Petersburgh, New York, Files Lawsuit Against 3M, DuPont Co. & Other Chemical Manufacturers
The town of Petersburgh, New York filed a lawsuit this week against 3M, DuPont Co. and several other chemical manufacturers due to groundwater and drinking water contamination.
The lawsuit is seeking compensation for the contamination that occurred in water supplies due to manmade chemicals used at a plastics company, reported The Times Union.
According to the lawsuit, the companies allegedly distributed perfluorinated chemicals that contained perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), reported The Times Union. The materials make products resistant to heat and chemical reactions.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of Petersburgh in state Supreme Court in Rensselaer County alleges that the chemical companies had knowledge that their products could be harmful and show up in drinking water, reported The Times Union.
"The PFOA contamination of the drinking water supplies across Petersburgh...is a direct and proximate result of the release of PFOA contained in PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) products manufactured, designed, sold, and/or supplied by defendants to the sole industrial manufacturer located in Petersburgh," said the lawsuit.
The town wants: compensation for past and future testing and detection of PFOA contamination; payment for any remediation and water filtration expenses; and a judgment to cover the costs of providing alternate water supplies, including for private landowners whose wells were polluted.
"In humans, PFOA remains in the body for years. Second, in humans and mammals, PFOA can bioaccumulate by crossing the placenta from mother to fetus and by passing to infants through breast milk," stated the lawsuit. "Third, PFOA biomagnifies up the food chain. This occurs, for example, when humans eat fish that have ingested PFOA."
The lawsuit alleges that by the 1960s, both 3M and DuPont conducted animal studies, showing that manufacturing chemicals were not only toxic and could pose health risks, but that PFOA could move quickly in groundwater.
According to the lawsuit, DuPont documented outcomes of pregnancies for employees of the Parkersburg plant between 1979 and 1981, "finding two of seven children born to female plant workers...had birth defects — one an 'unconfirmed' eye and tear duct defect, and one a nostril and eye defect," reported The Times Union.
A separate class-action settlement approved will provide a medical monitoring program in Petersburgh. Additionally, there are also more than 40 pending lawsuits that were filed on behalf of individuals who have died or been afflicted with illnesses allegedly tied to PFOA.