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DuPage
trial begins
in Lockformer case
Chicago Tribune
- 6/27
The
issues dealing with the spilling of dangerous chemicals over the
years at a Lisle manufacturing plant are being defined again in
a DuPage County trial where local property owners say their plots
of land are damaged goods.
The
first day of testimony began Thursday in a trial where nine homeowners
who live south of Lockformer Co. are claiming their property values
have been diminished because of the spills of a dangerous chemical
solvent, trichloroethylene, or TCE. The company uses the chemical
in its metal fabrication operations.
A
DuPage jury is expected to hear evidence over the next several
weeks in the Wheaton courtroom of Judge Hollis Webster. The lawsuit
is one of many federal, state and local legal actions involving
the company and its use of chemicals.
Last
year 186 homeowners, who claimed their well water was contaminated,
settled a federal lawsuit with the company for $10 million.
The
homeowners involved in the current trial contend that the company
and several other firms that did business with the Lisle manufacturer
were liable for the damage caused to their property values by
the spilling of chemicals over the years.
They
are asking for the businesses to pay damages to them. The attorneys
for the homeowners will ask for a specific amount, expected in
the millions of dollars, at the conclusion of the trial. The jury
will have to decide levels of responsibility and, if applicable,
set a damage award.
Attorneys
for Lockformer and its co-defendants claimed Thursday that when
some of the spilling took place in the 1960 and 1970s, the consequences
of exposure to the chemical were not known.
The
lawyers said that when those consequences were understood, steps
were taken to halt the problem as well as begin cleaning up the
area around the plant at 711 Ogden Ave.
Lockformer
officials contend that TCE from their facility did not spread
from their site, and they also claim that other chemicals found
in local soil were not used in their operation and therefore did
not come from their facility. Lockformer has claimed that several
other nearby industries also use TCE.
Much
of Thursday's testimony centered on the operation of the filling
of a large roof tank of TCE at the Lisle plant.
According
to testimony, in the early 1980s anyone filling the tank from
a pump truck would know the tank was full when the chemical spilled
from an overflow vent pipe and onto the ground. The company contended
the amount spilled was always minor.
Later
a bucket was placed under the vent pipe to catch the extra released
chemical. Improved gauges were placed on the tank in the mid-80s,
halting the spills. The homeowners also say that some of the chemical
spillage came from broken sewer lines and a degreaser pit.
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