By Charles Wolfe
The Associated Press

FRANKFORT - Property owners suing Rockwell International Corp. for contaminating their land in Logan County cannot claim the land was rendered useless, the Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled Friday.

A three-judge panel said any loss of property use has been due to "an irrational fear" of PCBs - polychlorinated biphenyls, a substance the company once used at its plant in Russellville. PCBs later were found to cause cancer in laboratory animals.

"In this case, there is no rational basis for a finding that the discharge of minute quantities of PCBs onto the landowners' properties resulted in any interference with their use and enjoyment of the properties," the court said in an opinion by Judge Joseph Huddleston of Bowling Green.

"Any annoyance or interference sustained by the landowners here is the result of an irrational fear of PCBs. The law does not allow relief on the basis of an unsubstantiated phobia," Huddleston wrote.

Rockwell made aluminum casings in Russellville from 1956 to 1989. Fluid containing PCBs was used in die casting.

The toxic fluid washed into Town Branch Creek and the Mud River, and property owners along the streams claimed their land was contaminated. A jury in Logan County ordered Rockwell to pay $217 million in damages.

At trial, an appraiser, Charles Snyder, testified that any quantity of PCBs, no matter how small, rendered the property worthless.

The appeals court reversed the judgment in January 2000. It said Snyder lacked the experience or training to back up his opinion and that he should not have been allowed to testify.

In May 2002, the Kentucky Supreme Court agreed that Snyder's testimony was inadmissible but said there was other evidence of possible damage.