A 2014 chemical spill involving a radioactive isotope at the University of Tulsa’s north campus has resulted in the filing of a new lawsuit by more than two dozen plaintiffs, according to a report by the Tulsa World.
The suit alleges the University of Tulsa, Chevron and British oil and gas subsidiary, Tracerco, were “grossly negligent, reckless and wanton” in their handling of a teaspoon-sized spill of a mixture containing about a milligram of Cesium-137.
It alleges Tracerco deliberately attempted to conceal the spill for more than a year while the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality advised university officials of deficiencies in its radioactive program on multiple occasions, including citations. The lawsuit, filed Friday, states the DEQ “included specific warnings to the University of Tulsa of the severe and grave consequences that would occur if the deficiencies were not corrected.”
The University of Tulsa currently has a separate pending federal lawsuit alleging Tracerco was negligent for not notifying school officials about the spill in a timely manner and failing to properly remediate the spill. That lawsuit states that Tracerco representatives were working with a cesium-barium generator — used in tests to simulate oil well fluid flow — at the north campus on October 14, 2014, when a tubing connector broke. Tracerco notified school officials about the incident nearly a year later on August 25, 2015.
Fourteen university employees are among the plaintiffs seeking compensation in excess of $75,000 for actual, compensatory and punitive damages related to the incident.
The university’s federal lawsuit against Tracerco alleges company representatives found 25 areas in the north campus that tested positive for Cesium-137. The International Atomic Energy Agency reports that the half-life of Cesium-137 is over 30 years, according to the Tulsa World report.