Toxic Chemicals

Toxic Chemical Chlormequat Found in Oat-Based Food and Humans, Threatens Reproductive Harm

February 20, 2024 | Margaret Collins

Cereal-2-1-300x225
For years, the big cereal companies have been telling us that a bowl of whole grain oat cereal for breakfast is a healthy way to start our day. Turns out maybe it isn’t.

A recent study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has uncovered a toxic chemical, chlormequat, in popular oat cereals like Cheerios and Quaker Oats.

Chlormequat should not be in our food supply. It is an agricultural chemical used to limit plant growth, making a plant sturdier and easier to harvest. In the U.S., the chemical is banned from being used on any food crops. However, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) inexplicably decided in 2018 to allow foods grown with chlormequat to be imported into the United States.

Top Verdict in Illinois in 2022

February 13, 2024 | The Collins Law Firm, P.C.

Top-Verdict-2022-Tiktok We are proud to announce that our $363 million verdict in Kamuda v. Sterigenics U.S. LLC, et al., was named the number one jury verdict in Illinois in ALL practice areas in 2022 by Top Verdict. In addition, this verdict was the second highest personal injury verdict in the entire United States and the number 10 verdict in ALL practice areas in the U.S. in 2022, according to Top Verdict. Congratulations to Collins Law partners Shawn Collins and Edward Manzke and associate Margaret Galka for their work on the trial team that secured justice in this important environmental toxic tort case.

Amount of Verdict: $363,000,000, including $325 million in punitive damages and $38 million in compensatory damages.

Attorneys: Patrick A. Salvi II, Lance D. Northcutt, Jennifer M. Cascio of Salvi Schostok & Pritchard PC; Shawn M. Collins, Margaret Galka of The Collins Law Firm, PC; Scott A. Entin, Roisin Duffy‐Gideon, Deanna N. Pihos of Miner Barnhill & Galland PC

Shawn Collins’ Feature Interview in Lawyer Monthly Magazine

September 4, 2023 | The Collins Law Firm, P.C.

Partner Shawn Collins is featured in an interview in Lawyer Monthly magazine this month. Below is an excerpt from the article.

Lawyer-Monthly-headline-with-photo Leading the Charge Against America’s Biggest Polluters

Instances of harmful pollution and ecological disasters have grown unsettlingly commonplace in the US – despite environmental regulations that appear strict on paper. Why is this, and how can polluting corporations be held responsible for the damages they cause? Enter Shawn Collins, the ‘environmental lawyer for the people’. In this exclusive interview, Shawn shares a look at the work he does and the clients who come to him, as well as a glimpse into the ongoing battle to hold polluters accountable in the US.

Board Ignores the Dangers of Carcinogenic Diesel Exhaust and Approves Railroad Merger

April 4, 2023 | Shawn Collins

Train-diesel-exhaust-300x169 Just weeks after America witnessed a black plume of toxic murk billowing above East Palestine, the Surface Transportation Board inexplicably decided to increase the chance of an identical derailment horror, right here in the Chicago area.

When the Board approved America’s first big railroad merger in 25 years, it ensured that there will be a 300-600% increase in freight train traffic each day in our communities. That means 11,000 more rail cars filled with toxic chemicals will lumber down the tracks through Chicago and its surrounding suburbs each year. We don’t know what those chemicals will be—carcinogenic? combustible? explosive?—and the towns along the rail lines that will be forced to respond to any derailment won’t know, either.

Board Chairman Martin Olberman defended his approval of this grotesquely-timed merger with vague assurances that transportation of dangerous chemicals by rail is safer than by truck.

Contaminated Groundwater is the Greatest Potential Threat in East Palestine, Ohio

March 17, 2023 | Shawn Collins

The greatest enduring threat to the residents of East Palestine is contaminated groundwater. Fast remediation — and not empty political assurances — can solve the problem.

Aerial_view_Norfolk_Southern_freight_train_derailment_Feb_2023 The director of Ohio’s Department of Health sought to assure East Palestine residents of their safety by remarking that the cancer-causing solvents from the derailment now in the town are no cause for concern, because these chemicals are already “a part of our everyday life.”

What a terribly callous, ignorant, thing for a health official to say. Just because there were some carcinogens in East Palestine before the train derailment does not excuse Norfolk Southern dumping tens of thousands of pounds more of them onto the small town. Plus—and the director should know this—where it comes to carcinogens, there is no such thing as a safe level. That means that every bit dumped by Norfolk adds to the town’s danger.

