Shell Oil Company and eight other oil companies are being sued by Madison County resident Sunan Lamka. The additional defendants are as follows: BP Products North America, Inc.; Phillips 66 Company; Premcor Refining Group, Inc.; HWRT Oil Company, LLC; Apex Oil Company, LLC; Atlantic Richfield Company; Sinclair Oil Corporation; and Equilon Enterprises, LLC.
According to the official case filing, Lamka was born and raised in Roxana, Madison County, and has spent most of her life living near Wood River and Hartford Refineries. She lived, went to school, worked, and used community facilities located in or around the area throughout her life, which are close in proximity to the defendant oil companies’ refineries, facilities, and related equipment, as well as the benzene plumes that they created. Due to her lifetime of indirect exposure, Lamka was exposed to excessive amounts of toxic chemicals, including benzene and benzene-containing products, that were released into the environment around her homes, neighborhood, and community. The long-term exposure led to Lamka developing Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The filing alleges that the defendant oil companies have known of the presence of the chemicals and their part in their creation. None of the defendants have done anything substantial to mitigate or otherwise reduce the benzene plumes or their pollution and the effects that they’ve had on Lamka and her community.
All defendants are being sued by Lamka on three counts: negligence, willful and wanton misconduct, and civil conspiracy. Lamka is seeking a monetary sum equal to or greater than $50,000 for each charge in addition to legal costs and other rewards that the Court deems appropriate.
This article was first published in Madison Record.
