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WEST VIRGINIA RECORD

Thursday, March 28, 2024

DuPont ordered to provide medical monitoring in Harrison County

CLARKSBURG - DuPont Co. has been ordered to provide medical monitoring for Harrison County residents who were exposed to dangerous chemicals at a waste site.

A Harrison County jury ruled Wednesday that DuPont must finance monitoring for about 7,000 residents who were exposed to arsenic, cadmium and lead contamination. The verdict is the result of the second phase of a class-action lawsuit filed by 10 residents of Spelter.

The residents accused DuPont of deliberately dumping dangerous heavy metals on an industrial site in Spelter, causing the contamination.

DuPont must finance the medical monitoring for the next 40 years, attorney Mike Papantonio said. Papantonio is representing the class.

"This provides some security for families and their children that DuPont was unwilling to voluntarily provide," Papantonio said in a prepared statement.

The medical monitoring plan would offer voluntary testing for lung, skin, stomach, bladder and kidney cancer, as well as for kidney function, cognitive problems and lead poisoning.

The Spelter residents won the first phase of the case Oct. 1 when a Harrison Circuit Court jury found DuPont liable for creating the waste site. The third phase, which began Thursday, will address property damage claims.

According to The Associated Press, DuPont set aside $15 million to deal with the lawsuit.

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