. The jury found AC&S Inc., an insulation contracting company, liable holding that the plaintiffs were exposed to asbestos through the products distributed by the defendant. Mealeys.com 8/9/00
On August 8, 2000, it was reported that about 110,000 (13%) of the nation's regulated underground storage tanks (USTs) are still not in compliance with the EPA's 12/98 UST regulations for corrosion protection, leak detection, monitoring systems and spill/overfill protections. The percentage of compliant USTs varies widely by state. In Ohio, under 16% of the 29,177 active regulated USTs are fully compliant and little is known about the compliance rate of the 62,600 active USTs in Texas. Thousands of these noncompliant USTs are owned by town, city and state government agencies. New York City is reportedly operating 614 noncompliant USTs. The State of New York is operating between 74 and 350 noncompliant USTs. In Connecticut, municipalities are operating over 506 noncompliant USTs. New York Times 8/8/00
On August 9, 2000, it was reported that old poorly maintained sewer lines in Orange County, California have leaked over 300,000 gallons of raw sewage into waterways in 198 incidents so far this year. The sewage was released when lines ruptured or became clogged. In 1999, Orange County sewage lines released 318,303 gallons of raw sewage in 264 spills. L. A. Times 8/9/00
On August 7, 2000, an oil slick and large clumps of oil and heavy tar washed onto a 20 mile stretch of South Florida's coastline. While the source of the spill is still a mystery and the exact size of the oil spill is unknown, state DEP officials have stated that it is the worst oil spill to hit South Florida in a decade. It is suspected that the spill was either an accidental spill or an intentional release of oil from a passing ship. Several swimmers came out of the ocean covered with oil and hatching sea turtles and pelicans are endangered. The US Coast Guard is searching for the ship. Miami Herald 8/9/00
On August 4, 2000, it was reported that the EPA fined Super Value Inc. $261,595 for underground storage tank (UST) violations and ordered the company to cleanup soil and groundwater contamination at four New Jersey gasoline stations. Violations included failing to report contamination discovered in 1998 and failure to properly close and remove leaking USTs. Some cleanup has begun. At one of the gas stations, 558 tons of contaminated soil has been removed from the site. Contamination of the soil and groundwater which resulted from these violations was described as "massive." The Bergen Record 8/4/00
On August 3, 2000, Equilon Enterprises LLC settled federal allegations of Clean Air Act violations emanating from a Kansas refinery by agreeing to pay a $600,000 fine. The EPA alleged that the refinery released excessive amounts of benzene and nitrogen oxides. The company also allegedly failed to repair leaks in industrial refrigeration equipment. Lycos Environmental News 8/4/00
On August 1, 2000, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection announced that trace elements (metabolites) of three agricultural herbicides were found in more than 80 percent of private drinking water wells and shallow monitoring wells tested near farming operations in the southern and central portions of the state. The three herbicides, alachlor (also known as Lasso), metolachlor (also known as Dual) and acetorchlor were also found in 52 percent of the deeper municipal wells tested. Alachlor and acetochlor are listed by the EPA as likely human carcinogens. It is unclear as to whether the metabolites formed during the breaking down of the herbicides are likely as hazardous. Pioneer Planet 8/1/00
On August 1, 2000, it was reported that an Ohio tire recycling facility that had caught fire nearly a year ago will cost about $30 million and take 15 years to cleanup. The facility, Kirby Tire Recycling, had caught fire nearly one year ago causing sludge from about 6 million burning tires to contaminate soil and flow into Ohio's Sycamore River. Toledo Blade 8/1/00
