The Town of North Kingstown, Rhode Island has retained SL Environmental Law Group for a lawsuit against 3M Company and other manufacturers for groundwater contamination, according to a press release by SL Environmental Law Group.
The town and law group filed the lawsuit against the manufacturers for their involvement in the manufacture and sale of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that infiltrated groundwater supplies within the town. The lawsuit is against 3M Company, E.I. DuPont de Nemours Inc., and other manufacturers of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF).
The town filed this lawsuit in an effort to recover costs necessary to remove these substances and remain in compliance with state and federal regulations and guidance.
"Through this lawsuit, the Town of North Kingstown is seeking to protect its ratepayers and ensure that any costs of removing these contaminants are borne by 3M, DuPont, and the other companies that sold and profited from their products containing PFAS,” said Ralph Mollis, North Kingstown manager. “In order to do so and after a careful review, we selected SL Environmental Law Group to represent us, due to their extensive expertise in water litigation and nationwide experience representing water suppliers in PFAS cases.”
PFAS are persistent toxic chemicals that bioaccumulate when released into the environment. Certain levels of exposure to PFAS have been associated with several negative health outcomes in both humans and animals. PFAS has impacted surface water and groundwater throughout the country resulting in hundreds of similar suits brought forward by water providers, and mostly against the same defendants, in an ongoing Multidistrict Litigation supervised by a federal judge in South Carolina.
PFAS have been used for decades in AFFF, certain industrial processes, and in the production of common household and commercial products that are heat resistant, stain resistant, long lasting, and water and oil repellant.
“The manufacturers and sellers of PFAS containing products — 3M, DuPont, and other defendants — knew that these products would likely pollute groundwater, yet they failed to take reasonable and available steps to avoid the use of PFAS in products and failed to provide warnings that using these products as directed could result in groundwater contamination,” said Ken Sansone, partner at SL Environmental Law Group. “Through this lawsuit, North Kingstown is asserting its rights under Rhode Island law to ensure the quality and availability of water resources to the thousands of citizens and businesses who rely on those resources. The Town wants to ensure that the corporations whose products are responsible for contaminating its water pay the potentially substantial costs of cleaning it up.”
