[CPEO-BIF] TCE/PCE manufacturers held liable

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

The verdict reported in this new story is groundbreaking. Manufacturers 
of PCE and TCE are being held responsible for releases into the 
environment. If upheld, it could significantly reduce the manufacture, 
marketing, and use of such chemicals - which is why I'm skeptical that 
the decision will stand in its present form.

LS

***


Jury gives Modesto $178M

By MICHAEL G. MOONEY
MODESTO BEE (CA)
June 15, 2006

A San Francisco jury awarded Modesto more than $175 million in punitive 
damages after ruling three chemical companies "acted with malice" 
because they were aware of the potentially harmful effects of dry 
cleaning solvents they manufacture.

Those solvents, which contaminated the city's drinking water, contain 
perchloroethylene, also known as PCE, and-or trichloroethylene, or TCE. 
Both have been linked to cancer in people.

The jury, in a decision reached late Tuesday, ordered Vulcan Materials 
Co. to pay the city $100 million; Dow Chemical Co., $75 million; and RR 
Street & Co. Inc, $75,000.

The companies are contesting the jury's verdicts, arguing that they 
should not be held liable for punitive damages. They also are 
challenging the amounts awarded by the jury, claiming they are excessive.


...

For the entire article, see
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/12321619p-13054661c.html
--


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org


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