EAST ST. LOUIS — Honeywell is facing a wrongful death suit alleging radioactive dust from its nuclear plant in Metropolis caused a resident's cancer.
Shannon Dassign, individually and as executrix of Stephen Krueger, decedent, filed a complaint May 14 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois East St. Louis Division against Honeywell International Inc., alleging wrongful death.
Dassign alleges in her complaint that Krueger lived "his entire life within five miles" of a nuclear plant located outside of Metropolis, Ill. She claims that until its closing in 2017, it carried radioactive and nonradioactive "hazard dust" throughout the area. She alleges the defendant's plant led to concentrations of radioactive particles being found in soils and buildings located throughout Massac County and Metropolis. She also alleges the radioactive particles led to Krueger's death from metastatic adenocarcinoma of the colon in May 2019.
Dassign claims samples taken from Krueger's property show the radiation dust "far exceeded" federal limits and that Honeywell and the plant's previous owner failed to prevent or avoid the contamination or warn of the dangerous toxins being released into the environment.
Dassign seeks compensation of more than $75 million, plus interest, trial by jury and all other appropriate relief. She is represented by James Clayborne, Jr., of Clayborne & Wagner LLP in Bellville, Katrina Carroll, Kule Shamberg and Nicholas Lange of Carlson Lynch LLP in Chicago, Richard Kruger and Paul Henry of Kruger, Henry and Hunter LLC in Metropolis, Celeste Brustowicz, Stuart Smith, Stephen Wussow and Victor Cobb of The Cooper Law Firm LLC in New Orleans, Kevin Thompson and David Barney, Jr. of Thompson Barney in Charleston, W.V., and Ron Austin and Catherine Hilton of Ron Austin & Associates LLC in Gretna, La.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois East St. Louis Division case number 3:21-CV-00485-NJR