Alleging Toxin Exposure, Bay Bridge Welders File Lawsuit Against Contractor
On May 13, 43 welders on the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge filed what could become a class action lawsuit against the Kiewit Pacific Co.-led KFM joint venture contractor and the makers of the welding equipment for exposure to toxins. The filing comes one week after a Federal Highway Administration test of pilings welds showed excellent workmanship on three 5.5-ft vertical shear plates that had been fingered in a call to an FBI hotline by a group of construction workers.
The suit filed in Alameda County Superior Court named the joint venture partners, Kiewit, Inc., Flatiron Construction, Inc., and Manson Construction, Inc., in addition to Cleveland, Oh..-based Lincoln Electric Company, Inc., the manufacturer of the welding supplies, Augusta,Ga-based Thermal Ceramics Americas, the manufacturer of the ceramic material. Nathan Ballard, spokesman for Omaha, Neb.-based Kiewit, says the company does not comment on ongoing litigation.