Honeywell International Inc. must still face some claims over its plant near Metropolis, Ill., that allegedly emitted air contaminated with radioactive and other toxic materials, according to a federal judge that narrowed two suits seeking compensation for the exposure.

The plant was used from 1959 to 2017 to generate uranium hexafluoride, a highly toxic radioactive gas which other facilities acquired for fuel for nuclear reactors or bombs. But even after operations ceased, the plant continued to leak contaminants into the Metropolis community through air and groundwater, the suits, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, …