Opinion ID: 1694475
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: appellants' experts

Text: Lee M. Thomas had served as the Environmental Protection Agency's assistant administrator in charge of waste programs, such as the Superfund, from 1983-1985, and had served as administrator of the EPA from 1985 until 1989. Thomas was offered as an expert on the topic of government regulation generally and specifically in EPA's regulation of dioxin. Thomas discussed the EPA's and the paper industry's efforts in conducting the five mill dioxin study in 1986 and the 25 and 104 mill studies in 1988 and 1989. [1] Thomas agreed that the paper industry had paid for the 104 mill study, and he also agreed that he had never recommended shutting down paper mills when it was discovered that they were sources of dioxin. Thomas denied that the Leaf River was the most polluted, in terms of dioxin, in the country, and denied that the paper industry had ever approached him about weakening dioxin regulations. He further denied that there was data showing dioxin to be a human carcinogen. Dr. Kenneth Dickson served as a professor of aquatic ecology at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. He was accepted as an expert in the fields of aquatic ecology and aquatic biology. Dickson testified that he had examined several studies done concerning the Leaf and Pascagoula Rivers and offered the following conclusions: (1) the Leaf and Pascagoula Rivers were in good condition; (2) the rivers had made a remarkable recovery from pollution problems of the 1950's-60's; (3) there was no impact on the ecological health of the aquatic communities downstream of the mill, compared to upstream of the mill. He stated that it was extremely unlikely that the mill's effluent could have any effect on aquatic life 100 to 125 miles below the mill. He also labeled as unlikely the effluent from the mill causing a color change in the river 100 miles down river. James Davis, Jr. was called as an expert real estate appraiser. Davis denied that the Ferguson property had decreased in value due to alleged dioxin contamination or to the 1990 fishing advisory, saying that this had not been born out by comparable sales in the area. Dr. Wood Hiatt, professor of psychiatry at the University of Mississippi, had reviewed Dr. Stanley's file and the tests that Dr. Stanley had administered to the Fergusons. Dr. Hiatt found it unacceptable that the Fergusons had been seen together by Dr. Stanley instead of being evaluated as individuals. Dr. Hiatt found that the Fergusons' fear of cancer was not reasonable, as they had refused to have themselves tested to determine if they had potentially dangerous levels of dioxin in their bodies. Dr. John Doull, professor of toxicology and pharmacy at the University of Kansas, specialized in pesticides, which included work with dioxin. Dr. Doull agreed that dioxin had caused cancer in some animals at high doses but had decreased breast cancer in other animals at low doses. Doull stated that the United States had been much more conservative in setting dioxin standards than the other industrialized nations. He testified that the Fergusons, considering the distance they lived downriver from the mill, should have no basis for concern for their health. Doull labeled the State of Mississippi's standard on dioxin as very conservative and denied that the Fergusons had any increased risk of developing cancer. Dr. Renate Kimbrough, a physician who had worked for several governmental agencies, including the Center for Disease Control, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency, was accepted as an expert in public health and epidemiology. She was familiar with the ten to fifteen major studies done on dioxin exposure. Kimbrough testified that there had been no convincing study showing an excess of cancer in those exposed to many times the levels of dioxin alleged to be present in the Leaf and Pascagoula Rivers. She further stated that it would be important to test the blood of the plaintiffs to see whether they had been exposed at all, and to see whether their levels were any different than a normal person's. Dr. Kimbrough had suggested the blood testing protocol offered by the defendants and rejected by the plaintiffs. Kimbrough testified that, assuming dioxin levels of four parts per trillion in fish around the Leaf River mill, and assuming that the plaintiffs lived one hundred miles downriver, she would not expect the plaintiffs to have anything other than normal background exposure. She denied that eating fish from the Leaf or Pascagoula River would pose any health risk. Kimbrough agreed that people who ate large amounts of fish regularly would get higher exposure rates, but not necessarily increased risk.