3M To Be Held Accountable For Selling Products That Contain Forever Chemicals Claiming They Were Safe

Water Contamination Lawsuit News

The Illinois State AG is the latest government official to file a lawsuit alleging 3M has permanently contaminated the local environment with forever chemicals

Monday, April 4, 2022 - Thousands of military veterans and their families members are lining up to file lawsuits accusing the Department of Defense of failing to protect their health by allowing toxic, carcinogenic forever chemicals to flow into the local tap water supply. More than 400 incidences of groundwater contamination to levels above what the EPA allows have been detected on or around military bases throughout the country. A bill that has only to clear the Senate could provide military families and veterans the opportunity to file suit against the Department of Defense and claim lump-sum monetary compensation for their injuries. The military uses firefighting foam to douse burn pit fires implemented to dispose of toxic waste. Airports use toxic firefighting foam to put out petroleum and jet fuel fires and hail firefighting foam as a life-saving tool. Airports today are required by the FAA to have firefighting foam on hand to prevent disasters that could occur if a jet fuel fire should break out on a crowded airliner. Municipalities also are discovering groundwater contamination from their fire departments training to use firefighting foam and then washing it into the local groundwater that supplies communities with the tap water families drink, wash, and play in. Bucks County Pennsylvania is among the first local governments to file a PFAS cancer lawsuit against 3M, one of the original manufacturers of firefighting foam.

3M could face thousands of lawsuits from local governments throughout the United States who were misled about the toxicity of forever chemicals. The Quad-City Times recently reported that 3M has caused PFAS drinking water around their Cordova, Illinois firefighting foam manufacturing plant. The company is being sued by Kwame Raoul, Attorney General of the State of Illinois alleging the company illegally dumped forever chemicals into the Mississippi River contaminating the drinking water supplies leading to millions of residents, and that the company knew and hid the dangers of disposing of forever chemical would have on the health of the local population. The Times explained the danger of forever chemicals as follows: "The group of toxic, handmade chemicals -- commonly known as PFAS or "forever chemicals" because they persist indefinitely in the environment -- have been linked to serious adverse health effects in humans and animals, including various cancers. Exposure to certain types of PFAS has also been associated with low birth weight in babies, suppressed immune system response, dyslipidemia, impaired kidney function, and delayed onset of menstruation." 3M officials are accused of knowing about the dangers of forever chemicals and ignoring their scientific research.

The scope of the damages that the State of Illinois seeks from 3M's negligence is enormous. It first seeks remuneration for "the cost of identifying, monitoring, and remediating contamination caused by the release of PFAS from 3M's Cordova Facility." Secondly, the lawsuit seeks to hold 3M financially accountable for the damages to the environment and destruction of natural resources that have been permanently contaminated. The suit looks to stop 3M from continuing to pollute the local environment and to restore it to its original condition. The suit insists that the appropriate civil penalties are charged to the company for the environmental protection laws they have violated.

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