Lawsuit filed over hazardous waste

Wednesday, July 3, 2002 | 9:14 a.m.

The operators of the BMI complex in Henderson are suing the federal government and several manufacturers to recover cleanup costs related to the dumping of hazardous materials at the site since 1941.

Basic Management Inc. and subsidiaries Basic Remediation Co. LLC and Basic Environmental Co. LLC filed a civil Superfund cleanup suit in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas last week.

The suit named Atlantic Richfield Co., BP America Inc., BP PLC, Stauffer Management Co., AstraZeneca, Aventis SA, Bayer CropScience AG, Bayer AG, Imperial Chemical Industries PLC, ICI Americas Inc., Combined Metals Reduction Co. and successors and subsidiaries of those companies, in addition to the U.S. government.

The action is being filed through the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act and Nevada environmental laws in connection with the remediation of a 1,345-acre site in Henderson and unincorporated Clark County north of Boulder Highway and Lake Mead Drive, near the BMI industrial area.

The site initially served as a dump for the disposal of wastes associated with the manufacturing of bombs and light-weight metals for military aircraft production during World War II. The BMI plant was the nation's largest producer of magnesium during the war, manufacturing 166.3 million pounds.

Ammonium perchlorate was later manufactured at the plant through 1962 under a Navy contract. Waste disposal was discontinued at the site in 1976.