A pair of western Kentucky families have filed a lawsuit against a Calvert City chemical manufacturer in the aftermath of an environmental report that revealed air emissions at the plant created an elevated risk of cancer in the immediate area.
The suit – filed in Marshall County Circuit Court last week – accuses Westlake Vinyls and other defendants of gross negligence, intentional trespass and nuisance.
It comes in the wake of an air monitoring study by the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection’s Division for Air Quality (KDAQ) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that detected high levels of volatile organics compounds, or VOCs, released into the air near the plant. The study found statistically significant amounts of vinyl chloride and ethylene dichloride (EDC) – a compound used to make vinyl chloride, a key component of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) piping and other materials.
EDC is listed as a “probable human carcinogen” by the EPA that can impact people’s liver and kidneys. Vinyl chloride has also been identified as a cancer-causing substance that can cause liver damage in humans.
The plaintiffs – Greg and Julie Alles and Dawn and Mark Garland of Calvert City – are represented by attorneys with Bryant Law Center in Paducah; David Bryant Law in Louisville; Strauss Troy in Ohio; and Davis Environmental Attorneys in North Carolina.
According to a Bryant Law Center release announcing the suit, both sets of plaintiffs live within two miles of one of three testing sites established for the air study. The testing sites are located on Johnson Riley Road, at Calvert City Elementary School and at the LWD Superfund Site on Industrial Boulevard.
Emily Roark, a partner at Bryant Law Center, said the families who filed the suit are seeking damages for “diminished” property value and the cleanup of one of the testing sites, particularly the LWD Superfund Site.
“All we're asking is that Westlake apply by the same standards as every other plant out there because there's people that have lived there for generations,” she said. “People need to be able to live in a safe home.”
The elevated risk of cancer documented in the air study was calculated to be as high as 60 persons per million at the Calvert City Elementary School site; 100 persons per million at the Johnson-Riley Road site; and 1,000 persons per million at a monitor set up next to Westlake Vinyls. Roark said those rates are unacceptable and “mind boggling.”
“This toxic chemical is way above the accepted limit,” she said. “The EPA goal is basically going to be one in a million … so it's way higher than normal standards.”
Roark invites any Calvert City residents who live within two miles of any of the three testing sites to contact Bryant Law Center to review their case. This includes people living in that area who have been diagnosed with cancer.
The Westlake Corporation did not respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
This suit and study aren’t the first time the Calvert City Westlake plant has been found to have put area residents at risk. A 2020 federal emissions inventory found that the site was the largest single source of EDC emissions in the United States – emitting more than 36 tons of the compound. That’s almost twice as much as the next highest emitting plant in Louisiana.
Following allegations that they violated the Clean Air Act and state air pollution control laws, Westlake agreed in 2022 as part of a settlement with the Department of Justice to make upgrades and perform compliance measures to reduce air pollution at three of its facilities, including in Calvert City. The companies also paid a $1 million civil penalty.
The EPA and KDAQ are hosting a public meeting to discuss the findings of the air quality study at 6 p.m. on Feb. 13 at the Calvert City Library. Those interested can also attend virtually via Zoom.
