WINDSOR, Ontario, April 28 (UPI) -- Environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he's suing U.S. companies for "assault and battery" for polluting the Canadian border city of Windsor.
At the conclusion of a weekend Rotary World Peace Summit in Windsor attended by about 1,000 international delegates, Kennedy said the Detroit power company DTE Energy was one of the companies his RiverKeepers watchdog group was suing under a Canadian law, the Windsor Star reported.
Windsor is across the Detroit River from Detroit.
"Windsor has some of the highest cancer rates, particularly thyroid cancer rates," Kennedy said. "That's assault and battery and worse, because you can die from it. And what's the difference if you die from a brain tumor or if you die from a bullet? There's no difference."
Kennedy said Windsor's air quality was the worst in Canada, largely because the city is downwind of Michigan.
DTE spokeswoman Lorie Kessler told the Star the company is in compliance with Michigan and federal laws, and is spending $1 billion to reduce emissions of mercury and other pollutants from its plants. She said she couldn't comment further because of the litigation.
