Read the full article by Ananya Bhattacharya (Quartz)
“California is suing 18 companies over ‘staggering’ damage caused by manufacturers of PFAS, substances also known as ‘forever chemicals.’
Some of these companies, including 3M, infamous for creating the chemical C8 for Scotchgard, and DuPont, which used C8 in nonstick Teflon products, were aware of dangerous chemicals’ ‘toxicity, persistence, and prevalence in humans but deliberately misled the government and the public’ for decades, according to a lawsuit filed in the Alameda County Superior Court on Thursday (Nov. 10).
California Attorney General Rob Bonta says the companies are liable for ‘hundreds of millions of dollars’ in penalties and cleanup costs across California for continuing to make the chemicals while knowing, and yet seeking to conceal, their danger.
Over a dozen states are suing PFAS manufacturers for contaminating drinking water or natural resources like lakes. The California suit, which was filed after a two year-long investigation of consumer and environmental law violations, is the first statewide legal action of its kind as it targets a variety of PFAS sources, such as wastewater treatment plants and landfills, and seeks medical monitoring in communities that have been exposed.
PFAS threat to California, in the attorney generals’ words
‘PFAS are as ubiquitous in California as they are harmful. As a result of a decades-long campaign of deception, PFAS are in our waters, our clothing, our houses, and even our bodies…We won’t let them off the hook for the pernicious damage done to our state.’ —California Attorney General Rob Bonta” …