A federal lawsuit brought against current and former Department of Energy contractors at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio is timely because it was filed soon after the public learned of radioactive contamination at a public school outside the fence, plaintiffs said in a filing last week.
Ursula McGlone and fellow plaintiffs argue in a June 14 motion filed with the U.S. District Court for Southern Ohio the statute of limitations defense raised by Centrus Energy and the other firms should be rejected because the Zahn’s Corner Middle School closed in May 2019 due to the detection of enriched uranium and Neptunium-237.
Defendants in the case have urged the U.S. District Court to reject the plaintiffs fourth amendment complaint on various grounds, arguing key claims are either time barred or don’t establish a valid claim under the Price-Anderson Act that governs liability issues for nuclear incidents.
But the plaintiffs argue the suit is timely and can prove Price-Anderson Act liability. The test involves showing radiation was released in excess of government standards, plaintiffs were exposed to the contamination and suffered some injury caused by radiation as a result.
In addition to the 2019 news about the school, subsequent testing of plaintiffs’ properties has shown contamination levels above federal standards, according to the filing. “And, recent data from the Ohio Department of Health shows incidences of leukemia and lymphoma in the area immediately surrounding the Portsmouth Site to be triple the rate of comparison populations,” the plaintiffs argue.
Plaintiffs first filed suit on May 26, 2019 and amended their complaint twice since then. Defendants say public reports from DOE support their position that any contamination at the school site is too minimal to threaten public health.
“Defendants’ argument boils down to a totally unsupported theory that no one may bring a claim if a government report lists a dose as below regulatory limits,” the plaintiffs said in this month’s motion. Oral arguments are needed to settle key disputes in the case, the plaintiffs said.
In addition to Centrus, other defendants are United States Enrichment Corp., Uranium Disposition Services, BWXT Conversion Services, Mid-America Conversion Services, Bechtel Jacobs Co., LATA/Parallax, and Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth.
