Thomas & Wan, LLP Announces Agreement to Remove EPA Superfund Warehouse

Thomas & Wan, LLP is pleased to announce that the current property owner of the Hayes-Sammons Pesticide Warehouse and EPA Superfund site in Mission, Texas has agreed to allow the EPA to tear down the contaminated building.

The current property owner Johnny Hinojosa, represented by Linda Laurent Thomas and Michelle Wan, agreed to the removal of the warehouse which sits on six acres in the heart of a neighborhood in Mission, Texas plagued with cancer-causing pesticides since the 1950s.

The contamination originated from pesticide formulating activities that took place from the early 1950s until 1973. Prior owners were ordered by the EPA to remediate the property in the 1980s to remove contaminated soil. Mr. Hinojosa purchased the property in 2005 believing the property was properly remediated. In September 2006, however, the EPA declared the property had “unacceptable threats to human health and the environment.”

The Mayor of Mission, Texas, Beto Salinas, stated he was pleased with the decision to tear down the warehouse and remove the contamination. The EPA is trying to recover the more than $8 million in cleanup costs from any companies or people with past involvement in the property or its contamination.

Thomas & Wan, LLP also represents former Hayes Sammons workers and over 1,800 residents living near the property who were injured as a result of the contamination. They have sued the chemical companies who supplied the products, including DDT, which contributed to the contamination. Some of the chemical companies have already settled with the residents and former workers. The lawsuit has been stayed since March 2005 due to the Texas Supreme Court’s review of a technical issue.

The lawyers of Thomas & Wan, LLP have over 25 years of experience in representing victims of environmental contamination and toxic injuries. Linda Laurent Thomas and Michelle Wan are currently evaluating potential benzene-induced leukemia and industrial explosion cases. For more information on Thomas & Wan, LLP, please visit: www.thomasandwan.com or call 713-529-1177.