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Kentucky court case over leaked uranium

The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled then that the landowners don’t have to prove they were actually harmed to sue past contractors for trespassing by allowing contaminants to spread beyond the plant.

The high court also held that land devaluation by intentional trespassing is a recognized measure of damages once actual injury is determined. There is injury if groundwater is contaminated and it can’t be consumed.

Ky. landowners settle lawsuit over uranium leaks,  BusinessWeek, By BRETT BARROUQUERE 21 April 2010, !LOUISVILLE, Ky.A group of landowners have settled in a long-running lawsuit for $1.75 million over allegations that water leaks from a western Kentucky uranium enrichment plant devalued property values….compensating between 70 and 80 homeowners for the devaluation of their property because of radiation contamination…..

The homeowners sued in 1997, claiming that air emissions, combined with about 10 billion gallons of polluted groundwater, had damaged their property near the only uranium enrichment plant in the United States.

They also claimed they lost use of their property and suffered loss to plants, crops, livestock and wildlife……..

The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled then that the landowners don’t have to prove they were actually harmed to sue past contractors for trespassing by allowing contaminants to spread beyond the plant.

The high court also held that land devaluation by intentional trespassing is a recognized measure of damages once actual injury is determined. There is injury if groundwater is contaminated and it can’t be consumed. Ky. landowners settle lawsuit over uranium leaks – BusinessWeek

April 22, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, radiation, reactors, uranium