Two class-action lawsuits have now been filed against companies doing work at the Energy Department’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio since a nearby middle school was closed due to the potential spread of radioactive contamination.
On Friday, two individuals who have long lived within 2 miles of the former gaseous diffusion plant filed suit against Centrus Energy and its predecessor firm, USEC; Bechtel Jacobs; Uranium Disposition Services; LATA/Parallax Portsmouth; and Mid-America Conversion Services.
USEC conducted uranium enrichment from 1993 to 2001 at Portsmouth and was then responsible for keeping the gaseous diffusion plant in safe condition until 2011; Bechtel Jacobs managed site remediation from 1995 until 2005; UDS was contracted in 2002 to design and build the uranium hexafluoride conversion plant, which Mid-America Conversion was contracted to operate starting in 2016.
The suit, filed by the Columbus, Ohio-based law firm LeistWarner, claims vendors failed to prevent off-site radioactive contamination that poses a threat to public health. The lawsuit also seeks to represent others who live within 7 miles of the former uranium enrichment facility and current cleanup site.
A local residents’ group asserts 247 cancer cases have been reported within a 6-mile radius of the plant, although it did not specify over what time frame, according to the case filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.
Plaintiffs Ray Pritchard and Sharon Melick each live in Beaver, Ohio, not far from Zahn’s Corner Middle School. They say off-site contamination made their homes unsafe and hurt property values, according to the lawsuit. They also seek medical monitoring, reimbursement of out-of-pocket healthcare expenses linked to contamination at Portsmouth, and recovery of economic losses
A similar lawsuit was filed May 27 with the same court on behalf of two local families, including one with a child enrolled at Zahn’s Corner when it closed early for summer break on May 13 due to traces of neptunium and enriched uranium at the school. The local education board has since said the school will stay closed for the 2019-2020 academic year, with its students disbursed elsewhere.