On August 1, 2000, a 39 year old pipeline owned by Pembina Pipeline Corp., ruptured spilling about 450,000 gallons of oil into the Pine River in British Columbia, Canada. Heavy rains causing subsidence and power failures reportedly combined to cause the rupture. Pembina Pipeline acquired the pipeline only 11 hours before the rupture. Early estimates of the cleanup top $1 million. Pembina reported that it has insurance to cover the cleanup. Environmental officials are concerned that the oil will migrate through the region's porous soil and contaminate drinking water wells of residents in the area. Calgary Herald & Reuters 8/3/00
On August 2, 2000, it was reported that Washington State officials have determined that mining contamination emanating from mining in Idaho's Coeur d'Arlene region will cost between $408 million and $ 670 million to remediate. Mining company estimates of the cleanup necessary in Washington are from $100 million to $140 million. Several mining companies have already offered to pay $250 million over 30 years to remediate contamination in Idaho. The cleanup of contamination in Washington state was not part of that proposed settlement. The Spokesmans Review 8/3/00
On August 2, 2000 a hostile fire broke out and destroyed a 100,000 square foot warehouse used by Central Garden and Pet Supply which supplies commercial quantities of materials to large retail operations. Pesticides, fertilizers pool acids, plastics and other supplies were stored in the warehouse at the time of the fire. A toxic cloud measuring about 1 mile wide by 30 miles long spread over part of east Phoenix, Arizona. Dozens of adjacent businesses and about 100 residents had to be evacuated. Several of the evacuees were complaining of respiratory difficulties and headaches. The Arizona Republic 8/3/00
On August 2, 2000 attorneys representing a resident of Putnam County, West Virginia filed suit against Monsanto Co., Solutia Inc., Amherst Coal, the City of Nitro and three subsidiaries of Arch Coal alleging that dioxin disposed of at local landfills from the 1950s - the 1980s has left soil and surface water contamination , caused property diminution and put the health of local residents at risk. Tests of both Manila and Heizer Creeks and their banks have shown excessive levels of dioxin. The dioxin was allegedly generated as a by-product of Monsanto's production of the herbicide 2,4,5-T (i.e. agent orange). Solutia bought some of Monsanto's chemical operations and the other defendants owned or operated the landfills. Attorneys hope to certify a class action representing other residents living along the waterways. Knight Ridder Tribune News 8/3/00
On August 2, 2000, DuPont agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle a government action brought after an August 1995 spill from a Kentucky facility released 23,800 gallons of sulfuric acid into the air forcing the evacuation of over 1,000 residents. The company agreed to pay a $650,000 fine and fund a new emergency notification system to resolve governmental cleanup claims and allegations of environmental violations at the facility. Dow Jones News Service 8/2/00
Non-North American Activity
On August 29, 2000, it was reported that data collected by the French Environment Institute shows that 34% of the country's surface and groundwater used as drinking water sources are contaminated with pesticide levels higher than to require special treatment to filter out the pesticides. Another 10% of the waterways had lower pesticide levels. The herbicide, atrizine was the pesticide most commonly found. The insecticide lindane was also frequently found. Lycos Environmental News Service 8/29/00
On August 25, 2000, approximately 1,100 lobstermen from New York and Connecticut filed a suit against pesticide manufacturers alleging that pesticides sprayed last year to kill mosquitos seeped into Long Island Sound and decimated the lobster population. The suit is seeking $125 million in damages. The defendants are Cheminova Inc. of Wayne, New Jersey and its parent Cheminova Agro A/S of Denmark, Agrevo Environmental Health Inc. of Frankfurt, Clarke Mosquito Control Products of Roselle, Illinois and Zoecon Corp. of Schaumberg, Illinois. The suit alleges that the manufacturers should have warned that local governments which sprayed the pesticides of the potential dangers to the environment. The suit alleges that because 90 % of the adult lobster population was killed along with many young lobsters the ecosystem would take 5 - 10 years to recover. New York Times 8/26/00.
