Jury Selection Starts Tuesday for Toxic Dust Trial

The first civil trial, pitting former St. Croix oil refinery workers against Amerada Hess, is set to begin in St. Croix Superior Court on Tuesday. According to the attorney representing one of the refinery workers who filed claims, jury selection will be followed by a civil trial starting April 25.

Superior Court Judge Alphonso Andrews Jr. is scheduled to preside over the case of Kadar Mohansingh vs. Amerada Hess Corporation, et al. The case is one of hundreds classified as toxic tort lawsuits filed by former employees of Hess Oil and later Hovensa — a hybrid corporation formed between Hess and Petroleos de Venezuela in the late 1990s.

Experts say toxic dust can be found in many places, including in private homes. Toxic dust is believed to have played a role in thousands of post-disaster deaths at the site of the former World Trade Center after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In 1999, the World Health Organization cited toxic dust in workplaces as a source of occupational disease.

Workers told the court they became ill after being exposed to toxic dust believed to have been contaminated with asbestos. A 2019 article appearing in the St. Croix Source cited a toxic dust settlement awarded to William Dunn, a former Hess employee, in 2003.