A federal judge in the United States has allowed a class action case against 3M, DowDuPont, Chemours and six other companies to proceed when it denied every motion to dismiss the case brought by these chemical corporations responsible for producing toxic fluorinated chemicals called PFAS.
The lawsuit was initially filed on behalf of Kevin D. Hardwick, of Glendale, Ohio, who was exposed to PFAS during his 40-year career as a firefighter. As a class action, it includes every U.S. resident with detectable levels of PFAS chemicals in their blood and who have claimed they have been injured as a result of being exposed.
“These corporations have knowingly contaminated the blood of virtually everyone in the country,” said EWG President Ken Cook. “3M and DuPont have hidden knowledge about the toxicity of PFAS chemicals from their own workers and the public for decades, and those fateful decisions have come home to roost. The court has put the chemical industry on notice that we are a big step closer to the day of reckoning for companies that have pursued profits over protecting Americans’ health.”
Rob Bilott, the lead attorney in the case, has represented tens of thousands of PFAS victims since exposing DuPont’s contamination of the drinking water of communities around the company’s Teflon plant in Parkersburg, W. Va. EWG has worked since 2001 to expose the decades of deception by DuPont, 3M and other companies that have contaminated the blood of virtually all Americans with PFAS chemicals, some of which have been linked to cancer, immune and reproductive system harm and other health problems.
“All Americans owe a huge debt of gratitude to Rob Bilott and his team who have led the fight to hold 3M and DuPont accountable,” said Cook. “Today’s decision is a significant victory in the fight for justice on behalf of everyone in the country that has been harmed by PFAS and the corporations that make them.”
