FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — A new lawsuit raises questions about the cause of a rare cancer in Fresno.

Warren Paboojian is suing Fresno County because he says ten people, including a retired judge, developed blood cancer after serving in the criminal court between 1966 and the present.

“Yes, I believe it is a cancer cluster. What we have here in the courthouse is a cancer cluster,” Paboojian said.

The attorney says all of his clients were regularly exposed to an underground gas pump in the courthouse parking garage before they developed cancer.

Action News obtained photos of the pump, called the Courthouse Motor Pool.

County records show it is connected to an underground gasoline tank with a capacity of 10,000 gallons.

“It’s on level B-1,” Paboojian said. “It’s one level below the ground floor.”

Paboojian says the pump and tank leaked chemicals into the soil and released toxic fumes into the air.

One of the substances is benzene, a major component of gasoline and, according to the government, a chemical that has been proven to cause cancer.

In a statement to Action News, district officials wrote:

“The gas station in the courthouse garage has been regularly maintained and monitored by the county and state agencies since its installation.”

According to official information, the last inspection took place on August 8.

The county adds that inspections occur weekly, monthly and annually, and says all inspections have shown good condition and no items have been identified that need to be repaired.

Paboojian says the county will not release any records, so Action News interviewed County Executive Nathan Magsig.

“I have seen no evidence that the county’s activities are linked to the cancers caused,” Magsig said.

He added that the complaint had not yet been received by the county and reiterated that the county’s gas pumps undergo regular inspections to maintain their valid licenses.

“All the work the county has done, all of this monitoring, has always been up to standards, and we still get the license from the state to operate these facilities,” Magsig said.

Caught in the middle of this back and forth are the ten former court employees suffering from blood cancer.

Paboojian says they are all at different stages of the disease and are demanding compensation from the county.

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