Declarations

Dangerous Dams

“Failure of one of these dams could result in loss of life or significant property damage.”

—Peter Richardson, senior vice president of the Boston Society for Civil Engineers, commenting on legislation that would require Massachusetts to identify all dangerous dams in the state and order the removal of any that cannot be made safe. In January, an audit revealed found that 100 of the Bay State’s 3,000 dams were in unsafe or poor condition. The legislation would create a $20 million revolving loan fund for private dam owners who cannot afford to fix or remove their structures.

$25M ‘Horse Whipping’

“Exxon got a good, old-fashioned horse whipping is what it is.”

—Bobby Hatten, a lawyer for Bert Minton, 72, of Virginia, who won a $25 million verdict against oil giant Exxon for his asbestos-related illness. Minton worked on 17 Exxon commercial oil tankers as a shipfitter and supervisor at Virginia’s Newport News Shipbuilding in the 1960s and ’70s. He later contracted mesothelioma, which doctors said stemmed from breathing billions of asbestos fibers while working at the shipyard. Minton chose to sue Exxon, the ship owner, rather than the parts supplier, which is the target of dozens of similar cases brought annually. The verdict is among the largest ever handed out by a Virginia jury.

Nuke Concerns

“This plant in this proximity to New York City was never a good risk.”

—New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who wants to review safety information from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission about Indian Point Energy Center, a nuclear plant that lies near a seismic fault line 35 miles north of Manhattan. Concerns over radiation leaks at damaged earthquakes in Japan are also prompting inquiries into several nuclear power plants in New Jersey, including the Oyster Creek plant, which is the nation’s oldest.