[CPEO-MEF] Lawsuit filed against Beale

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[California]
Lawsuit filed against Beale
Man accuses base of toxic contamination
Thursday, November 21, 2002
Harold Kruger
Appeal-Democrat

Seeking "our day in court," a former animal control officer at Beale Air
Force Base says he and others were exposed to toxic substances.

Richard Hendrickson sued the Air Force and Beale this week, seeking $15
million each for himself and two other women he said assisted him as
volunteers.

"I wouldn't trust the federal government as far as I could spit,"
Hendrickson, of Linda, said in an interview.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Sacramento. Hendrickson
doesn't have a lawyer.

He said he served as the animal control officer for 38 months in the
early 1980s after Beale's Entomology building was converted into the
animal shelter.

"If you have people working in a hazardous area, you need an
inspection," Hendrickson said.

_From the time he was hired until he left, Hendrickson said, "There were
no checks, other than one air sample because I was screaming and
yelling."

The building, located east of J Street between Warren Shingle Road and
Gavin Mandery Drive, was used for storing and mixing pest control
chemicals from 1965 to 1980, according to state and federal documents
Hendrickson attached to his lawsuit.

"The building is still in usage," said Lt. Ed Ekpoudom, a Beale
spokesman. "It's basically a dog kennel ... The building has been
tested, and it has been cleared for use. We obviously would never
knowingly expose our people to harm."

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/112102/112102hpk21bealesuit.shtml

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