ATTORNEYS PLAN SKUNK WORKS RULING APPEAL.

Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Staff Writer

BURBANK - A judge has rejected claims that Burbank residents got cancer because of air- and water-borne chemicals from a former Lockheed Martin plant, but their attorneys said Thursday they are undaunted and will appeal.

The ruling this week concerned approximately 140 plaintiffs among the thousands claiming damages and illnesses as a result of contaminates at the now-closed ``Skunk Works'' plant. Those were to have been the first to be tried in the suit.

The plaintiffs' attorneys said they hope Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carl J. West's ruling will not apply to the remaining 2,400 claims and that those can be considered for trial.

``We believe we have established scientifically the connection between Lockheed's conduct and the illness of our clients,'' said Allan Sigel, an attorney for the plaintiffs. ``We think the scientific evidence we submitted supports that conclusion and we look forward to the appellate review which we believe will substantiate our position.''

Lockheed spokeswoman Gail E. Rymer said the judge's decision late Tuesday confirmed what the company asserted all along, that Burbank residents were not harmed as a result of its manufacturing operations.

``Obviously we'll have to wait and see but we feel confident that the efforts we put forth in proving that the plaintiffs have not been harmed will hold up through an appeal,'' she said.

West is expected to decide later this month whether to apply the ruling to all the remaining cases, which were filed against Lockheed and five other businesses.

The plaintiffs assert that they or their family members were made sick by contamination when Lockheed allowed seepage of toxic chemicals into the environment over decades of manufacturing.

More than two dozen lawsuits representing more than 3,000 people were filed in 1996, after Lockheed settled individual claims for $60 million with area families.

The suits were consolidated by the judge, and a core group - 100 cases chosen at random and about 40 from people determined to be ill enough to merit preference - was formed to make the suit more manageable.

The complaints claim that residents were exposed to trichloroethylene (TCE), perchloroethylene (PCE), and chromium-6, and developed cancer and other illnesses.

The judge's ruling states that the plaintiffs failed to provide evidence of the amount of their exposure, which he said was a critical factor in establishing whether a chemical caused disease.

He also found that despite medical and scientific expert witnesses, the plaintiffs failed to show their non-cancer injuries were caused by Lockheed's conduct. And West rejected the plaintiffs' request for damages from fear of cancer and for medical monitoring.

At the same time, West said Lockheed provided sufficient evidence that mortality rates and cancer incidence rates among its workers and those living near its Burbank plant were not significantly higher than the rest of Los Angeles County.

``Since the studies (provided by Lockheed) show that the incidence of cancer in the Burbank community is not double the incidence of cancer in Los Angeles County,'' West wrote, ``this evidence shows, at best, an insignificant association between the company's use of TCE, PCE and chromium-6 and the plaintiffs' injuries.''