A former Waste Pro employee is suing the company for exposing him to what he says was dangerous, radioactive waste in the Golden Triangle.
Gevaughn Johnson, who now lives in Colorado, has filed a federal lawsuit against Waste Pro of Mississippi that claims the company made him transport radioactive waste from Starkville to Columbus in October of 2013.
Waste Pro, a Florida-based company operating in eight southeastern states, denied the claims in an interview with The Dispatch Monday.
Ron Pecora, a senior vice president with the company, said using the term radioactive is “highly misleading.”
“OSHA (Occupational Safety and Heath Administration) reviewed the claim that this was radioactive material and their conclusion was that this was naturally occurring radioactive material,” he said.
Pecora said Waste Pro has never been accused of forcing its drivers to transport dangerous waste before.
“In the 13 years we’ve been in business in eight southeastern states with 2,800 trucks, residential, commercial and federal contracts, the answer is no, this has never happened,” Pecora said.
Johnson worked for Waste Pro for two years as a “roll-off” driver, according to his lawsuit, which was filed this month. Johnson claims he hauled a load of waste from Starkville to Columbus October 15, 2013. When he arrived at Columbus Scrap Material Company, Johnson claims he learned the load contained radioactive waste. Johnson said he called his general manager, who told him to transport the waste back to Starkville.
Johnson was fired October 31, 2013. He claims it was because of him reporting the radioactive waste.
Pecora declined to comment on why Johnson was fired.
According to lawsuit documents, Johnson sought medical treatment for abdominal pain, nausea and anxiety attacks in mid-November 2013. Johnson is seeking back pay, compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney’s fees and other costs and expenses in the suit. He is using Como-based law firm Patterson Ehrhardt to fight his case.
Lawyers with Patterson Ehrhardt could not be reached Monday.
The suit’s next court date has not been scheduled.
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