LAMAR, Mo. (CN) - Toxic gases and odors from a hog farm are so vile they made its neighbors vomit and caused their friends and families to shun them, 30 people claim in Barton County Court. They demand punitive damages from Synergy and Kenoma, which operate the CAFCO hog farm.
The plaintiffs say the waste-holding lagoons and storage pits and spreading of hog waste as fertilizer create foul odors and toxic gases. They say they have suffered nausea, gagging, vomiting, headaches, burning skin, eyes and throats and anxiety. They say they cannot cook outdoors, have had to cut back on gardening and hanging clothes outside, cannot hunt or fish on their property as often and have to pay higher utility bills because they are forced to used air conditioning more often.
Some plaintiffs claim their relatives and friends have refused to visit them because of the stench.
Synergy moved hogs into the county in November 2007, the complaint states. Last year a judge threw out regulations that could have prohibited building of the farm. The judge ruled that township officials did not have the right to regulate agricultural structures.
Follow @@joeharris_stl
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
Additional Reads
-
Alaska, Hawaiian Airlines April 17, 2024 -
-
Contributor-Test-Post-2024-04-12 April 12, 2024 -
