CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Nearly 25,000 current and former coal preparation plant workers would receive testing to detect diseases potentially linked to toxic chemical exposure under a proposed legal settlement.
The deal offers the exams for plant workers in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, and about 5,000 current or former West Virginia wastewater treatment facility employees.
Chemtall Inc. and a half-dozen other companies agreed to the nearly $14 million settlement to resolve litigation over exposure to chemicals used to separate solids from liquids during the processing of coal or the cleaning of municipal wastewater. The settlement includes funds for the medical monitoring program, as well as other fees and expenses.
The Charleston Gazette reports that the deal received initial approval last month in Marshall County Circuit Court. A hearing is set for May 1.
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