Angiosarcoma Law Blog : Angiosarcoma Lawyer & Attorney : Burke & Eisner Law Firm : Vinyl Chloride

A federal judge has signed a decree settling the civil case against more than a dozen companies over vinyl chloride contamination at the Wauconda Sand and Gravel landfill site outside of Chicago. The judgment requires the site to be monitored for the next 15 years, but not everyone is satisfied with this outcome.

The landfill site was closed by the state in 1978 and decades later in 2003, the Lake County Health Department discovered vinyl chloride levels that exceeded regulatory limits in three private wells. The Environmental Protection Agency later found a fourth well in the area that also exceeded federal limits.

 In 2004, approximately 400 homes in Wauconda area were connected to the municipal water supply to eliminate the threat of water contamination. However, several dozen homes that should have been connected to the municipal supply have been “orphaned,” according to a Lake County board member.

Vinyl chloride is a toxic chemical known to cause angiosarcoma particularly of the liver. No illnesses have yet been reported by residents in the district. Any resident who develops cancer should consult with an attorney to learn more about their legal options.



 

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Groundwater at the site of a former Honeywell electronics plant in Riviera Beach, Florida, is finally being treated to remove vinyl chloride — a known cancer-causing chemical — and other volatile pollutants. It’s been decades since the contamination was first discovered near the city’s water-supply wells.

Since 1988, the Environmental Protection Agency has been using air strippers to decontaminate the water going to the local water treatment facility. Now, contractors are installing a treatment system that is expected to clean the groundwater within the next five years.

Before the water can be declared clean, it must contain less than 1 part per billion or less of vinyl chloride. The safe drinking-water standard for the state is 2 parts per billion.

Residents living in the area who have developed angiosarcoma may wish to talk to an attorney regarding their legal rights. Companies can be held liable for damages caused by vinyl chloride pollution and similar toxic exposures.

See Also: Vinyl Chloride Clean Up



 

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Nearly 700 former and current residents of Lake McCullom, Illinois, have received medical vouchers from Centegra Health Systems as part of a class-action settlement agreement over vinyl chloride pollution. The pollution has been cited as a cause of a cluster of brain and nerve cancers among area residents.

Suspicious Cluster of Cancer
In 2004-05, over the course of an eight month period, three neighbors developed brain cancer. Three additional Lake McCullom residents and a fourth individual from nearby Ringwood were diagnosed with brain cancer in 2006.

Brain cancer is an extremely rare disease, diagnosed in about 3 per 100,000 people. Vinyl chloride is already linked to angiosarcoma, a rare type of tumor.

Vinyl Chloride Lawsuits
Modine Manufacturing Co. is one of two defendants named in the class action lawsuit, and the company agreed to settle the lawsuit last year for $2 million. Approximately $1.4 million of the settlement money is being used to fund the voucher program, which will help residents pay for MRIs and other screenings.

In addition to the class action lawsuit against Modine and Rohm and Haas, there are 22 individual lawsuits seeking damages.
 

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Residents of, and visitors to, the Myrtle Grove Trailer Park in Plaquemine, Louisiana have negotiated a settlement worth about 2.5 million dollars because of the water contamination they were exposed to between 1997 and 2001.  Attorneys are representing about 4,700 people who are seeking damages for personal injuries, medical expenses and lost wages because they were exposed to vinyl chloride in their drinking water.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Web site, the  vinyl chloride is a carcinogen that can cause damage to the nervous system, cancer and liver problems such as angiosarcoma.

A. Wilbert and Sons LLC, the owner of Myrtle Grove Trailer Park, which is now closed, and the company’s insurance carrier, Scottsdale Insurance, have agreed jointly to pay $2 million in damages. The state Department of Health and Hospitals has agreed to pay $490,000.  

 The lawsuit is based on routine testing of the water well that supplied the park.  The first test was in 1998 and found that the well contained unsafe amounts of vinyl chloride.  The lawsuit claimed that DHH failed to provide adequate warnings to residents of the trailer park after the department found the unsafe levels of vinyl chloride in the park’s drinking water in 1998. A second test in 2001 also found vinyl chloride in the water and a letter was sent from the Department of Health and Hospitals to the owners of the park.  The owners then cut off access to the well and arranged for the park residents to be connected to the municipal water supply.  

 Patrick W. Pendley, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said that by that time it was too late; residents and visitors had been drinking the water for four years.

On January 9th, State District Judge Robin Free is expected to accept or reject the settlement.  If accepted, a court-appointed "special  master" will determine which of the over 4,000 have a valid claim on a share of the settlement.

Dow Chemical operates a plant near Maple Grove and was originally named in the suit.  However, claims against Dow were dismissed without prejudice before this settlement was reached.  This does leave open the possibility that Dow can be sued for personal injuries at a later date.

In a separate case pending in 18th Judicial District Court, Dow is being named as the source of the vinyl chloride that polluted Maple Grove's drinking water and money for property damage is being sought.  That case is scheduled for an August trial.

Details of the  settlement can be seen at http://www.ibervillewaterclass.com.

