Family of Notorious Polluter Sues Government Over His Death

The family of Edward W. McCrary III, a former resident of Baker, Louisiana has recently filed a lawsuit against the federal government accusing them of being responsible for the death of their husband and father. McCrary passed away at the age of 76 approximately ten months ago.

Edward W. McCrary III previously served a portion of a twenty-seven month prison sentence back in 1993 and 1994 for charges related to illegal dumping of industrial wastes while he operated Louisiana Recycle/Reuse located on Scenic Highway in Baker. He pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge involving the illegal dumping of such waste into city sanitary and storm sewers.

It is during this time serving his sentence that McCrary’s family feels he was exposed to dangerous asbestos-containing materials at Carville Prison which caused his lung cancer and subsequent death.

Exposure to asbestos has been known to lead to the development of a number of diseases including lung cancer. Even a small amount of exposure is highly dangerous and due to the long latency period of the diseases caused by the dangerous fibers treatment options are often very limited for those diagnosed.

Henrietta McCrary and her children are claiming that both the government and the taxpayers are responsible for Edward’s development of the cancer.

Officials have pointed out that McCrary worked with hazardous chemicals for many years. It was further pointed out that McCrary has previously been fined for a number of spills by both state and local authorities. The U.S. Attorney’s office was unable to comment and is waiting on a report from the Bureau of Prisons.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008 at 4:08 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.