October 19, 2020 – BATON ROUGE – The nationally recognized attorneys from Baron & Budd, P.C. alongside Cossich Sumich Parsiola & Taylor, LLC and Luneau & Beck, LLC are investigating claims of groundwater contamination in the Pineville area. The State of Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality sent letters to property owners in the affected areas notifying them of environmental contamination near their residence or property.

The contamination has been traced back to the Dresser Company facility in Pineville. The facility operated from the 1960s until 2016 when it was permanently closed. Dresser manufactured couplings and valves using chlorinated solvents, including trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PERC), in the process.

In 2011, Dresser reported a spill at the Pineville facility and drilled monitoring wells to test and monitor the groundwater at the site. The tests found dangerously high levels of TCE in the groundwater. TCE is very mobile in soil and extremely persistent in groundwater. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Environmental Protection Agency have classified TCE as a known carcinogen and PERC as a likely carcinogen.

Tests from 2014 found concentrations of TCE that were more than 10,000 times the allowable level. More recent groundwater investigation indicated that groundwater containing chlorinated solvents has migrated significantly beyond the facility boundaries into areas surrounding the Dresser facility. Dresser continues to investigate contamination claims and is taking soil gas samples and indoor air samples in the area. Vapors from these chlorinated solvents have migrated into homes in the area, resulting in TCE & PERC being detected in numerous homes surrounding the facility.

Residents and property owners have expressed concerns about the health and safety of their families and the decrease in their property values.

Residents and property owners are encouraged to contact Baron & Budd at (866) 237-2507 if they have received a contamination letter from the State of Louisiana or received a positive test for TCE or PERC on their property.

ABOUT BARON & BUDD, P.C.

With more than 40 years of experience, Baron & Budd has the expertise and resources to handle complex litigation throughout the United States. As a law firm that takes pride in remaining at the forefront of litigation, Baron & Budd has spearheaded many significant cases for hundreds of entities and thousands of individuals. Baron & Budd has been repeatedly selected by The Legal 500 as one of the country’s premier law firms in mass tort claims and class action litigation. Since the firm was founded in 1977, Baron & Budd has achieved substantial national acclaim for its work on cutting-edge litigation, trying hundreds of cases to verdict and settling tens of thousands of cases in areas of litigation as diverse and significant as dangerous and highly addictive pharmaceuticals, defective medical devices, asbestos and mesothelioma, California wildfires and environmental contamination, fraudulent banking practices, e-cigarettes, motor vehicles, federal whistleblower cases, and other consumer fraud issues.

ABOUT COSSICH SUMICH PARSIOLA & TAYLOR, LLC

Based in Louisiana, Cossich, Sumich, Parsiola and Taylor, LLC represents its clients nationwide in a wide array of environmental matters, including wetland and habitat protection, legacy oilfield contamination, and toxic torts. The firm has decades of experience in complex litigation, class actions, multidistrict litigation, and mass actions, often fighting against multinational corporations responsible for environmental damage. During its history litigating environmental claims, its attorneys appear frequently in leadership roles in Multidistrict litigation involving spills of hazardous chemicals and environmental contamination. Despite having achieved prominence on a national level, the firm maintains its presence in Louisiana State and federal courts litigating and trying cases throughout the state.

ABOUT LUNEAU & BECK, LLC

The attorneys at the law firm of Luneau & Beck, LLC are lifelong residents of Cenla. We understand that people here appreciate having an attorney that is courteous, responsive, and willing to go the extra mile. At Luneau & Beck, we strive to keep our clients well informed and give them clear guidance through difficult and uncertain times.