Dumontier

Facts

Schlumberger Technology Corporation’s employees care- lessly left some cesium-137 on a drilling rig. Plaintiffs later worked on the rig and were exposed. Though less well known than uranium or plutonium, cesium isn’t a substance to be toyed with. Unprotected exposure can cause burns, radiation sickness and cancer; if ingested, it causes mania. Randal C. Nelson, Songs of Cesium (1996), http://www.cs.rochester.edu/ u/nelson/cesium/cesium_songs.html.

Plaintiffs have not developed cancer or any other illness. Nevertheless they sued Schlumberger, claiming that the radia- tion caused subcellular damage, including to their DNA. They brought a claim under Montana law seeking damages for emotional distress, medical monitoring and actual malice. Schlumberger argued that this claim was preempted and moved to replace it with a federal cause of action under the Price-Anderson Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2014(hh); it also moved for summary judgment on the Price-Anderson claim. The district court granted both motions and plaintiffs appeal.

Analysis

[1] A nuclear incident is defined in the Act as “any occur- rence . . . causing . . . bodily injury, sickness, disease, or DUMONTIER v. SCHLUMBERGER…