Updates to our Terms of Use

We are updating our Terms of Use. Please carefully review the updated Terms before proceeding to our website.

Monday, March 18, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Shell Oil Made A Village Sick,|Hartford, Ill., Says In Class Action

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (CN) - Shell Chemical and 27 other defendants have released a toxic plume of petroleum products that contaminated the Village of Hartford's groundwater and sickened its residents, class action claims filed in Madison County Court. Gasoline vapors seeped into the basements and contaminated the town's air, which has unsafe levels of benzene and other toxins, and Hartford residents have suffered from vapor-related respiratory illnesses and headaches, the suit states.

The Village of Hartford says the defendants are responsible for 4 million gallons of petroleum waste underneath the city and the underground plume has decreased property values.

Hartford claims gasoline found in groundwater originated from by leaking pipes that transport the petroleum from the defendants' refinery to a terminal on the Mississippi River. The pipes leak about 360 barrels of petroleum every week underneath Hartford, the suit states.

Hartford demands damages and a cleanup.

Hartford, 15 miles north of St. Louis, is represented by Rene Bassett Butler of Wood River.

Follow @@joeharris_stl
Categories / Uncategorized

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.

Loading...