See Also: Colorite Pays 1.3 Million Dollar Penality

 

 

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Colorite Specialty Resins in Somerville, NJ manufactures polyvinyl chloride plastic and vinyl products.  The manufacturing process emits vinyl chloride, a chemical that the United States Environmental Protection Agency has classified as a Class A carcinogen.  Exposure to vinyl chloride has been  associated with adverse human health issues such as neurological disorders and angiosarcoma of the liver.

Colorite Specialty Resins, headquartered in Somerville, N.J., has agreed to perform corrective measures at its Burlington, N.J., manufacturing facility that will reduce harmful emissions of vinyl chloride to resolve alleged violations of federal and state environmental laws, the Justice Department, the state of New Jersey, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced in an Aug. 19 press release.

According to the settlement the company will pay a 1.3 million dollar civil penalty which will be split between the state of New Jersey and the United States.  They have also agreed to two federal environment projects, projects aimed at further reducing emissions and  which are estimated to have a cost of about one million dollars.  These two projects together are expected to reduce Colorite's emissions by about 11,000 pounds per year.

As  a further safety measure the company, by it's agreement, will develop a training program for all employees of that facility and implement a comprehensive leak detection and repair program.

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This week I have found a couple of posts from around the web: One is a a definition site, and you have to click through an ad to see the definition (so be warned).  The second is a nice blog that a family has put up and it includes some discussion about Angiosarcoma and their own family's story.

• what does angiosarcoma mean? - ANGIOSARCOMA as NOUN Meaning a rare malignant neoplasm arising from vascular tissue usually occurs in the breast and skin and is believed to originate from the endothelial cells of blood vessels Hypernyms(s) angiosarcoma is a kind of… ...

• Angiosarcoma - Welcome to the new chapter of our life book, titled, “ANGIOSARCOMA”. Yes, the biopsy resuls are in, and this is what Kevin has. It is a blessing to have some answers, and an anxiety to have uncertainties. Either way, we feel positive ...

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Honeywell International has agreed to pay a five million dollar fine and another million dollar contribution to an air quality cleanup project because of it's illegal dumping of toxic chemicals into the sewer system of Phoenix Arizona.  Jet fuel and vinyl chloride were among the chemicals dumped without permit between 1974 and 2004.  The pollutants also allegedly  seeped into groundwater creating a toxic plume  that stretches about 7 miles across Phoenix.

The state filed a lawsuit in 2004 alleging that Honeywell violated the Arizona Water Quality Control Act, Arizona Hazardous Waste Disposal Act and Arizona Underground Storage Tank Act.

Of course, Honeywell denies all the allegations.  "We are committed to remaining a valuable member of the community and to ensuring continued compliance with all environmental regulations," the company said in a statement.

Interestingly, Honeywell just agreed last month to pay three million dollars in penalties to settle a claim with Maricopa County  over air quality violations.

See also: What is Angiosarcoma

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One of the first published articles connecting Angiosarcoma to Vinyl Chloride was recently republished.  The CDC is recognizing it's 50th anniversary and is periodically republishing  articles on several different subjects.

Reprinted below is a report published February 9, 1974, which described the investigation of a cluster of cases of angiosarcoma of the liver among polyvinyl chloride
workers in Kentucky, followed by a contemporary editorial note.

...

Between September 1967 and December 1973, 4 cases of angiosarcoma of the liver were diagnosed among men employed in the polyvinyl chloride polymerization section of a B.F. Goodrich plant near Louisville, Kentucky. This section of the plant began operations in 1938. It employs about 270 persons and produces polyvinyl chloride as well as a variety of copolymers by polymerization of vinyl chloride monomer. All 4 men had worked continuously in the section for at least 14 years prior to onset of illness (Table 1); all 4 had worked directly in various phases of the polymerization process.

One of the more striking statements in the article was the fact that a mere 25 cases a year of Angiosarcoma happen.  With this fact you might see why having 4 cases all in the same department of the same plant was significant.

We are exploring the connection between angiosarcoma and vinyl chloride.  You can read the full reprint of the CDC Angiosarcoma Article here. 

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President Bush has been sent legislation from the United States Congress that would eliminate the use of six phthalates -  toxic chemicals that are found in children's  toys.  Phthalates  are chemicals that are added to vinyl plastic to make the vinyl plastic flexible.  The vinyl plastic is then used in all kinds of children's products - toys, teething rings, pacifiers.

Children like to chew or suck on their toys and playthings and this can result in these phthalates  being released from the vinyl plastic in the toy that they are playing with.  Phthalates can account for up to thirty percent of the product.  The motive behind the legislation is to protect children from health risks that range from deforming reproductive organs to kidney damage to a type of aggressive cancer called angiosarcoma.

This new legislation does not cover children's products such as clothing, car seats, or children's' furniture.  It also does not cover other vinyl products such as shower curtains, siding and flooring.

If President Bush signs this bill three phthalates  will be permanently banned from children's  toys and three others will be banned until further safety testing is done.

Greenpeace International believes that Congress should take the lead in overhauling the chemical policy of the United States and come up with a chemical policy that removes these toxic chemicals from plastic products and require safer substitutes to be used.

 See Also: Treatment for Angiosarcoma

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