Chemical manufacturer Rohm and Haas, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical, has begun defending itself in a Philadelphia courtroom against claims that it is responsible for an outbreak of brain cancer cases in a small town in northern Illinois. The plaintiff, Joanne Branham, alleges Rohm and Haas caused a massive plume of carcinogenic groundwater to migrate into the town of McCullom Lake (population 1,100), resulting in residents drinking contaminated water. Her husband, Frank, died of a brain tumor in 2004 at the age of 63. Branham also accuses the company of covering up the contamination. Her case is one of 32 civil actions filed against Rohm and Haas. Two of the Branhams’ next-door neighbors were also diagnosed with brain cancer. Of the 32 plaintiffs, 25 had brain tumors, 5 had pituitary tumors, one had both and one had liver cirrhosis.

 

The former owner of the plant in question, Morton International, dumped its chemical waste, including the carcinogen vinyl chloride, into an 8-acre pit during the 1960s and 1970s. Rohm and Haas bought Morton in 1999 and Dow Chemical bought Rohm and Haas in 2009.

 

Another company that dumped chemical waste in the area, Modine Manufacturing, settled out of court with Branham and the other plaintiffs, for undisclosed sums, in 2008. Modine also funded a medical screening program that produced the brain cancer diagnoses of two of the plaintiffs against Rohm and Haas.

-David Wallechinsky, Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Brain 'Cancer-Cluster' Trial Begins in Philly (by Reuben Kramer, Courthouse News Service)

First Brain Cancer Lawsuit Begins Today in Pennsylvania Courtroom (by Kevin P. Craver, McHenry County Northwest Herald)

Illinois Environmental Case to Take Place at City Hall (by Bob Fernandez, Philadelphia Inquirer)

32nd Plaintiff Joins McCullom Lake Lawsuits (by Kevin P. Craver, McHenry County Northwest Herald)

 

Branham v. Rohm and Haas (pdf)