A class action lawsuit has been against Occidental Chemical's Muscle Shoals plant residents who claim their property was damaged by the release of harmful substances. 

The suit was filed Jan. 10 in Colbert Countv Circuit Court by Riverside Texaco, Gladys Pullen, Willie Jones, Carlos G. McMullins, Hazel I. Cox, James R. Harris, Walter J. Jackson and other unnamed plaintiffs.

"We have hundreds (of plaintiffs) involved in the suit," said Birmingham attorney Lee Lesley.

Most of the plaintiffs live near the plant, in neighborhoods and homes in the River Road, Wilson
Dam Road and Second Street areas, he said.

According to the suit, the plant produces a variety of chemicals including chlorine, potassium hydroxide potassium carbonate, potassium bicarbonate, hydrogen gas and before 1992, caustic soda.

Mercury, the suit states, is involved in the manufacturing process and is discharged as a result.

Efforts to reach plant officials for comment about the suit were unsuccessful Thursday.

The suit claims that as of May 2003, OxyChem had two known groundwater contaminant plumes that exceeded the maximum contaminant level.

The plant discharges mercury through its wastewater and disposes of mercury into storage facilities and waste piles, according to the suit.
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The suit claims that housekeeping and maintenance practices at the plant contributed to the release of contaminants.

This includes corroded storage drums, pumps leaking onto unprotected ground surfaces and pouring spent solvents onto unprotected ground surfaces.

The plaintiffs, who live in the vicinity of the plant, claim their property has been damaged and rendered less valuable because of the contamination.

Alyce S. Robertson an attorney with the Montgomery law firm of Beasley Allen Crow Methvin, Portis & Miles, said the suit involves primarily mercury contamination, but also contamination by other harmful substances.

The damages cited in the suit involve contamination of property and groundwater, as well as health-related issues.

Further investigation, Lesley said, should reveal more specific information about the effects of the contamination on individual plaintiffs.

"All the medical and scientific research done on mercury shows it's highly toxic and causes severe health problems," Robertson said.

She said they were especially concerned about children in the area being exposed to toxic substances.

The suit claims a plant manager and an environmental team leader breached their duties by operating the plant in a manner that allowed the release of harmful substances onto the plaintiffs' property.

Although the plant has been in operation since 1955, OxyChem has only been operating the facility since 1986.

The suit claims that as of 2004, the plant has been the largest single source for mercury air emissions in the state.

The plaintiffs are asking that the release of contaminants be stopped and that contaminated areas be cleaned up.

They are also seeking compensation for any class members who have suffered damages because of the contamination.

Occidental announced in April that the Muscle Shoals plant would be phasing out the chlor-alkali operation, which utilizes mercury to produce chlorine and other chemicals.

That portion of the plant is expected to close in 2008.