Black & Decker, Others Face Revived Perchlorate Pollution Suit

Riverside, Calif., will get another chance to show that companies including Black & Decker Inc. polluted local drinking water with perchlorate, after a state appeals court decided its suit had been wrongfully dismissed.

Riverside sued Black & Decker, The Goodrich Corp., and others in 2009. Each had overseen operations in nearby Rialto at various times during the last 70 years, Riverside said. Business conducted at the site including manufacturing incendiary devices, processing chemicals for use in solid rocket propellant, and testing fireworks, the complaint said.

These activities caused perchlorate to be released into the Santa Ana River and carried to ...