Monticello,, is a city located in San Juan County, Utah, and is the county seat. It is the second most populous city in San Juan County, with a population of 1,958 at the 2000 census. The Monticello area was settled in July 1887 by pioneers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Monticello, named in honor of Thomas Jefferson's estate, became the county seat in 1895 and was incorporated as a city in 1910. Monticello, along with much of San Juan County, experienced an increase in population and economic activity during the uranium boom from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Several uranium and vanadium mines were opened in the area, and a uranium processing mill was operated in Monticello by the Federal Government from 1948 to 1960. Following the uranium boom, a massive cleanup project was conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy from 1989 to 2004 to remove radioactive material from lands and buildings and to restore the land formerly occupied by the mill. An 18 hole golf course, The Hideout, was built near the reclaimed site of the uranium mill using DOE cleanup funding in 2000. The Hideout has been ranked No. 2 Golf Course in Utah and the No. 23 Municipal Golf Course in the U.S. In 1998, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dedicated the Monticello Utah Temple, the first in a series of mini temples and the 53rd temple for the Church. Monticello rests at the base of the Abajo Mountains on the Colorado Plateau. It is the gateway to the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park.

What is toxic tort law?

Toxic Tort cases involve people who have been injured through exposure to dangerous pharmaceuticals or chemical substances in the environment, on the job, or in consumer products -- including carcinogenic agents, lead, benzene, silica, harmful solvents, hazardous waste, and pesticides to name a few.

Most toxic tort cases have arisen either from exposure to pharmaceutical drugs or occupational exposures. Most pharmaceutical toxic injury cases are mass tort cases, because drugs are consumed by thousands of people, many of whom become ill from a toxic drug. There have also been many occupational toxic tort cases, because industrial and other workers are often chronically exposed to toxic chemicals - more so than consumers and residents. Most of the law in this area arises from asbestos exposure, but thousands of toxic chemicals are used in industry and workers in these areas can experience a variety of toxic injuries. Unlike the general population, which is exposed to trace amounts of thousands of different chemicals in the environment, industrial workers are regularly exposed to much higher levels of chemicals and therefore have a greater risk of developing disease from particular chemical exposures than the general population. The home has recently become the subject of toxic tort litigation, mostly due to mold contamination, but also due to construction materials such as formaldehyde-treated wood and carpet. Toxic tort cases also arise when people are exposed to consumer products such as pesticides and suffer injury. Lastly, people can also be injured from environmental toxins in the air or in drinking water.

Answers to toxic tort law issues in Utah

In certain kinds of cases, lawyers charge what is called a contingency fee. Instead of billing by the hour, the...

Because of the health problems caused by lead poisoning, the federal Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction...

Property owners may be liable for tenant health problems caused by exposure to environmental hazards, such as...

In general, mass tort cases involve a large number of individual claimants with claims associated with a single...