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Groom Lake Hazardous Waste Lawsuit

Former workers and widows of workers claim injuries resulting from illegal hazardous waste practices at Area 51 in the 1970s and 80s. Highly toxic resins were allegedly dumped into open pits and burned, and workers at the base were exposed to the fumes. The most prominant plaintiff is Helen Frost, window of Robert Frost, who died in 1988. An autopsy of Frost's body revealed high levels of dioxins and other carcinogens which the widow contends were caused by exposure to fumes at the base. In 1996, the lawsuit was dismissed by a Federal judge on the grounds of military's national security priviledge. That decision has since been appealed to the Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, and the appeal is pending. [GC 8/96]

Articles & Dated Documents

Below is a partial subset of available articles on this topic. Others can be found in Area 51 Articles.

Court Docket Sheets

Below are docket sheets for the court case, Frost vs. Perry. A docket sheet is an index listing of motions and other documents that have been filed in the case.

Because these documents could not easily be converted into text, they are stored here as .jpg graphic files. Each is 80-140k. The original complaint was filed 8/15/94. The latest date on the sheets below is 3/7/96. (Other docket sheets will be added shortly.)

  1. Docket sheet #1, the cover sheet listing parties and their lawyers.
  2. Docket sheet #2, starting 8/15/94, Document #1
  3. Docket sheet #3, starting 11/3/94, #13a
  4. Docket sheet #4, starting 2/9/95, #25
  5. Docket sheet #5, starting 3/24/95, #38
  6. Docket sheet #6, starting 4/13/95, #48
  7. Docket sheet #7, starting 6/6/95, #62
  8. Docket sheet #8, starting 6/19/95, #73
  9. Docket sheet #9, starting 7/5/95, #85
  10. Docket sheet #10, starting 7/18/95, #98
  11. Docket sheet #11, starting 7/25/95, #112
  12. Docket sheet #12, starting 7/31/95, #127
  13. Docket sheet #13, starting 9/1/95, #142
  14. Docket sheet #14, starting 10/4/95, #155
  15. Docket sheet #15, starting 11/2/95, #170
  16. Docket sheet #16, starting 11/21/95, #182
  17. Docket sheet #17, starting 1/10/96, #195
  18. Docket sheet #18, starting 2/29/96, #206
      Judgment dismisses case, 3/6/96.
      Missing document #217 at bottom, an OPPOSITION.
  19. Docket sheet #19, starting 4/8/96, #218
      Missing notations for #234 at bottom.
  20. Docket sheet #20, starting 6/27/96, #235
      Redacted versions of sealed documents are released.
  21. Docket sheet #21, starting 8/8/96, #248
  22. Docket sheet #22, starting 8/29/96, #260
  23. Docket sheet #23, starting 9/24/96, #267A
  24. Current as of 10/9/96

Created: 1995
Last Modified: 2/7/97 gc.e