Read the full article by Jonathan Stempel (Reuters)
“Sept 15 (Reuters) – A federal judge on Tuesday said more than 20 defendants including 3M (MMM.N), DuPont (DD.N), and Honeywell (HON.O), must face claims by Connecticut firefighters who said their protective gear was contaminated by toxic ‘forever chemicals’ that increased their risk of cancer.
Lawyers for 13 firefighter union organizations and 12 individual firefighters said ‘turnout gear’ that shields against extreme heat and flames leached the chemicals through absorption into skin, ingestion and inhalation. They have called the proposed class action the first to exclusively target firefighter gear containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
PFAS in firefighters’ protective gear included 3M’s Scotchlite reflective material and DuPont’s Kevlar, while Honeywell manufactured turnout gear, according to the complaint. Some DuPont liabilities now belong to two spinoffs, Chemours (CC.N), and Corteva (CTVA.N).
Lawyers for 3M, DuPont, Chemours, Corteva and Honeywell did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Jennifer Sclar, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said the decision was significant because it found that prolonged exposure to PFAS from turnout gear justified legal standing.”…