Over the last two decades, some of the plant’s neighbors began to complain of respiratory problems. Others had pink eye and blamed it on the sawdust that emanated from the plant. More and more residents came forward, some of them former employees of Trus Joist, claiming cancer, heart disease, and strokes — illnesses, they said, caused by toxic chemicals in the wood adhesive that permeated the air and ground water.
Natchitoches trial attorney William Crews filed a class action suit against the company in June of 1998, Joe Clark, et al. v. Trus Joist Macmillan, et al. (836 So. 2d 454), alleging that plaintiffs suffered physical injury and property damage from living in the vicinity of the plant. Between 1985 and 1998 the levels of emission of toxic waste increased dramatically, according to court documents. The company reported that its system for handling the release of toxic waste failed several times, but modifications were made to the plant in 1999 and sawdust emissions stopped.
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