States Sue Companies Over 'Forever Chemical' Contamination

Updated June 6, 2023

• A growing list of states, including Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, and Vermont, are suing chemical companies DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva for PFAS ("forever chemical") contamination in drinking water, which impacts approximately 64 million Americans.
• The companies announced on Friday that they would pay over $1 billion to settle the claims, despite DuPont denying it has ever produced PFAS.
• Maine's attorney general, Aaron Frey, said:

"We're alleging that 3M and DuPont [and other manufacturers] created these chemicals ... had the science that showed just how dangerous they were, how toxic they were, how they were going to last forever."

• Some states have successfully reached settlements with the chemical giants. Minnesota settled with 3M for $850 million, and Delaware settled with DuPont for $50 million.
• FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb highlighted the dangers:

"We've seen correlations with thyroid disease, certain kinds of cancer, kidney disease, liver dysfunction, it becomes concentrated in the liver ... they're called 'forever chemicals' because they stay in your body."

• The chemical industry is waiting on an EPA decision on whether to categorize PFAS as hazardous, which could instigate further litigation.

Updated May 24, 2023

• Maine is planning to end the use of PFAS in the sewage sludge currently used as fertilizer in the state.
• The family of toxic "forever chemicals" is found in high concentrations in sewage sludge and is poisoning agricultural produce, waterways, and farmland across the country.
• Sewage sludge, marketed as "biosolid," is a byproduct of the water treatment process, and it used to be dumped into the ocean before it was implicated in creating oceanic dead zones.
• The EPA then approved its use as fertilizer due to the concentration of valuable nutrients it contains.
• The environmentalist organization, the Sierra Club, has described sludge as "the most pollutant-rich manmade substance on earth."
• Portland Water Service director Scott Firmin said:

“The safe disposal of [sewage sludge] is critical to safeguarding the environment and protecting public health. We are leaving no stone unturned as we seek innovative and economical solutions to tackling the nationwide threat of PFAS."

• Public health advocates are still unsure about the efficacy of the PFAS-destroying technology that Maine plans to utilize.
• Nancy Raine from the Sierra Club said:

“Many other states are going to be facing what Maine is facing now."

What are 'forever chemicals?'

• Several state laws and corporate policies are being introduced to regulate PFAS, known colloquially as "forever chemicals," because they persist in the environment for centuries.
• PFAS are a class of about 9,000 compounds used to make products and materials resistant to water, heat, and stains. They are frequently found in food packaging, cookware, waterproof clothing, cosmetics, mattresses, carpets, electronics, and countless other consumer goods.
• Researchers have found that 98% of the population has a detectable amount of these toxic, carcinogenic chemicals in their blood.

What are corporations doing?

• 3M, one of the world's largest PFAS producers, announced it would stop making the chemicals, pointing to "accelerating regulatory trends focused on reducing or eliminating the presence of PFAS."
• Various companies are phasing out PFAS in some or all of their products. According to the Guardian, these include Abercrombie & Fitch, Burberry, Burger King, Calvin Klein, Home Depot, H&M, Lowe's, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Rite Aid, Starbucks, Taco Bell, Target, and Whole Foods.
• Shareholder pressure is mounting — investors managing $8 trillion in assets have written to the world's largest chemical companies demanding they cease production.

What are states doing?

• Sarah Doll, director of Safer States, which tracks restrictions on toxic chemicals, said:

"We've seen some corporate leadership on PFAS, but the actual state policies that say 'No, you have to do this' – those are great incentivizers." 

• 10 states have prohibited PFAS in some food packaging, and several have banned it in cookware. 15 states have banned or heavily regulated firefighting foam because it is high in PFAS and poses a risk to waterways.
• California has banned PFAS in cosmetics, personal care products, clothing, and food packaging. Similarly, Maryland and Colorado have banned PFAS in cosmetics and personal care products, while Washington has banned PFAS in all clothing. 
• New York banned intentionally-added PFAS in food packaging under the Hazardous Packaging Act. Vermont's Senate unanimously approved a PFAS ban for cosmetics, textiles, and artificial turf. Maine has banned all non-essential uses of PFAS and has the strictest regulations of any state.
• Mike Schade from Toxic-Free Future said:

"If we get more companies to act, that builds more political support for action at the state level to regulate and restrict harmful chemicals like PFAS. At the same time, more states acting will create more pressure on businesses to take action ahead of state policies."

• You can find a comprehensive table of state-by state-bans here.

What are the challenges?

• The influence of chemical industry lobbyists has thwarted bipartisan congressional attempts to pass legislation controlling toxic substances.
• Proposed bills targeting products that pose the most significant consumer risk, like cosmetics, food packaging, clothing, and cookware, failed in recent sessions.
• Liz Hitchcock, federal policy director at Toxic-Free Future, illustrated the issues of state-by-state patchwork legislation:

"It would not make sense to not use the cancer-causing chemical in California and New York, but go ahead and use it in Texas." 

• Hitchcock continued:

"We can't depend on just that – we need the federal government and Congress to act."

Do you think the government is doing enough to address toxic chemicals?

—Emma Kansiz