EDWARDSVILLE – A man living close to various refineries claims his brain cancer is linked to the leaking of products containing a highly toxic chemical.
Daniel Coddington is one of a number of individuals living in the Wood River/Roxana area claiming there is a direct link between their illnesses and the leaking of materials containing benzene into the ground around where they lived.
Coddington has filed suit against various oil companies and distributors involved in the production and delivery of oil products from the Wood River and other refineries.
The plaintiff, along with his wife, Katherine, filed suit Feb. 10 in Madison County Circuit Court claiming he has oligoastrocytoma, a malignant brain tumor, as a direct result of living, working and socializing in the Wood River area.
One of the companies named as a defendant is Phillips 66, which currently has an interest in a number of facilities in the area.
“It is our practice to not comment on legal matters,” its media relations team told the Record.
Coddington, similar to other residents of the area who have filed suit against the companies, claims the production over the years of various oil-based products led to leakage and the growth of what is described in court documents as a underground “toxic plume” that includes benzene or benzene-containing materials.
The companies named in the suit are accused of negligence for allegedly allowing chemicals to leak into the environment. Among the other defendants named are Shell and BP as well as pipeline companies and distributors of the oil-based products.
The plaintiffs, who are seeking more than $50,000 in damages, are represented by Christopher W. Dysart of the Dysart Law Firm in Chesterfield, Missouri.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 2020-L-167.