Members of the U.S. military who were tasked with helping Japan with the clean-up and recovery from its 2011 nuclear power leak are now suing, claiming the company lied and downplayed dangers.
The case, which was initially filed with nine plaintiffs in December, has expanded to include 26 — and 100 more are expected to join the suit in the coming weeks, the Stars and Stripes reported. The revised complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in California, Agence France-Presse reported. Plaintiffs are both active duty and retired sailors and Marines, along with their dependents.
They seek $2 billion from Tokyo Electric Power Co., AFP says.
They claim a range of health problems from the clean-up. AFP says plaintiffs are suffering from headaches, bleeding, thyroid problems, cancer and tumors.
The Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant was compromised in March 2011 after an earthquake and tsunami struck the eastern coast of Japan. An estimated 15,991 people died, and 2,688 are still missing, AFP reports.
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Cheryl Chumley is a continuous news writer for The Washington Times. Previously, she was part of the start-up team for The Washington Times’ digital aggregation product, Times247. She’s also a 2008-2009 Robert Novak journalism fellow with The Phillips Foundation. She can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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