South Jersey woman sues chemical manufacturer and transporter for $1 million, claiming ‘noxious odor’ got her and her child sick
The lawsuit comes after widespread complaints of an odor that smelled like rotten eggs were reported last week.
A South Jersey woman filed a $1 million federal lawsuit against a chemical manufacturer and the company that transported it, claiming the foul-smelling odor from a chemical that was released last week caused her and her child to get sick.
Last week, there were widespread complaints of an odor that smelled like rotten eggs across South Jersey. Officials ultimately determined that the smell came from a tanker trailer carrying 7,000 gallons of the hazardous chemical Lubrizol-1389 in Gloucester County.
Although initially reported as a leak, officials later said that when the product heats up, the tank has a failsafe that allows the gas to escape through a pressure release valve to avoid buildup.
» READ MORE: Gas-like odor in South Jersey isn’t dangerous, but may linger, officials say
The foul, noxious smell itself comes from an additive called methyl mercaptan that is in Lubrizol-1389. The additive is low-lying and tends to linger. Officials said the risk to public health was low, but an unknown number of residents reported feeling sick, with symptoms that included eye irritation and nausea.
On Monday, Gina Slavin-Borgesi sued Lubrizol Corporation, the Ohio-based manufacturer of the chemical, and TransChem, the Texas-based company that owns the truck that was transporting the chemical, in federal court in Texas. Slavin-Borgesi alleges that she experienced nausea, dizziness, and lung and eye irritation, and her child suffered from vomiting, headache, and lung and eye irritation as a result of the leak.
“Defendants’ reckless disregard for safety was the proximate cause for this incident,” Slavin-Borgesi’s attorney Adam Funk wrote in the suit.
» READ MORE: Gas-like smell caused by chemical leak in Gloucester County, officials say
Funk did not immediately return a call. A spokesperson for Lubrizol declined to comment on pending litigation. An attorney for Transchem declined to comment.
The suit claims that the “caustic chemicals” spread as far as 50 miles away from the tractor trailer that was parked at a truck stop in East Greenwich Township.
In a joint statement posted Monday on Facebook, Transchem and CTEH, an environmental consulting firm, said CTEH was doing 24/7 air monitoring in the surrounding areas. They once again reassured the public that there was “no anticipated risk to human health.”
Gloucester County Office of Emergency Management said Sunday that hazmat teams had been monitoring the tractor trailer and that a new pressure relief device had been installed on the tractor trailer.
“After initial maneuvers the Tanker was immediately placed back into the monitor and vapor recovery phase of this project prior to any next planned maneuvers,” the office said in a Facebook post. “The residual product along side of the tanker was part of the initial vapor releases.”
There was a town hall at the East Greenwich Township Municipal Building Tuesday night for those affected by the gas release to ask questions and voice concerns.