State amends Yucca silica suit

Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2005 | 9:32 a.m.

SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON -- Lawyers for Nevada on Monday filed an amended lawsuit in a case involving ailing Yucca Mountain workers.

Washington D.C.-area lawyer Joe Egan, hired by the state to lead Yucca legal battles, first filed a class action lawsuit in March on behalf of Yucca workers exposed to silica dust, which can cause lung disease.

The suit was filed against nine corporate contractors working on the planned nuclear waste repository. The companies have denied Egan's charges that they willfully ignored silica problems.

U.S. District Judge James Mahan last month told Egan the complaint was serious enough to go forward and should be examined through the discovery process, but he scolded Egan for excessive language in the lawsuit, and told him to cut the hyperbole.

The amended 31-page complaint filed by Egan in the U.S. District Court of Nevada on Monday was edited and seven pages shorter, but still concludes that the corporate defendants "deliberately and deceitfully" exposed thousands of workers and visitors to toxic materials, including silica, erionite and mordenite.

The defendants, which include Bechtel SAIC, Co., Parsons Brinckerhoff Construction Services and Kiewet Construction, have 30 days to file a reply.

The companies vow to fight the charges in court.