Both he and Dr. Tamplin left Livermore in the 1970s, and Dr. Gofman went on to become an expert witness in radiation-exposure lawsuits and help found an advocacy group, the Committee for Nuclear Responsibility, based in San Francisco.
"The company is trying to limit its exposure" to lawsuits, she said.
The bank still has exposure to lawsuits by mortgage insurers and other claims from private mortgage investors.
She has also cautioned that various banks have made $1.75 billion in loans to companies with hefty exposure to lawsuits relating to their former use of asbestos.
Nearly 200 deaths were attributed to asbestos exposure by lawsuits and newspaper studies of medical records and death certificates; no one disputes the figures.
"Nevertheless, the issues Mr. Lavalle raises should be addressed promptly in order to mitigate the risk of exposure to lawsuits and some degree of liability".
Rather, WEP created all manner of administrative burdens; increased the city's exposure to lawsuits for sexual and racial harassment, illegal displacement of public workers, and a host of other violations; and did nothing to alleviate poverty.
The company, which is based in Basel, raised provisions, by some $475 million, to cover its exposure to lawsuits over its role in a conspiracy to fix bulk vitamin prices.
Of course, these deals confront the same problems the Denver office faces in trying to join KPMG: No buyer wants to take on Andersen's exposure to lawsuits resulting from its involvement in Enron's collapse.
And according to public hearing transcripts and unpublished administration records, officials also on some occasions gave flawed public representations of the nature of the health threat, even as they privately worried about exposure to lawsuits by sickened workers.
