ExxonMobil reaches agreement in environmental lawsuit.

New Orleans, LA: (May-26-08) Several New Orleans residents brought lawsuits against ExxonMobil, claiming that the oil company exposed the Louisiana community to radioactive waste. Legal counsel for the plaintiffs' state that the case revolved around contamination allegedly left from three decades of offshore pipe-cleaning east of the Harvey Canal. The main people affected are members of the Grefer family, who own the property that has been most contaminated. Apart from the Grefer case, about 2,500 residents of the area sued for exposure to radioactive waste that they say has led to severe medical aliments. Records indicate that a settlement was reached with the Grefer family, in which ExxonMobil agreed to award the family $112 million, recognizing that radioactive contamination spoiled their land. Apart from that payout, ExxonMobil has agreed to settle, and pay about 2,500 residents who are claimants, on a point bases. Each point is worth $968. Officials said that a person who simply lives in the area is assigned one point. A property owner also gets a point. But someone suffering from lung cancer, for example, or acute myeloid leukemia is worth 40 points and colon cancer is worth 26 points. [UPI: Exxon settles with New Orleans residents]