Tetek Refil: Michigan claims PFAS makers hid firefighting foam danger in new lawsuits

Friday, August 21, 2020

Michigan claims PFAS makers hid firefighting foam danger in new lawsuits - MLive.com

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LANSING, MI — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed dual lawsuits in state and federal court against multiple companies that manufacturer, sell or distribute a type of chemical-based firefighting foam that has led to widespread environmental contamination.

In actions filed Thursday, Aug. 21 in Ingham County Circuit Court and U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids, major chemical industry players like 3M, Chemours and DowDuPont are among dozens of companies named as defendants for their role in helping spread aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) made with the “forever chemicals” known as PFAS around Michigan.

The state aims to recover damages and costs from tackling PFAS contamination, which has been found at 138 locations and in the drinking water serving 1.9 million in Michigan.

The new lawsuits follow an initial case Nessel filed in January against 17 chemical manufacturers who made PFAS, which is moving through dispositive motions before Judge George J. Quist in Kent County Circuit Court after being transferred from Washtenaw County.

The earlier case specifically excluded claims related to AFFF, which has been used for decades by the military, airports and municipal fire departments to quash hydrocarbon fires.

In the latest filings, Nessel claims companies concealed the dangers of PFAS and helped contaminate state natural resources and expose people to harm. The federal filing names 46 companies involved in making “Mil-Spec,” or military-grade foam. The state filing names 33 companies involved in making commercial grade foam.

“As with the lawsuit already filed for PFAS contamination from non-AFFF sources, these lawsuits seek recovery of damages, remediation costs and other relief needed due to PFAS contamination from AFFF in the State of Michigan,” Nessel said in a statement. “Michigan taxpayers should not have to pay for this massive undertaking – those who profited from the manufacture and sale of these harmful chemicals should.”

Nessel’s office said the full impact and costs of PFAS contamination in Michigan is still being determined.

Nessel signed contracts last fall to pursue PFAS litigation with three out-of-state firms collaborating on a three-year contingency fee deal, known as the Fields Team. It is comprised of Fields PLLC of Washington, D.C.; Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL of Cincinnati, Ohio; and DiCello Levitt Gutzler LLC of Chicago.

Other states that have pursued litigation against PFAS manufacturers include Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio and Vermont.

The lawsuits occur against the backdrop of new enforceable rules requiring testing and potential filtration for PFAS in public water supplies like municipal treatment plants took hold in Michigan this month.

The state is four years into a multi-pronged effort to investigate and clean-up PFAS contamination through a PFAS Action Response Team (MPART) that was created by former Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, and reconstituted by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat.

In addition to groundwater investigation at contaminated sites, the MPART team within the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) is tracking the contaminants through multiple watersheds where the chemicals have chemicals have sparked high profile advisories due to contaminated fish and toxic surfactant foam.

Watershed investigations have led to regulatory crackdown at wastewater treatment plants which treat industrial effluent from companies that use PFAS. The chemicals pass through conventional sewage treatment.

The state is also studying PFAS in soil and wastewater biosolid sludge that was applied to farm fields as fertilizer.

On Thursday, EGLE announced a series of regional webinars next month to offer details on an increase in the list of PFAS contaminated sites where pollution levels in groundwater exceed new state rules.

High profile examples of PFAS pollution in Michigan include the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda, the Wolverine World Wide tannery pollution in Rockford and Belmont, discovery of highly-contaminated municipal water in the city of Parchment and a multi-county fish advisory on the Huron River.

Exposure to certain PFAS chemicals is considered harmful at the low parts-per-trillion level and can, among other things, increase the risk of kidney and testicular cancer, suppress the body’s immune system response, cause pregnancy complications and low birth weight.

Below is the list of defendants named Thursday.

U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids; 46 defendants

E. I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS AND COMPANY,

THE CHEMOURS COMPANY,

THE CHEMOURS COMPANY FC, LLC,

DOWDUPONT, INC.,

CORTEVA, INC.,

DUPONT DE NEMOURS, INC.,

ARCHROMA U.S., INC.,

ARKEMA, INC.,

AGC CHEMICALS AMERICAS INC.,

DAIKIN AMERICA, INC.,

SOLVAY SPECIALTY POLYMERS, USA,

CHEMGUARD, INC.,

TYCO FIRE PRODUCTS, LP,

NATIONAL FOAM, INC.,

ANGUS FIRE ARMOUR CORPORATION,

KIDDE P.L.C., INC.,

KIDDE-FENWAL, INC.,

RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION,

UTC FIRE & SECURITY AMERICAS CORPORATION, INC.,

VULCAN FIRE SYSTEMS, INC.,

HUNTINGTON LABORATORIES, INC.,

ECOLAB INC.,

MINE SAFETY APPLIANCES COMPANY, LLC,

VERDE ENVIRONMENTAL, INC., a/k/a MICRO-BLAZE, INC.,

HARTFORD CHEMICAL SALES CORPORATION,

G.V.C. CHEMICAL CORPORATION,

STEVENS COMPANY, INC.,

HAZARD CONTROL TECHNOLOGIES, INC.,

FIRE-ADE, INC.,

ROCKWOOD SYSTEMS, INC., f/k/a ROCKWOOD SYSTEMS CORPORATION,

COBRA FIRE PROTECTION, INC.,

BROCO PRODUCTS, INC.,

PIONEER PRODUCTS, INC.,

DENKO, INC., a/k/a DENKO FOAM, INC.,

RUSSELL MARTIN INDUSTRIES, INC.,

DAWN CHEMICAL CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN, INC.,

AMEREX CORPORATION,

PERIMETER SOLUTIONS LP,

NOBLE INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY CORPORATION,

ROYAL CHEMICAL COMPANY,

VST CHEMICAL CORPORATION,

SUMMIT ENVIRONMENTAL CORPORATION, INC.

FIRE SERVICES PLUS, INC.,

BUCKEYE FIRE EQUIPMENT COMPANY,

3M COMPANY,

DYNEON, L.L.C.

Ingham County Circuit Court; 33 defendants