More Monterey families deal with fear of contamination

May 7, 2007 - It was a landmark case that changed the legal landscape. Some believe the chemicals that triggered it continue to percolate, too.

More than a decade ago, Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. settled a multimillion-dollar lawsuit by two couples whose well water was contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals. A judge found that the toxic brew was illegally dumped into the Crazy Horse Landfill with the blessing of Firestone officials trying to cut costs at their Salinas plant.

Firestone has long since left Salinas. The lawsuit has slipped from local memory. But the chemicals, according to a new complaint, did not go away. They leached along a downward path, percolating through the aquifer to new wells and new victims, according to the

The Dower family and their dog, Tracker, pictured in the yard of their Pesante Road home. Clockwise from left, Gabriel, Constance, Vernon, Andrew, Lucas, Leilani and Miriam. (DOWER FAMILY/Special to The Herald)complaint.

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