CHARLESTON – A man who worked as a tank cleaner for 14 years blames his time in that job for his pancreatic cancer.
Russell R. Akers filed his individual complaints against The Dow Chemical Company and Quality Carriers Inc. in Kanawha Circuit Court.
According to his first complaint, Akers worked for Union Carbide, the predecessor of Dow, from 1977 to 1985 as a tank cleaner. He says his primary responsibility was the flushing and removal of chemical components from rail tank cars at a site near Institute. According to the second complaint, he worked for Chemical Leamon Tank Lines Inc., which is now known as Quality Carriers, from 1985 to 1991.
Akers says the defendants maintained a hazardous workplace that “on a daily basis endangered the health and well being” of the plaintiff and his co-workers.
“No protective gear in the form of hazmat suit or the like was provided to protect the plaintiff and others against the exposure to such hazardous chemicals and to the potential adverse health effects resulting therefrom,” the complaints state.
Akers said one physician suggested he had pancreatic cancer, so he had a medical procedure at Ohio State University on November 4, 2019. The diagnosis of pancreatic cancer was confirmed November 20, 2019.
The doctor told Akers “the probable cause of the pancreatic cancer was the latent manifestation attributable to plaintiff’s prior exposure to one or more chemicals to which the plaintiff and others were regularly and repeatedly exposed.”
Akers says he has incurred hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills so far, but he is hopeful for a full recovery and return to normal life.
Akers seeks compensatory damages for medical expenses, pain, suffering and emotional distress.
In both lawsuits, Akers is being represented by attorney Walton S. Shepherd III of Sissonville.
Kanawha Circuit Court case numbers 21-C-986 (Dow) and 21-C-987 (Quality Carriers)