There are many old refinery locations through out the country. One watchdog group says there are about 170 defunct refineries.

Many of them were built in the early 1900s, which is long before knowledge of widespread pollution based illnesses. Things are different now. But in the early days, when many of these facilities were in operation, workers were not trained about spillage or risks of air pollution. The idea was strictly to process and refine gasoline. If something spilled or was released, the long term effects hadn't been studied, measures had not been taken to prevent long term effects.

And now many of these old defunct locations are polluted.

But as the people who live in Neodesha, Kansas, have learned, these large properties are often soaked with oil and gasoline. And the oil leaks into the groundwater. That's why the local government has sued the owner of a large defunct refinery, seeking to expedite a cleanup. Reportedly, years of negotiations have been fruitless.

Published reports indicate that even the oil company that now owns the defunct site agrees it is polluted. It denies, however, that this has made people ill.

As a lawyer who has sued oil companies for many years, I can tell you that this case is not an isolated one. Many times, the oil company giants take a "catch me if you can" attitude.

They know that many residents can't afford the expense of litigation and the goal is simple: drag things out as long as possible.

Delay after all works well for the oil companies. If they ever do clean a contaminated site, at least by delaying, they have had use of their funds for an extended period of time. And many homeowners simply decide to quit in the mean time.

Its true that some oil companies do the right thing, without that much drama. But too often, they play games. And they would be fun and enjoyable games if human health and well being were not at issue.

Homeowners who live near contaminated refineries need to join together, because there is strength in numbers. Its hard for one person to take on an oil company giant. But a community that is well organized can be a fair match. I have seen this many times myself.

Homeowners need to know that these fights will take some time. But in the end, fairness and justice often prevails. You simply need to remain vigilant and "hang in there."

For the oil companies, they need to have compassion. They need to stop exploiting the legal system and where a problem exists, they need to accept responsibility.

Accepting responsibility does not mean running to the President and trying to get some kind of legal liability protection. It means promptly settling legitimate claims and making sure that people who have become ill are promptly, justly compensated.

Published: November 10, 2005

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Stuart Lieberman, Esq. writes about environmental issues. He was a New Jersey Deputy Attorney General assigned to the State Department of Environmental Protection from 1986 to 1990. Currently he is a shareholder in the environmental law firm of Lieberman & Blecher, P.C., located in Princeton, New Jersey. Stuart can be reached at slieberman@liebermanblecher.com.