Humphrey, Farrington & McClain is proud to be the only law firm currently pursuing legal action in the courts of Missouri to get medical monitoring for residents who have been exposed to radioactive material from the West Lake Landfill.
The new HBO documentary “Atomic Homefront” has shined light on the dark secret that corporations connected to the Manhattan Project dumped thousands of tons of hazardous radioactive waste into two communities in north St. Louis County, Missouri.
As described in “Atomic Homefront,” the West Lake Landfill, operated by Republic Services, Inc. and located in Bridgeton, MO, contains at least 47,000 tons of radioactive waste including Uranium 238, Thorium 230, and Radium 226. Republic Services also owns the neighboring Bridgeton Landfill which is experiencing an underground fire, known as a subsurface smoldering event. There is radioactive waste in this landfill too.
The film also chronicles the radioactive Manhattan Project waste that abounds in and around Coldwater Creek. There, the waste was left uncontained in large piles along Latty Avenue and seeped into the creek where children play. That area now has a high rate of rare cancers, birth defects and various autoimmune disorders. Exposure to nuclear materials has also been known to affect future generations.
Several people who live near these landfills have died or suffered from various forms of cancer. Last year our law firm filed a civil suit on behalf of 27 members of the Boenker family against the landfill’s owners. Their lawsuit claims that the landfills’ owners were negligent and reckless in starting the underground fire and allowing radioactive waste to spread to the Boenker family farm causing cancer, personal injury, property damage, and the need for medical monitoring. Currently, it is the only such lawsuit on file.
Just like the members of the Boenker family, individuals living or working near the West Lake Landfill may already suffer from illnesses caused by exposure to radioactive material. Those injuries may already be compensable. For others that live in proximity to the landfill who haven’t contracted any disease or illness at this time, they may still be able to recover medical costs for medical monitoring claims. A medical monitoring claim quantifies costs of future medical examinations necessary to detect the onset of latent injuries or diseases caused by exposure to radioactive material. The purpose of such a claim is to facilitate early diagnosis and treatment. If you would like to learn more, you can contact our offices at no charge to you.
“Keeping ultra-hazardous waste near people’s property and not taking responsibility for it is a big problem,” said Kenneth B. McClain, senior partner of Humphrey, Farrington & McClain. “These landfills are the poster child of that problem. You can’t have people living in proximity of nuclear waste and not be responsible for it.”
Humphrey, Farrington & McClain has recovered more than $1 billion in damages on behalf of clients who have suffered injury or financial loss because of other people’s negligence.
For further questions please contact Kenneth McClain at 816-836-5050.