Kids in tainted NJ daycare not yet tested

(UPI) -- Despite a court order a year ago, children who were exposed to toxic mercury in a New Jersey daycare center in a former factory have not yet been tested.

The building in Franklin Township, a former thermometer factory, has been demolished, but the 100 children who were potentially exposed to toxins while attending a daycare center named Kiddie Kollege for two years have not received court-ordered medical testing.

A 2011 a class-action lawsuit against the building's owner and government agencies was decided in New Jersey Superior Court. All defendants were judged guilty because they were aware of the building's contamination before the daycare center was opened and were to contribute to a $1.5 million fund for neuropsychological testing on the children until they reached the age of 24.

Judge James Rafferty pointed out the need for early detection and treatment if health problems were found, but the Philadelphia Inquirer said Sunday the testing was never begun.

A motion for a retrial is pending in Gloucester County court, as insurers and the township are wrangling over the cost of the trial and the division of liability in the case, the newspaper reported.