November 08, 2009
What's Inside:
Class-action suit filed against tannery
A class-action lawsuit has been filed against a St. Joseph tannery on behalf of all residents in Andrew, Buchanan, Clinton and DeKalb counties.
Lawyers for four residents in those counties allege Prime Tanning Corp. gave farmers sludge from its St. Joseph plant to use as a fertilizer while fully aware that the sludge contained a known cancer-causing agent, chromium 6. The lawsuit — for negligence and liability — alleges the practice saved the company from costs of putting the toxic material in a landfill.
The suit was filed last Friday in DeKalb County Circuit Court and is asking for damages to be determined through a jury trial.
The suit also seeks the establishment of a medical monitoring program for anyone in the four counties who may have been exposed to the sludge, a medical registry to track cases and a long-term epidemiological study to gauge health risks.
Prime Tanning Corp., which was bought by National Beef Leathers in March, disputes claims it had acted improperly.
In a statement Thursday, National Beef said its available records indicate that it used only trivalent chromium in the tanning process since acquiring the facility. National Beef Leathers has stopped giving away the sludge as fertilizer.
Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster’s office said Thursday that tests will be done on land in Northwest Missouri where a farmer had spread the sludge before the company said it would stop giving it away.
Four plaintiffs are named in the class-action suit: Alice McVicker of St. Joseph; Ruth Nicholson of Maysville, Mo.; and Robert and Judy Hall of Holt, Mo. They are represented by Kansas City-based Speer Law Firm.
The suit also names Rick Beam of St. Joseph as a Prime Tanning employee who oversaw application of the sludge on farmlands.
Another suit filed Monday against Prime Tanning in DeKalb County Circuit Court blames exposure to the sludge as causing two benign brain tumors in a 8-year-old girl in Cameron, Mo. Cyndee Gardner filed the suit on behalf of her daughter Maycee, who was diagnosed last June. Her lawsuit is similar to another suit filed last week by Bill Kemper, of Cameron, and Janet Lasher, of Gallatin, Mo.
Ahmad Safi can be reached
at ahmadsafi@npgco.com.
This story has 6 comments. Click here to join in on the discussion.
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There are too many side effects of exposure to chromium 6 and a lot of the residents of the four counties are uninsured.
I have many of the symptoms of exposure and have been battling medical problems for several years but I can't afford to go to a doctor. Because of that I will not be represented by any lawyer and they will not be held responsible for my medical problems.
I too was exposed to the sludge put on land adjacent to ours and I HAVE 2 DIFFERENT KINDS OF CANCER. WONDER IF THIS IS THE CAUSE?????? WOULD LIKE TO HEAR WHAT KINDS OF CANCER THIS STUFF HAS CAUSED!! MINE WAS THYROID CANCER, AND UTERINE CANCER. 2 COMPETLY DIFFERENT CANCERS WITHIN 2 YEARS OF EACH OTHER. I THINK PRIME TANNING SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS, TO ALL THAT WAS EXPOSED AND ESPECIALLY TO THE WORKERS AT THE PLANT THAT ARE EXPOSED DAILY TO THESE DANGEROUS CHEMICALS. GOD BLESS YOU ALL THAT ARE AFFECTED OR AT RISK!!!!
GRATZ ON HAVING CANCER AND TYPING IN FULL CAPS! Maybe instead of jumping on the bandwagon of finger pointing to one of the few sustainable companies in St. Joe, you should evaluate other possible risk factors that could of led to you cancer, but generally cancer that is located in lymph nodes is readily spread throughout the body. Not only that uterine cancer is generally caused by HPV, an STD.
And as it appears you came into this topic a little late, hundreds of people have been employed at Prime since they opened in the 70's. So before you leap to conclusions think logically. If you have cancer just from living adjacent to a farm that used their 'sludge' for fertilizer, then EVERY employee should of beat you to the punch of having cancer, due to their exposure being massively higher than yours. Employees there are in that atmosphere 5 or 6 days a week, and come home smelling like the plant too. I highly doubt that if you think about it, your claim and the rest of Cameron's, that Prime is responsible, will make no sense. The entire claim lacks any proof at all and is moot.
I am a big fan of corporate responsibility. Corporations such as Prime Tanning have an obligation in their charter to be good corporate citizens and not do anything to harm the community. In this case, it appears that they have. I am not a judge but the available evidence appears to point to corporate irresponsibility in causing great harm to members of our society and extended community. If this goes to trial and a judge finds for the plaintiffs, Prime should have to pay. Can anyone really put a price tag on the suffering these people are enduring though?
megafrog, you assume facts not in evidence. It is not proven that Prime Tanning has caused anything. Maybe you ought to wait for the trial.
*applause*