An old nuclear fuel plant based in Apollo, Pennsylvania is connected with a federal lawsuit that may be nearing the settlement stages.  The suit was started in 2010, where it was filed in the Pittsburgh U.S. District Court. The case was initially filed by 75 residents of the Apollo area. The residents argued that the former nuclear power plant led to cancer and a host of other diseases and illnesses that impacted the lives of area dwellers.

The defendants in the case, Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group and the Atlantic Richfield Co., were responsible for plant operations between 1957 and 1986. The company has also been named in another lawsuit by another group of residents.

Throughout the last several months, attorneys have been quibbling about what expert evidence would make it to and hold up in a jury trial. Since there are so many individuals involved and there has been a strong reliance on expert claims in the preliminary stages, attorneys want to make sure that judges clear out "junk science" before it gets allowed into a trial.  While this sifting and sorting of evidence and experts is occurring, the stage for mediation has been set.

The plaintiff's have already made arguments that the defense experts do not quality and are not presenting credible evidence for the case. In the event that the plaintiff's experts are not approved to go forward to trial, they will be without a strong case, so parties on both sides may be willing to discuss settlement options in a mediation setting.

Three primary issues must be resolved when it comes to determining which expert testimonies may be used: that of whether uranium can be linked to causing cancer, at what dose that could occur, and whether defendant's will be able to link health issues and cancer solely to emissions from the plant, rather than behavior-induced issues.