By Rebecca Feldhaus
Paducah, KY – A group of landowners has settled a long-running lawsuit for one-point-seven-five million dollars over allegations that water leaks from Paducah's Gaseous Diffusion Plant devalued property. Edmund Schmidt, a Nashville, Tennessee attorney representing landowners near the plant, says the funds will compensate between 70 and 80 homeowners. The group sued multiple companies in 1997, including Lockheed Martin and Union Carbide, saying radiation contamination by air and water had ruined their land and well water, and sickened residents.