California Leukemia Victim Says Oil Companies' Benzene to Blame

By William Murphy

Published on December 01, 2006

Plaintiff Mark Chenoweth says that the oil companies' cleanup of contaminated ground in his neighborhood unearthed dirt laden with benzene, which in turn contaminated the surrounding air. The U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry reports that long-term exposure to high levels of airborne benzene can cause leukemia.

Chenoweth's Santa Maria neighborhood was built on land that was used for oil production dating back to the 1930s. When the oil fields ceased production in the 1980s and 1990s, the oil companies covered the sumps with soil and sold the land to developers. Because oil production had occurred over more than 50 years, the law allowed the companies to proceed without cleaning up the site.

A Chevron representative, whose company is named in the suit, said that Chenoweth's exposure to any benzene fumes from dirt exposed during the oil companies' voluntary cleanup of the area was too short term to have caused his leukemia. Chevron reported earlier that the Chenoweth's property tested negative for contamination.

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