City of Ann Arbor Sues Pall Life Sciences For Damages and Alternative to Well Until Pall Cleans Up Toxic '1, 4 Dioxane' Plume Spreading Under Ann Arbor

      Ann Arbor Takes Protective Action:  Municipal Water Supply is Safe

             City Seeks To Hold Pall Accountable, Repair Damages
               And Reimburse City For Protective Actions Costs

    ANN ARBOR, Mich., May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The City of Ann Arbor has filed a
lawsuit in Washtenaw County Circuit Court today (Wednesday) against Pall Life
Sciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of New York-based Pall Corporation
(NYSE: PLL).
    The lawsuit demands that Pall pay damages and requests that Pall be
required to provide a substitute water source for a supply well contaminated
by a toxic plume -- now 18 million square feet and growing -- of "1, 4
Dioxane," which is spreading under the City.  The plume is officially known as
the "Unit E Plume."
    Ann Arbor City attorney Stephen K. Postema announced the filing of the
lawsuit.  "The City of Ann Arbor's lawsuit seeks to have Pall pay for the
damage it has caused," Postema said.
    Pall's own Web site [http://www.pall.com/investor.asp ] proclaims on its
Web site, "Unchecked, contamination is potentially dangerous and always
costly."
    Costs of finding new water sources, drilling wells, installing pipelines
and other infrastructure needed to provide a replacement for the contaminated
City well until Pall's plume is cleansed, represents a portion of the costs to
the City.
    "We have already taken protective actions by closing one of our municipal
water wells," explained Ann Arbor water utilities director Sue McCormick.
    "During routine testing, the City discovered that one of its water supply
wells contained trace amounts of 1, 4 Dioxane," McCormick said.  "That well
was primarily used in the past during the winter season.  It has not been used
since the 1, 4 Dioxane was discovered.
    "We are searching for alternatives to the well.  Those alternatives are
going to cost money.  Pall should shoulder those costs, not Ann Arbor's
citizens," McCormick said.
    "Our municipal water is safe for all uses, but the long term future is
threatened," McCormick said.  "Our water meets all published environmental and
health standards.  We engage in continuous testing.  We shall never hesitate
to protect the purity of Ann Arbor's drinking water."
    The Unit E Plume was discovered about two years ago and is an extension of
the more widespread underground environmental contamination in Washtenaw
County that the company has caused, and known about for more than 15 years,
according to the complaint filed by Ann Arbor.
    Other, earlier discovered plumes have spread west and northeast, resulting
in the contamination of residential drinking water wells including Westover
and Evergreen subdivisions and parts of Scio Township, forcing some water
users to rely on bottled water until they were connected to Ann Arbor water
lines.
    The Unit E Plume has moved east from Pall's South Wagner Road (600 South
Wagner Road) property into the City.  The plume's leading edge has now passed
Maple Road and Veterans Memorial Park.  Significantly higher concentrations
have moved under Veterans Memorial Park in the last year, according to the
complaint.
    1, 4 Dioxane was previously used as a manufacturing solvent at the
company's plant.  Dioxane-containing waste was disposed of by storing it in
unlined lagoons, and by spraying it over fields on Pall's property.
    Because of Pall's contamination, a separate but related lawsuit was filed
by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) in 1988.  That
resulted in Washtenaw County Circuit Court Judge Donald E. Shelton ordering
Pall Life Sciences to stop the underground contamination spread and to
complete other corrective actions with a July, 2005 deadline.
    "We greatly value and appreciate the program ordered three-and-a-half
years ago by Judge Shelton to complete the clean-up by July 2005, only 14
months away," Matthew Naud, Ann Arbor environmental coordinator said.  "Judge
Shelton put an appropriate plan in place that gave Pall five years to correct
its problems.
    "Ann Arbor's new lawsuit is different from the existing MDEQ action," Naud
explained.  "The goal of the MDEQ is limited to forcing Pall to live up to
State of Michigan environmental standards.
    "In contrast, Ann Arbor's lawsuit seeks compensation for damages Pall's
contamination has caused to Ann Arbor.  The City's actual damages are not part
of the MDEQ lawsuit.  The City's lawsuit also seeks Court orders compelling
Pall to provide a clean replacement for the contaminated water supply well
until Pall cleans up its contamination from that aquifer," Naud added.
    Concerning the MDEQ lawsuit, Naud said, "We are deeply concerned that
Pall, in its latest study of its toxic plume heading into Ann Arbor, proposes
that no active clean up should be performed.  Instead, Pall's study filed with
the MDEQ clearly states that Pall's preferred alternative action would be to
allow the plume to simply continue under the heart of Ann Arbor until it
eventually meets and empties into the Huron River."
    The City has provided its comments on the study to the MDEQ and to Pall.
The City proposes stronger and faster action, with a new double-lined pipeline
to the Huron River to handle more treated water and move the treated water
downstream of the main City water intake.  The City has also recommended
intercepting the plume at several locations closer to the Pall property, and
use of existing public roads and rights-of-way for the pipeline to avoid
neighborhood disruptions.
    Ironically, while Pall refuses to clean up its own problem, Pall Life
Sciences is one of the world's largest manufacturers of water purification
equipment and filters.  Parent-company Pall Corporation reports on its Web
site that its global revenues are $1.6 billion.  Pall Life Sciences
manufactures filtration equipment, filters and suppliers.
    "Pall knows what needs to be done," Naud said.  "The longer Pall avoids
its responsibility, the greater the costs its contamination will impose on Ann
Arbor."
    This lawsuit by the City seeks to hold Pall fully accountable for the cost
of the damages it has caused.

    Additional City of Ann Arbor information on the Pall contamination can be
found at:
    *  City comments to MDEQ on Pall Life Sciences limited feasibility study:
http://www.ci.ann/-
arbor.mi.us/EnvironmentalCoordination/PLS%20Comments%20031504.pdf.

    *  City of Ann Arbor site on 1, 4 Dioxane and Pall Life Sciences (Gelman):
http://www.ci.ann-arbor.mi.us/EnvironmentalCoordination/Pall.html.

    *  City of Ann Arbor site on public meeting and documents:
http://www.ci.ann-arbor.mi.us/EnvironmentalCoordination/PLS-Meetings.html.

    *  MDEQ Web site:  http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135-
3311_4109_9846_9847-71595--,00.html.

    *  MDEQ Gelman Site March Bulletin:
http://www.deq.state.mi.us/documents/deq-rrd-GS-
InformationBulletinMarch2004.pdf