A $350 million verdict has been upheld by a federal judge in a class-action lawsuit brought by residents living around the defunct Rocky Flats nuclear plant against its former operators. Rocky Flats is located 15 miles outside of Denver, Colorado. Judge John Kane stated in a ruling released Tuesday, May 20 that the suit could move forward and added eight percent interest compounded annually. This interest will be dated back to 1990, the year the suit was originally filed. This works out to more than $900 million for around 15,000 property owners to be paid by Dow Chemical Company and Rockwell International Corp., the two companies managing Rocky Flats from 1951 to 1988, the year the plant closed.
The suit charges that the nuclear weapons plant contaminated the surrounding area, lowering property values and “constituted a trespass and a nuisance. The suit was originally brought by a group of five people. In the 18 years since the suit, one of those five has died. Many of the plaintiffs still have no comment for the media regarding their apparent victory due to the fact that this case is not over. It is now destined for the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
In 1992, Rockwell International pleaded guilty to ten crimes against the environment, including five felonies, and paid $18.5 million in fines. However, lawyers for Rockwell and Dow contend a “harmless, miniscule amount” of plutonium was released from the plant. This plutonium then traveled downwind into the communities surrounding Rocky Flats. Both companies have sought to overturn the jury’s ruling, claiming inconsistencies and that the punitive damages exceeded a cap.
A Brief History
Rocky Flats was the site where plutonium triggers for nuclear warheads were manufactured in the 1950s during the height of the Cold War. Contamination of the land began as early as 1959 when barrels of radioactive waste were found leaking into an open field. However, this was not made public until the 1970s when radioactive particles were detected in the air in Denver. Rocky Flats increased in size during the 1960s and a large number of plutonium-based products were stored there. Many of these also leaked, and in 1969, a fire in one of the buildings led to the costliest industrial accident in the US up to that point, but also led to safety upgrades. Rocky Flats made the news several times during the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, but one of the highlights which led to the suspension of plutonium production came in 1989 when an employee left a faucet running. This caused chromic acid to be released into the sanitary water system. Another highlight came in 1989 when Department of Energy officers were served papers by FBI agents.
Perhaps the most ironic event to come out of the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant’s existence is that after environmental and restoration cleanup began in the early ’90s, it was redesignated as the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site.
If you suspect a government weapons facility is harming you and your community, and are wondering if you have a claim, please contact an experienced injury lawyer in your area.
