[CPEO-MEF] U.S. residents can sue for nuke exposure, says court

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

U.S. residents can sue for nuke exposure, says court 

Wednesday, June 19, 2002
By Reuters

SAN FRANCISCO ? A federal appeals court Tuesday ruled thousands of 
Washington state residents could sue over illnesses blamed on a Cold War 
plutonium plant, reversing a lower court dismissal of most of the 
claims. 

The ruling rebuffs defense lawyers' efforts to limit damage awards 
against contractors who operated the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, the 
most highly contaminated nuclear site in the United States, which spewed 
radiation as it produced fuel for U.S. atomic weapons as far back as 
1943. 

Many of the plaintiffs claimed radiation had caused thyroid cancer, as 
well as bone, breast, and salivary cancer. Damage awards could reach 
tens of millions of dollars. 

The defendants include several industrial companies that ran the plant 
until 1986, including General Electric Co. and DuPont Co. "We are of 
course disappointed. We are studying the ruling, and we are not sure 
exactly where we will go from here," defense lawyer Randy Squires said 
of the 12-year-old case. 

Hanford, a former nuclear weapons production site in south-central 
Washington state, released radioactive materials into the air, water, 
and soil, sometimes intentionally and sometimes by accident, according 
to Washington state health officials. 

This story can be viewed in its entirety at:
http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2002/06/06192002/reu_47586.asp

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