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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Brain Cancers Blamed On Dumping

CAMERON, Mo. (CN) - Six people say an insulation factory that has been closed since 1991 caused an increase in brain cancers and other illnesses. The plaintiffs seek class action certification for five lawsuits in Clinton County Court against companies linked to Rockwool Industries, which turned iron into fiber insulation at a plant just outside of Cameron.

The plaintiffs claim Rockwool dumped toxic chemicals at or near the plant from 1974 to 1982 and that Rockwool buried hazardous waste near the plant and in a local quarry.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Agency recently told Cameron residents that soil tests near the plant and quarry revealed high levels of lead and arsenic, but that the levels were not high enough to threaten health.

Sixty-eight Cameron residents returned surveys reporting cases of brain tumors to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services as part of an investigation of whether there was a cancer cluster in the town.

Susquehanna Corp., of Delaware, and its parent company, Eteroutremer, of Belgium, were named defendants in the suits, as was a former Rockwool manager.

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