EDWARDSVILLE - The estate of a deceased woman from Hartford has filed a wrongful-death suit against oil companies for allegedly creating a “toxic plume” near her house from decades of leaking and spilling gasoline from nearby pipelines and refineries.
Margaret A. Hood lived for more than 45 years near the Wood River refinery from the 1970s until her death in 2019 and often kept her windows open to cool and ventilate the house, the suit said. She also spent time in her yard and outside in the surrounding community where she was further exposed to fume.
“These fumes caused or contributed to cause, Plaintiff’s leukemia,” the complaint alleges.
The “toxic plume” consists of at least 3.8 million gallons of gasoline and other petroleum products and byproducts underneath Hartford that have leaked from nearby refineries and pipelines, the suit alleges.
“Gasoline contains benzene, a known carcinogen,” the lawsuit states. Even at low levels of exposure, benzene can cause leukemia, Hood’s estate alleges.
Hood was “exposed to and inhaled, ingested, inserted or otherwise absorbed benzene, which was emitted, leaked, spilled, dumped and otherwise discharged into the air and surface groundwater,” Hood’s estate alleges in the suit filed April 16.
For decades, the defendants conspired to “hide and minimize the risk of benzene exposure,” the suit says.
It seeks at least $50,000 in damages from each of the defendants including Exxon, Shell Oil Company, Conoco Phillips, BP North America and Phillips 66.
Pipelines connected refineries in Roxana and Wood River to terminals on the Mississippi River, travelling underneath Hartford, according the complaint. The water table in Hartord in most places lies about 10 feet below the surface, the suit states.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 2020-L-547