In October 2007, former employees of a St. Croix bauxite mining company claimed they’d been exposed to dangerous dust and may develop cancer or respiratory ailments. Earlier this month, a Superior Court judge set an Oct. 27 trial date for their suit — 18 years after it was first filed.
More than 37 former employees of the company once known as Martin Marietta Alumina or its offshoots have filed suit over the years. At least 19 of these men and women are now dead, with a child or spouse carrying on the suits in their name.
Plaintiffs have argued the plant lacked proper safety and oversight measures to ensure workers were not exposed to harmful substances.
In July 2024, attorneys Lockheed Martin, which merged with Martin Marietta, argued 17 years was not enough time to resolve legal questions about the case, and a trial was premature. Lockheed’s local attorney directed the Source to a 6,673-page document detailing the legacy of Milton A. Burt’s case as well as reams of ancillary Lockheed Martin business.
Burt was a maintenance worker at the alumina refinery from 1967 to 1985 and again from 1988 to 1995. In July 2019, he was diagnosed with pneumoconiosis, an occupational lung disease Johns Hopkins Medicine has said was usually caused by breathing in certain kinds of dust particles that damage lungs. It takes years to develop.
Burt alleged the aluminum plant knew of the dust’s danger the entire time he worked there but neither warned him nor gave him protective gear. He also claimed the safety department was chronically understaffed.
In almost every instance, Lockheed Martin replied to Burt’s assertions with a version of: “Lockheed Martin lacks knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations of Paragraph one and, therefore, denies those allegations.”
Lockheed also said it wasn’t their fault.
“While denying all averments of negligence, fault, or liability, Lockheed Martin states that Plaintiff’s alleged injuries or damages resulted solely from the acts or omissions of persons or entities for which Lockheed Martin is neither liable nor responsible. Such acts or omissions on the part of others constitute an independent and intervening proximate cause of such injuries or damages,” Lockheed’s St. Croix attorney, Kevin Rames, wrote.
Several studies have shown limited potential for dramatic adverse health conditions associated with long-term bauxite exposure and other elements of aluminum manufacturing, but not none.
In a 1974 magazine dedicated to St. Croix Agriculture and Food Fair, Martin Marietta promises “Better living through industry, agriculture and education.” The advertisement reads: “Martin Marietta Alumina is a Virgin Islands Corporation dedicated to providing truly equal employment opportunity. Works with the government to assure compliance with Virgin Islands laws and their social objectives, with educational institutions to assist them in providing a diversified and qualified reservoir of native talent, and with the island groups themselves to foster both the desire and availability of their people for entrance into our industrial society.”
Attorneys for both sides have until April 14 to complete mediation, April 28 to file expert witness testimony, June 13 to disclose potential witnesses, and Sept. 12 to argue pretrial motions. The first trial is scheduled to start Oct. 27 and a second batch of claimants’ arguments will be heard Jan. 12, 2026.
