Dow Chemical Company and Rockwell International Corp.

In 1990 a class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of thousands of property owners whose land was contaminated with plutonium released from the former Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant. The two private contractors operated the Rocky Flats Weapons Plant for the United States Department of Energy from 1952 through 1989. The class claimed Dow and Rockwell operated the facility dangerously in a deliberate or reckless fashion and released radioactive plutonium offsite, contaminating properties in the neighborhoods downwind from the facility. Plutonium is a highly radioactive material that can cause cancer. The class included nearly 12,000 property owners living near the plant and included residents of downtown Denver. A Colorado federal jury awarded the class $354 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive damages. The putative damages awarded show that the jury found beyond a reasonable doubt that Dow and Rockwell had engaged in reckless and deliberate conduct that hurt their neighbors. (Feb-15-06) [BUSINESS WIRE]