LAWSUIT CITES TOXIC DAMAGE BY FIELD LAB.Byline: Daily News Staff and Wire Services Residents claiming toxic contamination from Rocketdyne's Santa Susana Santa Susana can refer to several places:
named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. Inc. The suit seeks economic and punitive damages Monetary compensation awarded to an injured party that goes beyond that which is necessary to compensate the individual for losses and that is intended to punish the wrongdoer. , medical monitoring for ill plaintiffs and costs for environmental cleanup The process of removing solid, liquid, and hazardous wastes, except for unexploded ordnance, resulting from the joint operation of US forces to a condition that approaches the one existing prior to operation as determined by the environmental baseline survey, if one was conducted. . If certified by a judge, the class-action suit Noun 1. class-action suit - a lawsuit brought by a representative member of a large group of people on behalf of all members of the group class action could represent thousands of plaintiffs, the lawsuit said. The suit named the Seattle company formed by the merger of Boeing and Rockwell International Rockwell International was the ultimate incarnation of a series of companies under the sphere of influence of Willard Rockwell, who had made his fortune after the invention and successful launch of a new bearing system for truck axles in 1919. Corp.'s defense and aerospace businesses in December. Rocketdyne was a division of Rockwell. ``This involves the Rocketdyne division that belonged to Rockwell before we bought it,'' said Boeing spokesman David Suffia. He declined further comment because he said Boeing's attorneys have not had a chance to review the case. The plaintiffs or their relatives claim they are suffering from cancer or other illnesses caused by the lab's release of plutonium, uranium and other toxins into the air, ground and water. Last year, Lockheed Martin Corp. agreed to a $60 million settlement with more than 1,300 Burbank residents who said toxic contamination from one of the company's now-defunct aircraft plants damaged their health and property. Among the hazardous compounds generated by the Lockheed plant, which was used to assemble and develop commercial aircraft and classified Air Force projects, was hexavalent chromium, an established human carcinogen carcinogen: see cancer. carcinogen Agent that can cause cancer. Exposure to one or more carcinogens, including certain chemicals, radiation, and certain viruses, can initiate cancer under conditions not completely understood. that has been linked to lung cancer lung cancer, cancer that originates in the tissues of the lungs. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States in both men and women. Like other cancers, lung cancer occurs after repeated insults to the genetic material of the cell. in workers who breathed high levels of it, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry The United States Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, (ATSDR) is an agency for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that is directed by a congressional mandate to perform specific functions concerning the effect on public health of hazardous . A 1989 health risk assessment that Lockheed made under a state toxics law concluded that airborne emissions of hexavalent chromium were responsible for 80 percent of the total cancer risk generated by that site. Rocketdyne has been primarily in the business of designing and manufacturing propulsion systems for space launch vehicles and has helped develop engines for manned space flight programs. It has produced rocket engines for some of the nation's high-profile space programs, such as the Space Shuttle and Apollo programs. In 1995, lawyers for the 3,000-acre Brandeis-Bardin Institute in Simi Valley filed a federal lawsuit complaining of property damage from toxic solvents and radioactive contaminants that leaked from the neighboring Rocketdyne field laboratory. The trial is scheduled to begin May 27 in U.S. District Court before Judge Audrey Collins. ``The institute feels very strongly that they have been damaged,'' said Helen Zukin, a lawyer for the Jewish spiritual retreat and youth camp, when the suit was filed. Zukin said Monday that she had no plans to join the new class-action lawsuit. ``We feel we're in a situation that's different from other property owners,'' she said. ``Brandeis-Bardin is one of only two property owners that has known contamination coming from the Santa Susana Field Laboratory.'' Zukin said tests showed that the Brandeis-Bardin land had been polluted with dioxins and PCBs, which apparently migrated from fires in a burn pit at Rocketdyne. The pits had been used to dispose of To determine the fate of; to exercise the power of control over; to fix the condition, application, employment, etc. of; to direct or assign for a use. See also: Dispose hazardous material. Officials for Rockwell pleaded guilty last year on behalf of the company to felony charges stemming from a 1994 blast that killed two scientists at the Santa Susana lab, and agreed to pay a record fine of $6.5 million. |
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