Brush Wellman Inc. announced Thursday
that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee in
Knoxville has granted the company's motion for summary judgment,
effectively ending a lawsuit almost seven years ago.
The four plaintiffs who filed the suit alleged they had become ill from
handling beryllium or products containing beryllium while working for
Union Carbide Corp. or Martin Marietta Energy Systems -- former
contractors for the Department of Energy in Oak Ridge.
Brush Wellman, which is based in Cleveland, Ohio, supplies worldwide
markets with beryllium, alloy and electronic products, among other items.
Cabot Corp. and NGK Metals Corp. were also named as defendants.
In a press statement, Brush Wellman officials said, "The court can be
commended for being thorough and reasoned in evaluating Brush Wellman's
position that it was not responsible for the health and safety of another
company's employees."
In June, the company faced a similar case in Colorado. Following a
three-week trial in Jefferson County, jurors agreed with Brush Wellman's
argument that the company adequately warned DOE's Rocky Flats contractors
of the need to properly protect workers from known unsafe levels of
beryllium, according to a press release from Brush Wellman.
However, the Associated Press reported last month that Brush Wellman
agreed to pay a $145,000 fine for violating air quality regulations at its
Tucson, Ariz., plant for using a clothes dryer that released toxic dust
into the air.
Also last month, The Kansas City Star reported that two workers who
were exposed to beryllium dust at the Honeywell International plant, a
Kansas City nuclear weapons parts facility, filed lawsuits against
beryllium producer Brush Wellman and the other two companies named in the
Oak Ridge suit.
