New York Plaintiffs Sue Over Silica-Containing Rock Salt Pile

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Residents in Upstate New York are suing the owners of a rock salt facility located in their neighborhood claiming that the mountainous pile of snow-melting material contains crystalline silica, which could eventually cause serious harm to their health. Desormeau, et al., v. American Rock Salt Company, Inc., et al., No. 03-196 (N.D. N.Y.).

In a complaint filed Feb. 13 in U.S. District Court, more than two dozen residents of the Watertown, N.Y., neighborhood claim the recent relocation of the rock salt storage and distribution facility is interfering with property rights and is to blame for respiratory illnesses …