“Just under 100 plaintiffs have filed a class action suit against the Midwest chemical company, 3M, and several other defendants, who manufactured substances, known as perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs). Plaintiffs claim that the PFCs – which were used in firefighting foam at the nearby Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington – contaminated the ground water, leading to negative public health effects and diminished property value. The class action follows hard on the heels of a settlement reached in February, when 3M agreed to pay $850 million after plaintiffs alleged the company dumped PFCs for 40 years in the area surrounding Minneapolis. These cases are just a small sample of the legal action that has emerged around PFCs and other related chemicals.

NATIONWIDE PROBLEM

The class action, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Washington, touches on a widespread issue affecting every corner of the US – wherever there is a military base with a history of using firefighting foam. The Intercept has been covering the pandemic as it continues to affects countless communities nationwide. One recent report details the story of Lori Cervera who, seemingly out of nowhere, received a diagnosis of stage 2 kidney cancer. Without a family history or any other conceivable cause, Cervera took it upon herself to do some research. What she found astounded her.

FIREFIGHTING FOAM

One possible cause of kidney cancer is a chemical known as perfluorooctanoic acid (or PFOA), a subclass of the aforementioned PFCs. PFOA, together with PFOS, have been linked to kidney disease and were originally manufactured by DuPont to be used in products such as Teflon. The chemicals were also used in the synthesis of firefighting foam – to put out airplane fires and to train soldiers. In Cervera’s case (and in so many other cases) a nearby base used the foam for years, leading to groundwater contamination in the surrounding area. In fact, Cervera’s local municipality, Warminster, PA, has the third highest rate of PFOS in the country.

SICKNESS IN SOUTHEASTERN PA

This state of affairs has resulted in a class action suit filed by residents of Southeastern PA. Hope Grosse, who grew up playing in the creek that ran through the Naval Air Warfare Center in Warminster, began to see, over the years, severe health consequences in her family. Her sister suffered from an autoimmune disorder; her pets died after tumors devoured them; and her father contracted brain cancer. Grosse, herself, became ill with stage 4 melanoma.

RESIDENTS TAKE ACTION

As a result, Grosse and several other residents filed a lawsuit against 3M and a number of other manufacturers: the Buckeye Fire Protection Co., Chemguard, Tyco Fire Products and Angus Fire, to name a few. Grosse and her counterparts have faced an uphill battle. Incapable of pursuing legal action against the government due to sovereign immunity, they have opted to take on the manufacturers, who have attempted to block the lawsuit, arguing that, because they have government contracts, sovereign immunity applies to them as well. But the residents of Warminster, PA, will continue to fight, as litigators have several lawsuits on deck.”

read the full article by Sean Lally