Saturday, December 27, 2014

Chemical company settles with Illinois neighbors - StamfordAdvocate

MCCULLOM LAKE, Ill. (AP) — A Philadelphia-based chemical manufacturer has settled lawsuits with more than 30 people who lived near a plant in northern Illinois, ending a legal battle over an alleged brain cancer cluster.

The (Crystal Lake) Northwest Herald reports (http://bit.ly/1Ab7keI ) the details of Rohm and Haas' settlement haven't been disclosed. Attorney Aaron Freiwald says his clients are satisfied with the terms of the settlement, which recently was approved by a Philadelphia judge.

The plaintiffs claimed the company released vinyl chloride into the air and water causing a cluster of brain cancer cases in McCullom Lake, Illinois. The company has denied the pollutant caused any illnesses, but has acknowledged a previous owner of the plant built a sludge pond that leaked into the groundwater.

Rohm and Haas is a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Co.

Chemical company settles with Illinois neighbors - StamfordAdvocate