Nuclear Contamination Lawsuits: Dozens of plaintiffs alleging serious illness or death resulted from radiation exposure

Residents of the Parks Township and Apollo areas of Armstrong County, Penn., who filed federal lawsuits against two nearby nuclear enriching facilities may soon have their day in court.

On Tuesday, April 24, 2012, a highly respected expert on nuclear contamination filed a report in the lawsuits, which allege that radiation exposure from Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group and The Atlantic Richfield Company caused serious personal injury and wrongful death, as well as property damage.

The report cites "numerous large-scale releases of ionizing radiation into the neighboring environment" during the operational history of the two plants that may be "the largest quantity…of any nuclear facility in the United States."

Motley Rice environmental lawyers Fidelma Fitzpatrick and Jonathan Orent represent many of the residents (with Pennsylvania-based co-counsel Goldberg, Persky & White, P.C.) who allege that the facilities released harmful levels of toxic or radioactive material into the air, water and soil.U.S.

"We represent a lot of folks who were seriously injured through the exposure of materials released by these facilities ... We're eager for them to have their day in court so they can move on with their lives," said Orent in a recent interview with Tribune-Review.

He added that a trial date will hopefully be scheduled for the end of the year. District Court Chief Judge Gary L. Lancaster is overseeing the suits.

Read full articles on the Apollo nuclear contamination lawsuits in Tribune-Review and the Armstrong radiation report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Learn more about the Apollo and Parks nuclear contamination lawsuits or about how Motley Rice works for people and communities hurt by environmental contamination.