Thursday, January 10, 2008

Fort Worth-based Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. being sued for poisoning small town

By Pegasus News wire

FORT WORTH — The first of many lawsuits against the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. claiming a railroad tie factory poisoned residents in the small town of Somerville, causing cancer and birth defects, is set to go to trial in Fort Worth this week.

Photo not provided by BNSF

This doesn't look good for Burlington Northern

The suit was filed by Linda and Donnie Faust, two of the dozens of people living in the Central Texas town who have sued the Fort Worth-based railroad company over a railroad tie factory owned by a predecessor firm until 1995.

The Fausts say creosote and other dangerous substances released by the factory helped cause Ms. Faust's devastating stomach cancer. Donnie Faust has worked at the plant near the Fausts' home since 1974. According to the suit, the level of cancer and birth defects in Somerville is 60% higher than any place in America.

In their suit, the Fausts claim the operator of the railroad tie plant "knew the grave, and sometimes fatal, consequences to the plaintiffs and persons of the general public in and around the wood treatment facility." The couple is seeking at least $6 million in damages from a unit of BNSF, BNSF Railway.

"The levels of Dioxin have tested to be the worst seen in the USA, far exceeding those found at Love Canal," says attorney Robert Weiss. "The entire community has been exposed to record levels of carcinogens. Some who have been exposed don't know when they will develop disease. Those people will be asserting a medical monitoring claim against the railroad asking the court to order the defendants to pay for regularly scheduled tests in the hope of early detection, diagnosis and treatment," Weiss adds.

Source: Robert Weiss of RightsforAmerica.com

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