Wichita Eagle Posted on Thu, Dec. 11, 2003

Dow appeals medical monitoring to state Supreme Court
Associated Press

SAGINAW, Mich. - Dow Chemical Co. has asked the state Supreme Court to strike medical monitoring from a lawsuit involving residents along the Tittabawassee River, where high levels of dioxin have been found.

Saginaw County Chief Circuit Judge Leopold P. Borrello denied Dow's request and the state Court of Appeals won't hear the case. Dow attorneys argue that monitoring claims are neither recognized by state law nor relevant.

"Medical monitoring in this context is a legal issue and is not a scientific study," Dow spokesman Scot Wheeler told The Saginaw News. "The medical monitoring proposed would answer no questions specific to dioxin."

Jan P. Helder, lead attorney for the residents, said Wednesday's appeal is a last-ditch effort by the Midland-based chemical giant to avoid responsibility for its contamination.

"Dow continues to hope that through the political process it will avoid the community's day in court on medical monitoring," Helder said. "They are trying to find relief from the Michigan Supreme Court when they have found none from Judge Borrello or the Court of Appeals."

The lawsuit seeks damages for lost property value and seeks establishment of a medical monitoring trust fund to pay for residents' dioxin poisoning testing and treatment, if necessary.

Dioxins are highly toxic byproducts of manufacturing and incineration systems and may cause cancer, birth defects and other health problems in humans.

For additional articles like this one, go to the Tittabawasse River Watch web site www.trwnews.net for complete coverage of the Tittabawassee River Dow Chemical dioxin contamination saga. . The Newspaper / Media page of our site contains an extensive archive of media articles dating back to January 2002. The source organization's web site link is listed to the right of the article, visit often for other news in our area. The Newspaper / Media page may be accessed by scrolling down to the bottom of the CONTENTS section and clicking on the Newspaper/Media link.