Coal ash workers dying as lawsuit over illnesses drags on

By TRAVIS LOLLER
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Workers who cleaned up the 2008 Kingston, Tennessee, coal ash spill spent years working in conditions that they believe made them sick. The first worker lawsuits were filed against cleanup contractor Jacobs Engineering in 2013. But nearly a decade later, not a single case has made it through the court system. As the cases drag on, dozens who believed their work for the contractor made them sick have died. The company’s latest challenge is a request to dismiss most of the plaintiffs for failing to follow a procedure outlined in the Tennessee Silica Claims Priorities Act. The Tennessee Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on Wednesday.