By Andy Norstadt
The Belligham Herald

SEATTLE – Eight former Intalco Aluminum Corp. workers’ nervous-system ailments were caused by toxics at the smelter during its first six years, a U. S. District Court jury ruled Friday.

The landmark verdict sets the stage for the next phase of the lengthy "potroom palsy" trial. The 10 jurors will decide whether the smelter’s original designer, builder and owner should pay damages, and if so, how much.

"We’ve won at the workers’ compensation level, we’ve won in Whatcom County Superior Court, we won before the state Appeals Court and now we’ve won in U. S. District Court," said Bellingham attorney Dean Brett.

"The jury must have really believed the men. What the men said was more important for them than what some of the scientists said," said Bob Knies, another attorney for the workers.

"This means everything to my family. It’s the first time we can really feel secure," said Terry Thrift, one of the eight workers. "We were right, and all we had to do was tell the truth."

A statement issued by Laird Harris, spokesman for the defendants read: "We are obviously disappointed with the verdict and believe it is contrary to the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence."

Defendants named in the suit are Pechiney Enterprises Inc., a multi-national corporation based in France; AMAX Inc., a U.S.-based metal production company, and Bechtel Corp., a San Francisco-based construction giant.

The case has potentially far-reaching implications because it establishes a legal link between neurological ailments and aluminum production in the mid-1960s.

The workers’ attorneys likened the lawsuit to earlier cases involving asbestos and tobacco.

A group of 25 former Intalco employees filed the suit three years ago. Their attorneys had to prove that "more likely than not," the men’s ailments stemmed from conditions at the plant between 1966 and 1972, when ventilation hoods were installed over the potlines.

Afflicted workers suffer an array of ailments ranging from tremors and poor balance to memory loss, joint pain and depression. Researchers link their conditions to potline emissions and say aluminum is the probable culprit.

Defense attorneys argued either that the men didn’t suffer from physical ailments, or that they had maladies unrelated to work at the plant, such as a hereditary tremor or a heart condition.

U. S. District Court Judge Carolyn Dimmick separated the complicated trial into two phases.

The first focused on eight men – Thrift, Walt Bucchler, Dennis Ellingson, Christian Lefever, Ted Oppewall, Nick Senger, Jerry Tomlinson and Bob Walker.

The trial’s next phase, starting Tuesday, will focus on whether the potlines should have been hooded during the smelter’s first years, and how much monetary damage the men suffered.

Brett said Intalco was one of two aluminum plants in the United States without hoods over potlines in the 1960s.

During closing arguments this week, Brett said faulty European technology was brought to the United States. Research in Europe is uncovering similar neurological problems among smelter workers, he said.

A third phase involving the 17 remaining plaintiffs could follow if a settlement isn’t reached.

Brett said one survey found 172 workers at the plant between 1966 and 1972 now suffer tremors and other health problems.

Knies said there is a "strong possibility" more lawsuits could be filed.