Filed Tuesday by attorney Robert Dodson of Columbia, the suit represents at least 100 Great Falls residents who live in the area near the mill who were affected by the mandatory evacuations and have "a variety of health problems" as a result of the fire, Dodson said. It asks for payment of medical bills and expenses, lost wages, transportation and relocation costs, stress and anxiety.

The suit was filed against John and Margaret Tibbs, owners of the 75-year-old mill, and against CBCL, a plastic recycling operation located in the plant. The complaint demands a trial by jury.

"They (residents) suffered sickness, illness and injury from breathing smoke, fumes and gases produced by the fire that was fueled by a variety of plastic products stored and/or processed at the Hampton Street property," the suit states.

A class-action suit is one that is filed on behalf of a named individual and any others affected in a similar situation. Dodson's clients claim they became sick from smoke containing hydrochloric acid that hung over the Chester County town for nearly a week.

Hydrochloric acid resulted from the burning of polyvinyl chloride used in the plastic recycling operation inside the mill. Water used to extinguish the fire mixed with the plastic chips and created the dangerous acidic smoke plume, said an official from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

"Those folks are ill and need medical treatment," Dodson said. "In the middle of the night, they were ousted from their beds because it was not safe to be there."

Mandatory evacuations were ordered for about 1,300 of the town's 2,200 residents due to the dangerous smoke, officials said. All residents were back in their homes by June 13.

Attorney Hemphill P. Pride II of Columbia, who represents Ping Lee of CBCL, said his response to the lawsuit is simple.

"You can't get blood out of a turnip," Pride said.

Margaret Tibbs had not received a copy of the lawsuit late Wednesday, she said. She declined to comment further. Tibbs also would not comment about whether she and her husband had retained legal representation.

The eight-page lawsuit also mentions a history of safety violations at the mill site.

The suit says local officials shut down the plastics recycling plant in 2004 for various safety violations and unsafe conditions, but the plant reopened the same year.

Chester County Councilman Jim Bruce, who represents District 2 that covers the Great Falls area, said the County Council had a meeting in September 2004 about the temporary closing of the mill, but the council took no action.

John Clark, the county's former emergency management director, was responsible for shutting down the mill, county officials say. Clark resigned Jan. 14, 2005, after serving six months on the job.

Clark was contacted Wednesday in Michigan but had no comment.