A group of 22 current and former residents of Swanzey’s Westport Village, who say they’ve been sickened for years by MTBE contaminated water in their wells, have filed a lawsuit in Cheshire County Superior Court in Keene, New Hampshire.
The suit, which was filed Friday, charges that seven major oil and chemical companies, and current and previous owners of the Route 10 Mini-Mart at 968 West Swanzey Road, are liable for the contamination, which was discovered about 25 years ago.
The problem has caused damage to the drinking water supplies and values of properties near the gas station and convenience store, says the lawsuit. It has resulted in many health problems including cancer, rashes, tumors and autism among humans and animals who live, or had lived in the area, according to the lawsuit.
“It’s a tragedy. This is a serious chemical that is very dangerous, and these people are innocent victims,” Attorney Peter G. McGrath of Concord said Friday evening. “Some of them have struggled for years with terrible skin rashes and health effects never really knowing what was wrong. In the last couple of years, because of the publicity, they’ve been able to put together that it was related to the MTBE in the water.”
He said his clients, the residents, who are identified by their first and last initials in the lawsuit, are bringing the case forward because they want justice.
“They’d like to get payment for their pain and suffering, and they’d like to get payment for medical bills and some compensation for the diminishing of their property values,” he said. “They really want people to know about this so more people don’t get cancer, or sick, or lose the value of their property.”
The lawsuit requests the case be heard before a jury.
The defendants named in the suit are Amerada Hess Corp., ChevronTexaco Corp., Chevron U.S.A. Inc., Citgo Petroleum Corp., ConocoPhillips Co., Exxon Mobile Corp., Exxon Mobile Oil Corp., Shri Ganech Corp. c/o Dharnem Patel, Faham and Shagugta Effendi, Joseph Hart, Richard Cartier, Peterborough Oil Co. Inc. and Lyondell Chemical Co.
MTBE stands for methyl tertiary-butyl ether, which is a flammable and colorless liquid that was used as an additive in gasoline starting in 1979. The known carcinogen was banned from being used in gasoline in New Hampshire in 2007.
In 1990, the Route 10 Mini-Mart became the focus of an MTBE cleanup after gasoline was found in two catch basins near the property. State officials traced the chemical leak to one of the gas station’s underground storage tanks.
Cleanup of the site included removing about 440 tons of contaminated soil around the gas station. Staff from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services tested various water sources for MTBE in the area, according to the lawsuit.
Tests of private wells in the area have continued since the discovery of the leak with some wells registering contamination above the state’s MTBE threshold of 13 micrograms per liter, while others have tested positive for the chemical, but at levels below the state limit.
Despite some wells testing for MTBE at levels below the state limit, the water in those wells has been undrinkable because the chemical’s presence has caused the taste and odor of it to become foul, according to the lawsuit.
Exposure to high levels of MTBE can cause short-term health effects such as headaches, nausea, dizziness, irritation of the nose or throat, and confusion, according to the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
Little is known about the chemical’s long-term health effects, whether at low or high exposure levels.
“This is a cutting edge lawsuit because these cases have just begun to be brought nationwide,” said McGrath, a former federal prosecutor. “If you look at MTBE’s scientific history, it’s known to be a carcinogen in animals, but it hasn’t been tested in humans yet.”
The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services looked into Westport residents’ claims of a cancer cluster in the area in 2014. It issued a memorandum in December of that year saying that further study wasn’t warranted at the time.
McGrath said the residents involved in the lawsuit know it will be an uphill battle, but he believes this is “just the tip of the iceberg,” and more people in the area whose lives have been affected by MTBE contamination will come forward.
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