On August 21, 2000, it was reported that, according to the environmental group Greenpeace, small spills in Russia release between 11 million and 22 million tons of oil into the environment annually. The Spokesman Review 8/25/00
On August 21, 2000, a river barge spilled about 50 tons of oil into the Irtysh River near the Russian city of Omsk. Human error is suspected and investigators are looking into whether the valves on the storage tanks were properly closed before filling operations began. The Spokesman Review 8/25/00
On August 18, 2000, 122 plaintiffs living outside of US military bases in the Philippines filed suit against the Philippine and US governments seeking $103 billion in damages for various illnesses, including cancers, allegedly caused by exposure to toxic wastes emanating from the bases. The plaintiffs seek $1.1 billion from the Philippine government and $102 billion from the US government. The Philippine Health Secretary has identified toxic contamination in at least 16 places at Clark Air Force base and 10 places at the Navy's Subic Bay base. Over 100 people living near the contaminated sites have died of cancer in the past 4 years and another 300 are suffering from illnesses allegedly caused by exposure to the contaminants, which include mercury, lead, chromium and cadmium. Dow Jones International News Service 8/18/00
On August 17, 2000, it was reported that the solvents and heavy metals have contaminated the groundwater under 3 Mitsubishi Materials Corporation facilities in the Japanese prefectures of Kitamoto, Okegawa and Omiya. Trichloroethylene was discovered under their Kitamoto facility at levels 8,000 times higher than the government allows. Tetrachloroethylene , at levels 430 times higher than the governmental limit was discovered under their Okegawa facility and Cadmium up to 360 times higher than governmental limits was discovered under their research facility in Omiya. The company has stated that the solvents were used at the facilities from about 1960 until about 1990. Residents surrounding at least two of the facilities get their drinking water from wells. Japan Econmic Newswire 8/17/00
On August 15, 2000, the Peruvian government fined the owner of Yanacocha gold mine $500,000 for a June 14th mercury spill. A transportation accident resulted in the release of 350 pounds of mercury. The mine's owner, Newmont Mining Corp. performed cleanup operations and has agreed to cover medical costs to the 70 confirmed cases of mercury poisoning resulting from exposure to the spilled mercury. Dow Jones International News Service 8/15/00 & Knight Ridder Tribune News 6/14/00
On August 15, 2000, it was reported that over 1.5 million fish have been poisoned in rivers in Souther Iran. Officials believe toxic chemicals washing into the waterways from industrial and agricultural facilities are responsible, however, particular facilities have yet to be identified. Dow Jones International News Service 8/15/00
On August 15, 2000, 22 executives from Taiwan's Eternal Chemical Co and the Shengli Chemical Co. were charged with dumping solvents into a tributary of the Kaoping River, a source of drinking water for the Kaoshiung metropolitan area. Eternal Chemical is facing an $8,3 million fine and Shengli Chemical is facing a $5.1 million fine. Prosecutors are also seeking prison sentences for those involved. Dow Jones International News Service 8/15/00
On August 10, 2000, it was reported that the cleanup costs for a 338,000 gallon oil spill into Rio de Janeiro's Guanabara Bay in January cost the Brazilian oil company, Petrobas, $62.3 million in cleanup costs in addition to a $20 million fine. Local fisherman have also filed a suit against Petrobas seeking $67 million in compensation for property damage and lost earnings as a result of this spill. More recently, the company was fined $94 million by the Brazilian federal government after a 1.06 million gallon oil spill occurring on July 16, 2000. Oil Spill Intelligence Report 8/10/00
On August 1, 2000, the Brazilian federal EPA (IBAMA) increased the fine Petrobas must pay for a 1.06 million gallon oil spill which occurred on July 16th from $56 million to a record $94 million fine. The oil was spilled into Brazil's Barigue River. The state of Parana reportedly intends to fine the company an additional $28 million. Oil Spill Intelligence Report 8/3/00 & 7/20/00
On August 5, 2000, an overflowing above ground storage tank belonging to Tedcastle Oil Products at the Dublin Port Company's storage depot spilled 200 tonnes of oil into Dublin Bay, The Irish Times 8/7/00
On August 7, 2000, it was reported that forty Israeli naval divers filed a toxic tort class action suit against the Israeli government and chemical companies with facilities along the Kishon River. The divers are alleging that their exposure to untreated chemical wastes poured into the river is responsible for their various cancers. Twelve of the plaintiffs have already died. The Kishon River is thought to be Israel's most contaminated river and Israeli naval personnel trained in the river from the 1950s to the 1990s. Medical experts working on the suit believe they have discovered other cancer clusters among Israeli Coast Guard personnel and among commercial fisherman operating out of Haifa Bay at the mouth of the Kishon. The Boston Globe 8/7/00
On August 1, 2000, a leak in an above ground storage at a power plant owned by Union Fenosa and Iberdrola spilled 100,000 liters of oil into the Tagus River in central Spain. By August 3, there was a five mile long oil slick on the river. CNN,com 8/3/00
Legal Disclaimer: The information we have provided is offered as general information and should not be relied upon as advice, representation or counsel. Legal conclusions will vary depending on applicable local and national laws, individual policy terms and conditions and exclusions. This analysis is separate from and does not affect any positions we may take or have taken on any claims, past or future, under any reinsurance or insurance agreement or other contract. You should consult with appropriate professionals, including your own legal counsel, before relying upon any information we provide. |
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