Lawsuits claim 'forever chemicals' from Decatur industries causing illnesses
David Gambino, The Decatur Daily, Ala.
Thu, January 18, 2024
Jan. 18—Several north Alabama residents filed lawsuits in Morgan County Circuit Court alleging they are suffering from various cancers and other illnesses caused by "forever chemicals" discharged by 3M, Daikin America and Toray Fluorofibers.
The lawsuits focus on alleged harm from PFOA and PFOS, two chemicals in a larger family of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, called PFAS.
In 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency issued new health advisories for PFOA and PFOS, likely carcinogens. PFOA and PFOS have been used in a variety of commercial products due to their ability to repel water and their resistance to degradation.
Because of their inherent resilience, PFAS substances persist in the environment indefinitely and can accumulate in the tissue of animals and humans.
"These chemicals bind to protein in the blood and are readily absorbed and distributed throughout the body," according to the lawsuits. "They accumulate over time and cause long-term, physiologic alterations to the blood, liver, kidneys, immune systems, and other organs."
The new lawsuits, filed in December and January, include Daikin America and Toray Fluorofibers as defendants who, like 3M, operate manufacturing facilities on the Tennessee River. "For decades, these facilities have discharged toxic PFAS chemicals into the Tennessee River and the surrounding environment," the lawsuits allege.
3M on Wednesday issued a statement to The Decatur Daily regarding the lawsuits:
"As the science and technology of PFAS, societal and regulatory expectations, and our expectations of ourselves have evolved, so has how 3M manages PFAS. We have and will continue to deliver on our commitments — including remediating PFAS, investing in water treatment, and collaborating with communities. 3M will continue to address PFAS litigation by defending itself in court or through negotiated resolutions, all as appropriate."
Representatives of Daikin and Toray Fluorofibers could not be reached for comment.
3M in 2020 entered into a broad consent order with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management that requires it, among other things, to clean up numerous sites in Morgan and Lawrence County where PFAS-contaminated materials had been dumped over several decades.
3M has known since the 1970s that PFAS chemicals are potentially toxic to humans, and yet it did nothing to limit the release of the chemicals into the environment and intentionally misled the public, according to the complaint.
Similarly, Daikin and Toray have known "for years" about the risks PFAS poses to human health, yet continued to discharge PFOA into the environment, according to the complaint.
The plaintiffs in the new lawsuits are long-time residents of north Alabama from Morgan and Cullman counties who all claim they have unknowingly ingested water contaminated with dangerous levels of PFAS.
The plaintiffs say they suffer from the following illnesses allegedly caused by PFAS exposure:
—Prostate cancer.
—Br---t cancer.
—Kidney cancer.
—Ulcerative colitis.
—Hypothyroidism.
—Pancreatic cancer resulting in death.
3M, Daikin and Toray are accused of "negligently or wantonly" producing, disposing, storing, transporting, and handling PFOA or PFOS, and allowing PFOA or PFAS to contaminate ground or surface water.
According to the lawsuits, 3M began producing PFAS at its Decatur plant in 1961. In 1976, an internal memo at 3M allegedly indicated that the company was aware that the chemicals were showing up in the blood of its workers.
Other internal documents at 3M, according to the complaints, revealed the company attempted to study the effect of PFAS on monkeys in 1978, but the study was aborted after all 20 monkeys died following exposure. In the 1990s, a 3M study found indications that PFOA caused cancer in rats, the complaints claim, but local residents wouldn't learn about the potential dangers until decades later.
In 1998, 3M began manufacturing PFOA in Decatur, According to the lawsuits, and Daikin and Toray, which also operate plants in Decatur, manufactured PFOA or used PFOA to manufacture other materials.
The lawsuits accuse Daikin and Toray of continuing to use or produce PFOA after the EPA, concerned about the dangers of PFOA, announced a stewardship program in 2006 aimed at reducing the spread of the compound.
"Exposure to PFOA, PFOS, and other PFAS chemicals has been linked to serious medical conditions including, but not limited to, kidney cancer, testicular cancer, liver cancer, testicular tumors, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, br---t cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, bladder cancer, thyroid disease, ulcerative colitis, and infertility," the lawsuits claim.
Part of the World Health Organization, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, has classified PFOA as "possibly carcinogenic to humans."
The EPA has said peer-reviewed scientific studies show that PFAS exposure may impact health and cause cancer or other illnesses.
SOURCE - https://news.yahoo.com/lawsuits-claim-forever-chemicals-decatur-134500424.html