« Ind. Law - "Vigo’s Ephedrine ordinance could be revamped" | Main | Ind. Law - More on "Should sex offenders' wrongs cost them their civil rights?" »

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Ind. Courts - "Suit blames Alcoa for toxins"

Mark Wilson reports today in the Evansville Courier & Press:

Alcoa should be held responsible for exposing miners and others to toxic waste it disposed of at a Warrick County coal mine more than 20 years ago.

That was the argument Wednesday by an attorney representing former miners at the Squaw Creek mine near Boonville, Ind., before Vanderburgh County Superior Court Judge Scott Bowers.

Not to do so, argued attorney Peter Racher of the Indianapolis law firm Plews, Shadley, Racher and Braun, would be "illogical and bad public policy."

But lawyers for Alcoa argued the company should be shielded from the lawsuits by the workers' compensation law.

Bowers, who was appointed a special judge in two Warrick Circuit Court cases involving the waste disposal, began hearing oral arguments from attorneys from both sides Wednesday.

The lawsuits originally were filed in Warrick Circuit Court in 2006, and Alcoa unsuccessfully sought to have the case moved to federal court.

Cassandra Collins and Alexandra Cunningham, Alcoa attorneys, argued that the matter should not be decided by the court but instead by the state's workers' compensation board.

Even if the lawsuit moves forward, some of its elements should be dismissed, they argued.

The mine near Boonville is the subject of two lawsuits filed by former mine employees. They allege that from 1965 through 1979, the company dumped 65 million gallons of cancer-causing coal tar pitch and 74 million cubic feet of chromium and chromium sludge and other toxic wastes into mine pits.

They also allege that the toxins possibly were dumped onto haul roads and other areas of the 5,000-acre section of the mine called the North Field.

The mine workers claim that unlike Alcoa employees, they never were told about the waste content or that it was toxic and were not given any special safety instructions or protective clothing.

Collins argued the mine was operated as a joint venture with Peabody Coal Co., making the workers employees of both companies. Because of this, she argued, Alcoa should be shielded from legal actions by immunity clauses in workers' compensation law.

But Racher said the two-year statute of limitations on compensation claims expired by the time workers realized they were having health problems that may have been linked to workplace exposures.

He also argued many people other than the workers were exposed through recreational use of the property and exposure to contaminated soil brought home on the workers' clothing.

Dozens of former workers and their family members have testified in recent years at various depositions and hearings related to the mining permit that they have experienced various cancers and other health issues.

However, an independent health assessment paid for by Alcoa and offered to the miners concluded in January, after examining more than 200 former mine employees and family members, that any exposure they may have had to the waste did not result "in an excess number of any medical condition," including cancer.

See earlier related ILB entries from Nov. 18, 2006, Nov. 13, 2006, and Feb. 20, 2006.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 17, 2008 09:16 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts