Read the full article by Jim Walsh (Cherry Hill Courier-Post)
“WEST DEPTFORD – An industrial facility here will stop using controversial ‘forever chemicals’ that are blamed for water pollution in several South Jersey towns, the plant’s operator said Wednesday.
Solvay said it is discontinuing the use of fluorosurfactants, part of a group of chemicals known as PFAS, in the U.S. market.
The firm, which faces multiple lawsuits that blame its chemicals for water pollution, said the new technology ‘will be in full production’ at its local plant by the end of June.
‘At that point, Solvay will no longer use fluorosurfactant process aids in West Deptford or anywhere in the U.S.,’ the company said in a statement.
Solvay said it had quadrupled its spending on ‘research and innovation’ since 2019 in order to replace ‘fluorochemical process aids from the PFAS family of compounds.’
An environmental group responded to the announcement by calling for ‘real testing and oversight’ from the state Department of Environmental Protection ‘to make sure that these technologies don’t continue to contaminate the environment…'”