ARTICLE - DUPONT ACID BROOK SUIT

DuPont Paying $38.5 million in Acid Brook Suit -But Accord Denies Responsibility for Illnesses

By Jim O'Neill

The lowest recorded amount paid, $20,000, went to 25 children who will require health monitoring during their lives. The highest amount, $271,000, was paid to a 13-year-old who had a learning disorder as a result of lead poisoning.

Anna Dowd recalls warm summer days when the neighborhood children would splash around in the brook a few hundred feet from her home in Pompton Lakes.

"My kids used to come home wet all the time from playing in the brook," the 72-year-old grandmother said last week.

Since 1990, the shallow stream that runs through the Passaic County town has been a source of concern for her and hundreds of neighbors, who learned at the time that the waterway, ironically named the Acid Brook, was polluted with lead, mercury and other contaminants.

Dowd was among 427 adults and children who later sued E.I. duPont de Nemours & Co., claiming its munitions manufacturing plant, Pompton Lakes Works, discharged hazardous materials that posed a health threat.

DuPont, which took credit for discovering, reporting and working to clean up soil and groundwater contamination, denied causing any health problems. But in a series of court settlements, the firm is paying Dowd and her neighbors $38.5 million to settle their suit.

Dowd, who declined to say whether she or members of her family suffered any illnesses, said compensation from DuPont "will make life a little more comfortable."

She would not reveal how much money her family received but called the amount satisfactory.

"I just felt anything would satisfy me, knowing they had to pay," she said. "I was looking for DuPont to pay up for the simple reason that they did wrong to this town."

Ralph Sloat, administrator of DuPont's Pompton Lakes site, said in a written statement that the company continues to deny any wrongdoing but settled "to avoid the ongoing costs associated with the litigation."

Court records released in New Brunswick, where the case was filed, show adults settled out of court for undisclosed sums totaling $38.5 million, including $9.6 million for 117 children.

The children's settlements were approved may 30 by Superior Court Judge Marina Corodemus, according to court records released last week.

Al Anthony, a Woodbridge lawyer who worked with a team of attorneys representing the plaintiffs, said the case had been transferred from Passaic to Middlesex County, where a court manager was available to handle the extensive and complex litigation.

The lawsuit, filed in 1993, accused DuPont of creating a health hazard that resulted in personal injury, emotional distress and property damage.

Another Woodbridge lawyer, Christopher Placitella, said DuPont also was accused of causing the deaths of at least five residents, who suffered various cancers the plaintiffs claimed were caused by exposure to lead.

Co-counsel Norman Hobbie of Middletown said most settled for $70,000 to $80,000.

Lawyers said about 150 adults and children claimed they suffered some personal injury, including such ailments as lead poisoning and cancers.

Others claimed fear of developing cancer. About 100 of the claims centered on diminished property values and property damages, attorneys said.

The lowest record amount paid, $20,000, went to 25 children who showed no signs of illness but will require health monitoring during the course of their lives, according to court records.

The highest amount $271,000, was paid to a 13-year-old who showed unusually high amounts of lead in his blood stream. Court papers contended that the teen was hyperactive and suffered from an attention deficit, or learning disorder, as a result of lead poisoning.

Most of the youths received $51,000 to settle claims that they required medical monitoring and suffered emotional distresses. A few others were in the $100,000 to $200,000 range, paid on lead poisoning and learning-disability claims.

Attorneys said the funds awarded the children will be held in trust accounts until they turn 18. They are not prevented from filing additional lawsuits if they develop illnesses as adults, attorneys said.

Lawyers said the children ranged in ages from 7 to 17. Some became adults since the lawsuits were filed and were able to accept settlements without their parents' consent, lawyers noted. Included were two young women who suffered lead poisoning and were advised by doctors not to have children.

Another attorney, Angelo Cifaldi, said the settlements were important so residents "can get on with their lives and have closure to this matter, which has been very upsetting to them."

He said the payments generally will be used for medical bills and other personal expenses allegedly arising from the contamination. He described most settlements as modest.

"These people did not win the lottery. These people were compensated for their pain and suffering. I don't think any of these people think they've had a windfall," he said.

DuPont, the largest chemical manufacturing company in the world with earnings of $3.6 billion in 1996, made explosives at Pompton Lakes from the early 1900s until the plant was closed in 1994.

The company reported that it since has spent more than $130 million in cleanup costs.