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More than one year since Tampa Bay Times’ exposé brought to light the toxic working conditions at Gopher Resource, the lead smelting plant has been fined nearly $1 million for a host of safety and environmental violations. But this penalty does little for the workers, their families and the surrounding community still reeling from the negative health effects of the factory’s years of negligence. As the legal fight for the victims continues, we must remember what caused this crisis.

Years of Violations Compound Toxic Working Conditions

The levels of lead in the air at Gopher Resource were found to be hundreds of times higher than the federal limit, and seven times what the company-issued respirators could protect against. Workers were also exposed to cadmium and arsenic (both carcinogens), carbon monoxide, and life-threatening levels of sulfur dioxide.

Despite being aware of the copious toxins in the air, Gopher disabled ventilation features that captured fumes. The company also did not fix faulty mechanical systems in a timely manner, nor did they report breakdowns in equipment that could negatively affect the factory’s emissions.

Impacting the Health of Workers—and Their Families

A staggering 80% of Gopher employees have suffered from increased blood pressure, kidney dysfunction, and cardiovascular disease between 2014 and 2018 due to chronic lead exposure. The lead dust also caused workers to experience dizziness, dehydration, and shortness of breath, increasing the frequency of workplace accidents such as burns.

After grueling 12-hour shifts, employees unwittingly brought lead dust home on their shoes and clothes, exposing their families to the toxin. This is particularly alarming because lead exposure can cause intellectual disability and behavioral disorders in children. Pregnant women exposed to lead are at increased risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth, and low birth weight.

Failing Employees at Every Turn

The Times’ investigation found that OSHA hadn’t inspected the inside of the smelter in five years. When they did, their inspections were cursory, inaccurate, and announced far in advance, giving the factory time to clean up. A Gopher-contracted doctor also declined to warn workers of the health risks associated with their dangerously high blood lead levels. Gopher awarded bonuses to employees who could keep their blood level down, leading some to resort to dangerous means of stripping the metal from their bodies.

Harm to the Surrounding Community

Toxic lead emissions from Gopher Resource spread to the nearby community as well. The smelter discharged contaminated water into Palm River, which sent toxic waste into Tampa’s sewage system. The factory also discarded hazardous waste inappropriately and dumped dangerous material into a landfill close to a residential area. Lead levels were so high that an air pollution notice was issued, ordering residents to limit their time outdoors. Thousands of residents were impacted by Gopher’s blatant disregard for health and safety.

Help is Available

 Gopher Resource’s actions were inhumane and senseless—but there is hope. All victims are entitled to compensation. If you were harmed by Gopher Resource’s willful negligence, talk to our experienced environmental legal team at Napoli Shkolnik PLLC to get the justice you deserve.

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act, which was passed as a part of the Keeping Our Pact Act and signed into law by President Joe Biden in August of 2022, provides a two-year window for those affected by water contamination at Camp Lejeune to file a claim. While a successful settlement can provide much-needed compensation to victims, the claims process can be complex. For that reason, anyone who experienced adverse health effects as a result of their service at Camp Lejeune should consult with an attorney before filing a claim.

What happened at Camp Lejeune?

Between 1953 and 1985, two of the wells that supplied drinking water to Camp Lejeune Marines Air Corps Base in North Carolina were contaminated with toxic chemicals. Those chemicals include trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), vinyl chloride, and others which have been linked to serious disease.

According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the most common effects of consuming the affected water include an increased risk of cancer (kidney, multiple myeloma, leukemias, and others), adverse birth outcomes, and others. Those who served at Camp Lejeune or lived on base may have developed these conditions as a result of consuming the water.

Who can file a claim?

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act provides a process to compensate for anyone who lived on base (including service members, contractors, and their families) or worked at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days between August 1953 and December 1987 and who developed any one of the following presumptive conditions:

• Adult and pediatric leukemia
• Aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes
• Bladder cancer
• Kidney cancer
• Liver cancer
• Multiple myeloma
• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• Parkinson’s disease
• Miscarriages

Other diseases may also be considered. The Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 included several additional qualifying conditions, including:

• Esophageal cancer
• Breast cancer
• Renal toxicity
• Female infertility
• Scleroderma
• Lung cancer
• Hepatic steatosis

What is the claims process?

Every claim made under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act is essentially a personal injury lawsuit. Showing that you meet the eligibility requirements isn’t enough to ensure you’ll receive compensation. You’ll also have to prove that the government acted negligently in its treatment of the wells.

You’ll need to provide records showing that you lived or worked on the base for at least 30 days and that you’ve developed one of the presumptive conditions. Your attorney will then need to prepare and file the lawsuit. Because the Act provides a specific window you’ll need to file your claim before August 2024.

As with any lawsuit, the settlement process may take months or even years to complete, especially with many claims being filed. More experienced attorneys are likely to file more complete and effective suits, which can reduce the time it takes to resolve the case.

What should I do next?

If you qualify for compensation under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act’s requirements, your first step should be to hire an attorney to work with you on your claim.

When it was discovered in 2019 that the city of Flint, MI, had exposed its residents to lead and possibly Legionella bacteria, it made national news. The city’s decision to shift its water supply from treated water from Detroit to water from the contaminated Flint River to save money seemed like a classic example of bad management, without care of the health or wellbeing of Flint’s largely working-class population. Lawsuits followed, in which Napoli Shkolnik was a court appointed co-liaison counsel, but by the time a settlement of over $640M was announced the national news had largely moved on.

Legal fights take time, and over the course of fighting on behalf of Flint’s residents several lessons become very clear.

First, when government officials break the law, it can make finding the truth very difficult. By the end of the investigation into Flint’s drinking water, government officials  were charged with crimes, including 34 felonies and seven misdemeanors; and officials from the municipal level to the federal government had resigned from their jobs. That level of criminality within government created obstacles to the effort to win relief for city residents that plaintiff’s attorneys had to overcome.

Second, when dealing with a highly public issue with a significant settlement, it’s imperative for attorneys to remain vigilant throughout the process. In the Flint experience, for example, even after negotiating a $640M+ settlement, strange letters started showing up in the mailboxes of Flint residents encouraging them to reject the agreement. Those letters, it turned out, had been sent by an attorney who did not disclose that he was working on other legal issues related to the Flint water crisis, and they created confusion for residents who desperately needed relief.

Most importantly, the lesson we all should learn from Flint is that there’s no substitute for making investments in infrastructure when they’re needed. The cost of choosing the “cheap” solution to deliver drinking water to Flint’s residents resulted in far more expense than the city would have incurred if it had continued to get water from Detroit, not to mention the suffering it created to residents who will now have to live with the long-term effects of lead poisoning. When governments fail to keep their residents safe, the work of attorneys like the Napoli Shkolnik team that represented Flint plaintiffs is essential, as it rights the wrongs that have been done and creates a compelling reason for other government bodies to take their obligations more seriously.