NorCal City Wins $22 Million Toxic Water Civil Case Against Shell Oil

CLOVIS, Fresno County (AP) -- The central California city of Clovis has won a $22 million civil case against Shell Oil over the cleanup of a toxic chemical found in drinking-water wells.

The chemical 1,2,3-trichloropropane, or TCP, is used in soil fumigants. A jury on Wednesday found that Clovis residents were harmed by the design of the fumigant.

The newspaper also reported that the jury found Shell did not prove the benefits of its product outweighed the risks, and that those risks were known when it was sold.

Shell attorney Cal Burnton told jurors that residents have not been harmed by the TCP in their water, and said that TCP has never been declared a human carcinogen.

However, in California, TCP is recognized as a human carcinogen, and lab studies have shown it causes cancer in animals.

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