PITTSBURGH – A Beaver County woman alleges she has suffered severe respiratory ailments after inhaling fumes from a chemical fire which took place about a half-mile from her residence.
Carol A. Brutout of Rochester filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on March 4 versus Michael Baker International, Inc. (formerly known as “Michael Baker Jr., Inc.”) of Pittsburgh, One Brewery Place, Inc. of Rochester, Harold B. Davidson (also known as “Brad Davidson”) and Beaver Alkali Products of Ellwood City, and James R. Davidson (also known as “Randy Davidson”), of Dover, Fla.
The suit says that the owner/operator defendants (all of the defendants minus Michael Baker International, Inc.) managed a property at 25 New York Avenue in Rochester.
“The premises contained an unpermitted chemical production and distribution business that included pool maintenance chemicals, laundry detergents, window cleaners and/or industrial solvents operated by defendant owners/operators,” the suit states.
“Defendant owners/operators mixed, stored, produced, handled and/or distributed these hazardous materials on the premises in large quantities and without a permit for many years.”
The suit adds that these chemicals included the compound 1-bromo-3-chloro-5, 5 dimethylhydantoin (Dantoin), whose active ingredients included 64.73 percent bromine and 28.72 percent chlorine, both of which are considered to be hazardous substances.
The defendants allegedly did not properly label and/or store hazardous chemical compounds on the premises and eventually, the chemicals began to erode through their storage containers and the premises supposedly began to structurally decay.
A subsequent DEP investigation determined that the premises constituted a threat to human health and the environment, due to the ongoing release of hazardous materials. Per the DEP’s interim response, a defendant contractor was hired to temporarily maintain the structural integrity of the building and remove and/or dispose of the chemicals inside.
The contractor began work on the premises on July 1, 2019, and 11 days later, on July 12, 2019, a reaction of hazardous materials caused a fire consisting of chlorine, bromine and/or other unknown chemicals. The smoke from this fire traveled to the surrounding community.
The next day, a second fire began as a result of similar chemicals igniting in a nearby dumpster, the smoke of which also traveled to the surrounding community.
“The fumes and/or odors from both chemical fires came into contact with plaintiff directly and her home and/or property,” per the suit.
“As a direct and proximate result of the aforementioned accident, plaintiff sustained the following injuries, some, or all of which are or may be permanent: Obstructive lung disease, sinusitis, burning throat, sore throat, wheezing, sharp chest pain, chest congestion, dyspnea, shortness of breath, nasal congestion and pressure, bruises, contusions and other injuries in or about nerves, muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments, tissues and vessels of the body, and nervousness, emotional tension, anxiety and depression.”
For 19 counts of strict liability (ultra-hazardous/abnormally dangerous activity), negligence, private nuisance and trespass against the various defendants, the plaintiff is seeking damages in excess of the jurisdictional limits of compulsory arbitration, plus court costs, punitive damages, interest and such other and further relief as this Honorable Court may deem just and equitable.
The plaintiff is represented by Michael E. Megrey of Woomer & Talarico, in Pittsburgh.
The defendants have not yet secured legal counsel.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas case GD-21-001785
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com