New York Attorney General Letitia James sued some of the top chemical and agricultural companies on Thursday, alleging that they knowingly sold harmful “forever chemicals” in consumer products.
The lawsuit alleged that several of the top chemical and agricultural companies in the United States manufactured, marketed, and sold perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) for use in consumer products. James alleged the companies knew the PFAS were toxic and yet continued to sell them and hid information regarding the danger of the chemicals from the public.
The companies named in the lawsuit include the Chemours Company, 3M Company, Corteva, DuPont De Nemours, and EIDP, which is owned by Corteva.
James alleged that the companies violated the state’s consumer protection laws by “deceptively marketing their products as safe,” even though the products contained toxic chemicals. She accused the companies of engaging in repeated fraud that allowed them to illegally profit from their products and of failing to warn New York residents about health and environmental risks.
Thursday’s lawsuit asked the courts to order the companies to be held liable for public health and environmental damage caused by PFAS pollution, to fund environmental cleanup efforts across New York, and to warn consumers about the risks of their products. The lawsuit also would force the companies to pay damages, restitution, and other 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.
“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.”
The Chemours Company, 3M Company, Corteva, DuPont De Nemours, and EIDP did not respond by publication time to a request for comment on James’s lawsuit.
3M’s website says that products, including those that contain PFAS, are “safe and effective for their intended uses in everyday life.” Dupont De Nemours previously released a statement confirming that while the company is not a PFAS manufacturer, it does use select PFAS “only when necessary to impart specific performance criteria” in certain industrial products.
The Chemours Company’s website states, “We take very seriously our obligation to manage the PFAS compounds in our manufacturing processes in a responsible manner and our commitment to eliminate at least 99% of PFAS air and water emissions from our manufacturing processes by 2030.”
PFAS Contamination
PFAS were initially developed in the 1940s and used in a variety of consumer products due to their resistance to water, grease, and stains. Companies manufactured and sold the chemicals for use in food packaging, water-repellent clothing, fabric treatments, cosmetics, non-stick cookware, and other consumer products.
PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals” due to their inability to easily degrade, can remain in water, air, soil, animals, and plants for years after initial exposure. PFAS pollution has been linked to exposure from industrial sites, manufacturing plants, and military installations.
The lawsuit filed on Wednesday said the regular use of products with PFAS led to toxic chemicals being released into the environment and the bodies of consumers, causing “substantial environmental and health risks.”
The Environmental Protection Agency previously confirmed that PFAS have been found in all 50 states.
People can be exposed to PFAS by breathing contaminated air, drinking contaminated water, swallowing contaminated soil or dust, eating contaminated foods, and using products that contain PFAS.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s website says exposure to certain levels of PFAS could cause decreased fertility, birth defects, developmental delays, hormone issues, and pregnancy complications. PFAS exposure could also lead to an increased risk of cancer, increased cholesterol levels, and an increased risk of obesity.
In addition to these risks, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a study in 2016 showing evidence that PFAS could disrupt the immune system.
Recent Lawsuits
The company agreed to pay a civil penalty of $22.5 million and conduct a $90 million program to mitigate discharges of PFAS. It also agreed to install PFAS pollution controls for air emissions and surface discharges at a West Virginia plant for an estimated cost of $60 million and to supply clean drinking water to communities surrounding its facilities in New Jersey and West Virginia for an estimated cost of $280 million.
The lawsuit alleged that 3M did not reveal key findings related to its firefighting foams despite company tests that showed the foams presented environmental risks. However, 3M said it did not manufacture PFAS in Australia and stopped selling the products there 20 years ago.
“Despite this, the Department of Defence continued to use PFAS-containing fire fighting foams for nearly two decades longer, as noted in a recent legislative committee report. We will defend ourselves against these claims through the legal process,” the company previously told The Epoch Times.
