Port of Seattle, Alaska Air Group and Delta Sued for Toxic Pollution
"People have the right—well recognized by the laws of trespass, nuisance, and negligence, and protected by Article I, Section 16 of the Washington Constitution—not to have Defendants dump pollutants all over their property with the assistance, permission and encouragement of a government agency. They are entitled to breathe clean air and live on uncontaminated land. They should not have to resign themselves to becoming sick and/or being unreasonably exposed to the risk of disease, or to watching their children become sick and/or be exposed to an increased risk of disease, to enable Defendants' commercial profits." – Class Action Complaint, pg 3.
On April 19, 2023 Seattle based law firm, Hagens Berman, issued a press release, Hagens Berman: Area Residents Sue Port of Seattle, Alaska Air Group and Delta Air Lines for Toxic Pollution. According to the firm's website, Steve Berman, a managing partner and lead attorney on the case, "Served as co-lead counsel against Big Tobacco, resulting in the largest settlement in world history, and at the time the largest automotive, antitrust, ERISA and securities settlements in U.S. history."
Excerpts from the release appear below:
Residents of the city of SeaTac and surrounding areas today filed a lawsuit against the Port of Seattle, Alaska Air Group Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc., alleging that airport operations contaminate neighborhoods near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac Airport) with a combination of pollutants including carbon monoxide, lead and particulate matter, according to attorneys at Hagens Berman.
The lawsuit, which was filed...in King County Superior Court, claims the Port of Seattle, which owns Sea-Tac Airport, and the airline companies have known about the pollutants and their associated health risks for years and have done nothing to mitigate them, despite the pollutants' possible link to hundreds of excess deaths in the area every year...
More than 300,000 people, including more than 60,000 children, live within what attorneys are calling the "Contamination Zone" around Sea-Tac Airport. Within the Contamination Zone, which includes but is not limited to Burien, Des Moines, SeaTac and Tukwila, rates of cancer, heart disease and chronic lower respiratory disease are significantly higher than in surrounding areas, researchers have concluded...
In addition to public nuisance, the lawsuit brings claims of negligence, continuing intentional trespass and violation of inverse condemnation laws against the Port. The suit seeks to hold defendants accountable for funding a cleanup of the area, compensating residents for the loss of use and enjoyment of their property and establishing a medical monitoring fund.
To read the press release in full click here.
The 46 page complaint filing adds additional detail:
"Airplane activity generates a wide range of pollutants, including coarse, fine, and ultra-fine particulate matter; harmful gases including carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur oxide; hazardous air pollutants like formaldehyde, acrolein, 1,3-butadiene, naphthalene, benzene, acetaldehyde, and ethylbenzene; and toxic heavy metals including aluminum, barium, cadmium, copper, lead, magnesium, silver, uranium, and zinc. These pollutants settle over local communities, contaminating the air residents breathe and the soil where their children play. It is beyond dispute that these pollutants can cause respiratory problems (including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and pulmonary fibrosis) cardiovascular problems, central nervous system disorders, and Alzheimer's disease." (Pg. 1)
"Pollution from airport activity is particularly acute in a five-mile radius of the Airport (the 'Contamination Zone')." (Pg. 1)
"Rates of cancer, heart disease, and chronic lower respiratory disease are significantly higher in the Contamination Zone than in other Seattle communities. Babies born in the Danger Zone have a higher chance of being born prematurely or of being underweight. And residents of the Contamination Zone have lower life expectancies than those who live outside the Zone. In fact, researchers have concluded that exposure to airport-related pollution leads to hundreds of excess deaths in the Contamination Zone per year. And this pollution exposes class members to a heightened risk of disease." (Pg. 2)
"The majority of residents in the Contamination Zone are Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (52%), whereas these minority communities make up only one-third of all individuals living in King County as a whole. And residents of the Contamination Zone are also more likely to be immigrants. The disproportionate impact of airport pollution on low-income and racially diverse communities is an issue of environmental justice..."(Pg. 3)
"For most of the time airplanes are aloft, the pollutants they emit are dispersed by the wind, which can carry pollutants as far as 6,000 miles away from an airplane's route. This dispersion typically minimizes the buildup of pollutants in any one location. However, when planes fly below 3,000 feet, there is not enough time for the wind to fully disperse the pollutants. Pollutants released below this altitude are sucked downwind and accumulate in local communities. This effect is magnified the closer an airplane flies to the ground. As a result, airplane-generated pollutants become most concentrated in the areas directly surrounding airports, where aircraft fly the lowest. This is precisely what has happened in the Contamination Zone." (Pg. 13-14)
Related Articles
Seattle Times - Sea-Tac, Alaska and Delta Accused of Harming Health of 300K Residents
Reuters - Seattle Airport, Alaska Air and Delta Sued Over Jet Pollution
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