Paint Companies Not Responsible in Rhode Island Lead Case

In 2006, a Rhode Island jury held paint companies Sherwin-Williams, Millennium Holdings, and NL Industries liable for the adverse consequences of lead paint sold more than 30 years ago, before the 1978 ban on lead paint (see

EBN

Vol. 15, No. 4).

Now, a State Supreme Court ruling has overturned that earlier decision, which state officials estimated could have cost the companies $2.4 billion in lead abatement costs in 240,000 houses. The court found that the public nuisance law under which the suit was filed did not apply to the case. DuPont, another target of the suit, settled in 2005 for $12.5 million. Appellate courts have rejected similar lawsuits in Illinois, Missouri, and New Jersey. Other suits are currently pending in Ohio and California.

Even though lead paint has not been legal in the U.S. since 1978, about 38 million houses still contain lead paint, which can have a number of adverse health effects, especially on neurological development in children.