DuPont Found Negligent In Waste-Site Lawsuit

The Cochran Firm, with 21 locations nationwide

Associated Press
October 1, 2007 5:51 p.m.

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. -- DuPont was negligent in creating a 112-acre waste site tainted with arsenic, cadmium and lead, a civil jury ruled Monday, siding with the claims of 10 West Virginians who argued the chemical maker should clean up the mess and perhaps compensate residents who now fear for their health.

The verdict in Harrison County Circuit Court clears the way for a second proceeding that will determine whether thousands of residents in and around the small town of Spelter are entitled to routine health screenings. The same jury will decide that question and how much DuPont should spend on that program. DuPont has already set aside $15 million to deal with possible claims.

That part of the case will begin Tuesday.

Regardless of how the medical monitoring phase ends, a third phase of the class-action lawsuit will address property damage claims, while the final phase will address whether DuPont's conduct merits additional punitive damages.

Jurors also found DuPont created a public and private nuisance and trespass. It further decided that DuPont should be held strictly liable for exposing residents to the toxins. Plaintiffs who had waited all day for the verdict hugged each other and their lawyers, and a few shed tears.

"I think it's a victory for all West Virginians considering the issues that were tried," said Mike Papantonio, lead attorney for the plaintiffs. "It's an attempt by this jury to take back the environment." Mr. Papantonio and his clients declined further comment because the rest of the case remains to be tried.

"This is only the first phase of a four-phase trial," said DuPont spokesman Tim Ireland. "Consequently we do not have a complete outcome. We do know that federal and state regulators have been satisfied with the safety of DuPont's actions regarding the Spelter site. We also know the class area complies with West Virginia screening and safety standards. We will continue to defend this case."

Property owners in Spelter sued Delaware-based DuPont and New York-based T.L. Diamond & Co. over claims the companies deliberately dumped dangerous heavy metals on the site of a former zinc-smelting plant. Over 90 years, the plant produced more than 4 billion pounds of slab zinc and 400 million pounds of zinc dust, materials used in rustproofing products, paint pigments and battery anodes.

The plaintiffs argued the companies knew their waste products were dangerous and acted with negligence, while DuPont and Diamond denied wrongdoing. Defense attorneys argued that DuPont had already fulfilled its responsibility to Spelter, working with state environmental officials to destroy the old factory buildings, then cap the waste pile with a plastic cap and layers of fresh earth so it might someday be redeveloped.

Diamond ran the plant from 1975 to 2001, when regulators recommended the site be declared an imminent and substantial threat to public health. DuPont, which has been involved with the property since 1899 when it bought the land for a gunpowder mill, reassumed ownership when the zinc plant closed.

While Mr. Diamond is a defendant, the company isn't actively participating in the trial. The judge in the case ruled previously that DuPont is responsible for Diamond's conduct because of the 2001 sales agreement.

The next phase of the trial will focus on how great a risk residents near the site face from exposure to the toxins.

Mr. Papantonio contends problems sometimes take decades to develop and could include: neurological impairment; lung, skin, kidney and stomach cancers; damage to the heart, liver, kidneys, bladder and other internal organs; hypertension; diabetes; and decreased fertility.