James’s office claims that the defendants were aware of the dangers of PFAS as early as the 1970s, when researchers at 3M discovered traces of polyfluoroalkyl substances in employees’ blood samples.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit accusing some of the country’s largest agricultural companies of contributing to the proliferation of polyfluoroalkyl substances, sometimes called “forever chemicals” on account of their ability to persist in the environment without breaking down.
In a press release, James said that the companies—which include 3M, Chemours, and DuPont, among others—regularly sold PFAS-containing products, despite knowing the risk associated with such chemicals. James further claims that the defendants intentionally misled the public about the potential danger posed both by environmental and household contamination.
The lawsuit seeks remedies including damages, restitution, and a range of financial penalties.
“Big companies like 3M and DuPont knowingly sold toxic products that threatened New Yorkers’ health and polluted our environment for decades. It’s time for them to pay for the damage they caused,” James said in a July 7 press release. “For far too long, our communities have unfairly shouldered the costs of protecting people from these toxic forever chemicals and cleaning up their contamination. I look forward to ensuring the companies responsible for PFAS pollution are held accountable.”
James’s office claims that the defendants were aware of the dangers of PFAS as early as the 1970s, when researchers at 3M discovered traces of polyfluoroalkyl substances in employees’ blood samples. Less than a decade later, in 1981, DuPont “secretly monitored 50 of its female employees who were exposed to one of its PFAS products. Its data showed that two of the seven pregnant workers who were exposed had babies with eye and nostril defects.
“Rather than inform its employees or regulators of the results, DuPont abandoned the study and continued to manufacture and sell that PFAS product,” James said.
The Associated Press notes that polyfluoroalkyl substances are a group of chemicals with a fairly extensive history of modern use; they are now present in air, water, and soil across the country. In the past, PFAS were used extensively for industrial applications, but have started to fall out of use in the United States due to environmental concerns.
James’s lawsuit isn’t without precedent: last month, Chemours, one of the defendants in the New York case, reached a $450 million settlement with the U.S. government to resolve claims that it had polluted waterways in the states of New Jersey, North Carolina, and West Virginia.
Some Democratic lawmakers have criticized the settlement, with North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein and Attorney General Jeff Jackson calling it a “backroom deal” that does “virtually nothing” to help the residents of affected states.
The lawsuit was filed shortly after the Trump administration announced that it planned to roll back regulations on PFAS in drinking water. Earlier in July, the Environmental Protection Agency also approved several pesticides that likely contain polyfluoroalkyl substances.
Sources
New York sues 3M, DuPont, others over toxic ‘forever chemicals’ in consumer goods
New York sues 3M, DuPont and other companies over so-called forever chemicals
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