Kenneth B. Moll & Associates, Ltd. is Investigating Reports of Serious Injuries and Deaths Due to Chromium VI Exposure Against Tru-Coat Plating and Finishing Company, Inc.

Business Editors/Legal Writers

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 29, 2004

Kenneth B. Moll & Associates, Ltd. announces that it is investigating claims against Tru-Coat Plating and Finishing Company, Inc. for allowing severe and dangerous levels of hexavalent chromium ("Chromium VI") to escape into the atmosphere putting residents of Bellwood, Illinois (just south of O'Hare International Airport) and the surrounding area at risk for severe injuries and death.

Exposure to Chromium VI is known to cause lung cancer, liver, heart, respiratory and reproductive failure as well as cancer of the brain, kidney, breast, uterus and gastrointestinal system, Hodgkin disease, frequent miscarriages, death and more. Early symptoms of inhalation toxicity may include ulcers and holes in the nasal septum.

Chromium VI is used in several industrial processes including chrome plating, electro-plating, manufacturing of steel and other alloys, and as an additive to limit corrosion in industrial equipment.

ERIN BROCKOVICH

On December 7, 1987, officials from Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), the world's largest utility, advised California regulatory authorities that they'd detected excessive levels of Chromium VI in a groundwater monitoring well.

People who lived in Hinkley had experienced a disturbing array of health problems. In 1993, 77 Hinkley plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against PG&E. The suit was a direct result of a massive communications effort mounted by Erin Brockovich, an employee in a local law firm. She had uncovered the utility's environmental misconduct and launched a personal investigation that ended in the largest settlement on record for a civil class-action lawsuit. The plaintiffs, 648 by the end, ended up recovering for injury claims and settling with PG&E for $333 million. In addition, PG&E agreed to stop using Chromium VI and clean up the contamination.

The case remains controversial among chromium experts because most of the Hinkley exposures involved drinking Chromium VI-laced water. This route of exposure is widely believed to cause much less toxicity than inhalational exposures because ingested Chromium VI is converted to inactive trivalent chromium in the stomach.

Claims against Tru-Coat Plating and Finishing, Company, Inc. allege exposure to severe and dangerous levels of Chromium VI by inhalation.

ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL FILES COMPLAINT AGAINST TRU-COAT

On April 12, 2004, the Illinois Attorney General's office filed a Complaint for injunctive relief and civil penalties against Tru-Coat. The complaint seeks temporary and permanent injunctions forcing Tru-Coat to stop releasing unsafe levels of Chromium VI into the atmosphere placing residents in the Bellwood, Illinois area at substantial risk of health problems.

If you feel that you have been exposed to unsafe levels of Chromium VI and have suffered adverse effects, please contact our offices for more information.