A June 14 fire and explosion at a Rockton, Ill., chemical plant has prompted a class action lawsuit from residents who said they were forced out of their homes by a “massive toxic smoke and dust plume,” which included sulfuric acid mist, particulate matter, and other air contaminants, according to a Bloomberg Law report. The fire was at Chemtool Inc., a subsidiary of Lubrizol Corp., a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. company.
Some 150 households within a one-mile radius of the plant were evacuated, however, the plaintiffs said the case may be expanded to include residents within a three-mile radius of the facility, which manufactures grease, lubricating oil, and fluids.
Lubrizol allegedly was negligent, created a public nuisance, and trespassed on the class members’ properties by failing to exercise reasonable care that would have prevented the June 14 explosion, fire, and resulting smoke, according to the lawsuit filed on June 18 in Winnebago County Circuit Court.
Test results show no water contamination to date, but the company is distributing bottled water to residents with private wells near the facility. “While we do not comment on legal matters, I can again reiterate that we are devastated by this event and deeply regret the disruption and inconvenience that it has caused area residents,” said Lubrizol spokeswoman Alicia Gauer.
Teams are working on a site remediation plan, “but we expect a total loss of our Chemtool site,” Gauer said.
The lawsuit follows an enforcement action referral to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul from the state’s EPA announced a day after the fire ignited. The agency’s referral cited violations of both the state’s Environmental Protection Act and Pollution Control Board regulations related to chemicals and releases of pollutants into the atmosphere. It asked Raoul to pursue legal action and require Chemtool to provide documentation about the cause of the fire and an estimate of the amount contaminants emitted during the incident.
In the meantime, the U.S. EPA has established area detection instruments to monitor for volatile organic compounds, sulfur dioxide, and lead. The federal agency as of June 21 was continuing to conduct air monitoring at the site, which was still on fire, according to an EPA spokeswoman.