Contamination at former Charleston Naval Base

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

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Chemicals harmed workers, lawsuit says 
Allegations could raise new questions about contamination at former Navy
base 

BY JAMES SCOTT AND TERRY JOYCE 
Charleston Post and Courier (SC)
July 10, 2004

An Aiken County construction company has filed a lawsuit alleging that
its workers were exposed to dangerous chemicals and suffered toxic
poisoning while digging a sewer line on the southern end of the former
Charleston Naval Base.

The suit, filed by Wyatt & Wyatt Construction Co. Inc., alleges that
C.R. Hipp Construction Inc. and the Charleston Naval Complex
Redevelopment Authority failed to alert the workers to dangerous
chemicals and the need to wear protective gear. As a result, the suit
alleges, workers, chemically impaired by fumes, crashed two trucks and
are suffering long-term effects of that exposure.

The RDA, the state agency in charge of redevelopment at the base, denied
the allegations in court documents. C.R. Hipp has not filed its
response. A message left at the company's office Friday was not
immediately returned.

Paul Wyatt Sr., owner of Wyatt & Wyatt and one of the victims, said
about a half-dozen workers were exposed early last year during 14 weeks
of work at the base. Wyatt said workers began having bouts of diarrhea
followed by shortness of breath, loss of motor skills and panic attacks.
Wyatt said workers at the site noticed discolored soil and rocks, some
of which workers collected as souvenirs, along with rotten odors while
working on the $440,000 contract. Wyatt hired an independent firm to
test the soil, which the suit says showed significant levels of
bromomethane, chloroform, iodome-thane and methyl chloride. All four
chemicals can cause a variety of health problems. "If I hadn't gotten
sick, I would have thought my men might be making it up," said Wyatt,
who said he still suffers from panic attacks and shortness of breath.
"We are still sick."

http://www.charleston.net/stories/071004/loc_10lawsuit.shtml

-- 


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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