When contractors at the giant Hanford atomic weapons site in Washington state were hit with class-action suits by workers and neighbors, they hired some of the best legal talent available, running up attorneys’ fees of $10.8 million last year alone.
Facing huge damage claims for toxic and radioactive pollution, the companies are responding without having to worry about the legal cost. The reason? Their defense is being funded by taxpayers–who will also pay for settlements or judgments if the contractors lose in court.
This policy of protecting the contractors dates back to the Manhattan Project and development of the atomic bomb. In order to enlist private firms in the effort, the Atomic Energy Commission promised to indemnify them against legal and financial risks. Officials said the hazards of weapons development were unknown and private industry would have refused to take part without the broadest liability protections.
As that policy has continued, though, the environmental cleanup and litigation costs have soared. And over the past two years, the U.S. Department of Energy, successor to the AEC, has paid more than $25 million in legal bills for private contractors at atomic weapons production sites, according to figures obtained by The Times.
Read more: http://articles.latimes.com/1992-03-30/news/mn-233_1_legal-cost
