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Plaintiffs Seek $750 Million In Fort Detrick Pollution Suit

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Critics of Fort Detrick in Frederick have filed a wrongful death lawsuit seeking $750 million for injuries they say were caused by the Army's reckless handling of chemical and biological toxins.

Post officials didn't immediately return calls about the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

The plaintiffs include family members of Kristen Renee Hernandez, who died from brain cancer in 2008. The lawsuit also seeks compensation for untold others for deaths or illnesses allegedly caused by living near Fort Detrick.

The lawsuit cites groundwater contamination from chemicals buried decades ago. It also mentions Cold War-era anthrax research and Agent Orange experiments during the Vietnam War.

A state public health investigation in 2011 found no statistically significant evidence of cancer clusters within 2 miles of Fort Detrick.

(Copyright 2015 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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