Attorney Jared Woodfill: BNSF intentionally mislead government inspectors about scope of contamination
A third-party industrial waste cleanup worker who was asked to clean up toxic contamination on the grounds of a railroad tie treatment plant operated by Burlington

Northern Santa Fe Railway testified Friday that he was `shocked' by the level of contamination, as well as plant supervisors' disregard for the health concerns posed by the solvents and other chemicals used at the 100-year-old treatment plant.

As reported by The Eagle in Bryan/College Station, Mike Zientek told jurors on the second day of trial testimony that the plant failed to adequately clean up a 1,000-gallon chemical spill and that plant supervisors scoffed at the idea that creosote and other solvents used to treat railroad ties posed a danger to workers or Somerville residents. An earlier witness in the trial, Dennis Davis v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway underway in Caldwell, Texas, testified that plant supervisors advised him that creosote, a known carcinogen baned in Europe and Canada, was not dangerous and was good for clearing up sinuses.

Lawsuits filed by hundreds of

Somerville, Texas, residents charge that a 100-year-old, continuously operating railroad tie processing plant has caused widespread toxic contamination in Somerville and high concentrations of cancer among residents. Scientific and medical studies suggest that toxic pollution from the railroad tie treatment plant has caused a serious health problem in Somerville. Lawsuits charge that the company's negligent use of toxic chemicals caused widespread environmental contamination that has sickened employees, their families and town neighbors.