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.