Solstice Advanced Materials, the corporate owner of a nuclear fuel facility at the heart of President Donald Trump’s push for a nuclear renaissance, has agreed to pay $80 million to settle claims that the plant for decades spewed radiation over an Illinois town, sickened residents and contaminated properties.
Built in the 1950s on the outskirts of tiny Metropolis, the plant is the only facility of its kind in the US, transforming finely milled uranium ore into a gas called uranium hexafluoride, or UF₆, the key ingredient in nuclear fuel. As part of the conversion process, the plant emits radiotoxic material that litigants alleged have accumulated on homes, buildings, parks and playgrounds, causing property damage and an increase in brain, lung and other cancers.
Solstice took over operations of the Metropolis plant last year after Honeywell International spun off its advanced materials and chemicals business into an independently-traded public company. The terms of the agreement, as described by plaintiffs’ attorneys and according to documents seen by Bloomberg News, still need to be finalized by the federal judge overseeing the litigation in the Southern District of Illinois.
The tentative agreement settles property damage lawsuits filed by Metropolis and Massac County, where the plant is the largest employer; a proposed class action from residents living within three miles of the plant; and pending or unfiled claims by several individual residents who blamed their illnesses on chronic leaks of UF₆ and radioactive dust.
State data from 2023 cited in the litigation showed the incidence of brain cancer in the county was 45% higher than the state average and lung cancer 52% higher. Honeywell previously settled several personal-injury cases tied to the Metropolis plant since the first lawsuits were filed in 2018.
In a statement, Solstice said it continued to deny the allegations in the underlying lawsuits and did not admit wrongdoing in the course of reaching the agreement. The company said the settlement will “improve the lives of the citizens of Metropolis.”
“Solstice has determined that resolving the matter at this time is in the best interests of its shareowners and stakeholders, allowing it to avoid the expense, uncertainty and distraction associated with prolonged litigation, which dates back to 2018,” the company said.
Kevin Thompson, the lead lawyer who represented both the town and individual plaintiffs said: “What the $80 million gives this community is a chance to mitigate the cancer that has ravaged the town for decades. People want to be seen and want to be believed. They would like the company to admit responsibility, but that’s not going to happen. A significant monetary settlement is the next best thing.”
The agreement does not provide money to fully clean up existing contamination throughout the community, which was among the original demands of the city’s lawsuit. It also does not impose new safety requirements on the plant. Still, it brings to a close a fraught chapter for the plant at a pivotal moment.
