Occidental Chemical has been named as a defendant in a class action lawsuit by residents of Alabama alleging that their property was damaged by operations at Occidental's Muscle Shoals facility.
Residents living near the plant filed the suit on January 10, 2007. The plaintiffs allege that the plant has released toxic chemicals into the air and water, ultimately contaminating their property, and negatively affecting the value of their property. According to attorneys working on the case for the plaintiffs, operations at Occidental to manufacture chemicals like chlorine, potassium carbonate and hydroxide utilized mercury. The lawsuit alleges that the mercury escaped the facility, and ultimately ended up on the plaintiff's property.