Hair Relaxer Lawsuit Attorneys in Illinois

March 14, 2023 | Margaret Collins

Hair-relaxer-Photo-244x300 Hair relaxers are the latest beauty products to come under fire because of their link to potentially dangerous health effects. New scientific evidence has emerged that suggests that the long-term use of hair relaxers is linked to increased rates of uterine cancer. More specifically, a groundbreaking new study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has shown that women who use chemical hair straightening or relaxing products regularly are at a higher risk for developing uterine cancer than those who do not use these products. This study along with an earlier NIH study linking hair relaxer use to ovarian cancer are the reason women are filing hair relaxer lawsuits.

NIH Study Links Hair Relaxers to Uterine Cancer

Uterine cancer is the 4th most common type of cancer in women, and Black women are twice as likely as white women to develop uterine cancer during their lifetime. The new study from the NIH may partly explain why. The study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in October of 2022, found that women who used hair straightening products in the previous 12 months were more likely to be diagnosed with uterine cancer than women who had never used hair relaxers. And the risk increased with more frequent use. Women who used hair relaxers 4 times in the previous 12 months were more than twice as likely to develop uterine cancer.

“You’re On Your Own”, Says Kansas to Residents of a Contaminated, Historically Black Wichita Neighborhood

December 20, 2022 | Shawn Collins

Wichita-300x218 I’ve been an environmental lawyer for more than 20 years, working for communities whose homes, air, and water have been polluted by industry’s careless disposal of dangerous chemicals. I’ve seen government respond aggressively to protect its citizens under these circumstances, but more often not so aggressively. I’ve even seen government pretend that the contamination is not as bad as it really is to justify not doing anything about it.

But I’ve never seen a state government so matter-of-factly abandon its citizens in need of protection as the State of Kansas did to the residents of more than 1,000 homes in the Historically Black neighborhoods that are located Northeast of downtown Wichita, including the Wichita Independent, Northeast Millair, and Northeast Highgate neighborhoods.

Kansas should be ashamed of itself. It must immediately reverse course and do its duty to protect its citizens against dangerous chemical contamination.

Is Your Sportswear Toxic? Recent Testing Finds BPA in Athletic Clothing

October 27, 2022 | The Collins Law Firm, P.C.

training-ge36778761_1920-300x199 We’re inching closer to that time of year when everyone starts making New Year’s resolutions to hit the gym more. If you’re one of those people, you should make an additional resolution to only buy sports bras and athletic shirts that don’t contain BPA, a dangerous hormone disruptor.

Recent testing by the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) has discovered that 14 different brand-name companies are selling sports bras and athletic shirts that contain up to 22 times the safe limit of BPA (also known as bisphenol A). The brands affected include:

All in Motion (sports bras)

Camp LeJeune Lawsuit Attorneys: “Camp LeJeune Veterans and Families May Finally Get Justice in Court”

June 9, 2022 | Shawn Collins

Camp-lejeune-service-members-graduate-college-300x221 Update, July 2022: After being passed in the House and Senate, the Honoring Our PACT Act was expected to go to President Biden’s desk for his signature, but it is currently being blocked in the Senate by Mitch McConnell and the Republicans.

After years of denials by the government, Camp LeJeune veterans and their families–who were exposed to cancer-causing toxins on the military base–may be on the brink of getting their day in court.

In a long-overdue action, the House of Representatives recently passed H.R. 3967, the Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act (Honoring Our PACT Act), a broad bipartisan bill that addresses the needs of veterans subjected to toxic exposure. Yesterday, on June 16, 2022, the Senate passed an amended version of the Act. Importantly for Camp LeJeune veterans, this bill includes the Camp LeJeune Justice Act of 2022.

A Hamburger with a Side of Phthalates? Researchers Discover Toxic Chemicals Linked to Health Problems in Fast Food Items

December 27, 2021 | The Collins Law Firm, P.C.

hamburger-gb0d465128_1920-300x225 It’s common knowledge that fast food isn’t the most nutritious dining option, but you should at least be able to expect that the hamburger or chicken nuggets you are devouring are nontoxic. That may not be the case, say researchers at George Washington University. A new study published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology has revealed that most of the food items at popular fast-food restaurants are full of chemicals known as phthalates that have been linked to a host of health problems. This is the first study to measure phthalates directly in fast food and contributes to the scientific evidence linking fast food consumption to higher levels of phthalates.

What Chemicals Did the Researchers Find?

Researchers at George Washington University bought 64 popular menu options from Burger King, Chipotle, Domino’s, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell and tested them for 8 common phthalates and 3 replacement plasticizers. 10 of the 11 chemicals were present at high levels in nearly all of the samples. 81% of the samples contained DnBP and 70% contained DEHP; both phthalates have been linked to fertility and reproductive issues as well as increased risks of behavioral, learning, and attention disorders in children. 86% of the samples contained DEHT, a plasticizer that is being used as a replacement for phthalates. Overall, samples that contained meat had significantly higher levels of phthalates than vegetarian options; but phthalates were still present in both types of food.