New Jersey, North Carolina, and New Mexico are urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to add four PFAS chemicals—PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, and GenX—to the list of Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) under the Clean Air Act. The Petition highlights the environmental and health risks posed
The coalition of law firms, including Taft, that have been working together for over a decade to lead litigation and secure settlements on behalf of those harmed by PFAS contamination, have announced another major settlement to address this “forever chemicals” contamination in U.S. drinking water
On April 10, 2024, the U.S. EPA released its federally enforceable drinking water limits for certain toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. The final rule will “reduce PFAS exposure for approximately 100 million people, prevent thousands of deaths, and reduce
As regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) continues to develop at the state and federal level, an issue of significant concern is the potential for product packaging made with PFAS to impart or “leach” those PFAS into the products contained within. In a prior article in this space, Taft’s Environmental practice group outlined a recent EPA order requiring a manufacturer of fluorinated high-density polyethylene (HDPE) containers designed to hold various liquid products to cease producing such packaging using PFAS, out of concern for the risk of PFAS leaching into the products. Now, at least one state legislature is taking up the issue in an effort to prevent products containing PFAS as a result of leaching from entering commerce in that state.
On November 17, the EPA paused its prior approval of up to 100 shipments of wastes containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from the Chemours Netherlands B.V. facility in Dordrecht to the Chemours Fayetteville Works plant in North Carolina. The North Carolina Chemours plant has been the source of previous pollution.
This news comes on the heels of a new analysis of EPA data showing that over the last five years at least 60 million pounds of PFAS waste has been disposed of in the US. According to the author of the new analysis, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (Peer), the 60m pounds estimate is likely to be a “dramatic” undercount because PFAS waste is mostly “unregulated” in the US and companies are typically not required to record its disposal. As part of its analysis, Peer identified over 10,300 PFAS waste shipments between June 2018 and June 2023.
On October 17, California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued an Enforcement Advisory Letter indicating that the Attorney General’s office intends to bring enforcement actions against companies that fail to comply with California’s new law restricting the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food packaging and requiring disclosure and labeling when PFAS are used in cookware products.
The California law, known as Assembly Bill 1200 (A.B. 1200), went into effect on January 1, 2023. The law prohibits businesses, including shops and restaurants selling take-out food, from distributing, selling, or offering for sale any “food packaging” that contains PFAS. “Food packaging” is broadly defined and includes take-out food containers, unit product boxes, liners, wrappers, serving vessels, eating utensils, straws, food boxes, and disposable plates, bowls, or trays. The law also requires disclosure and labeling when PFAS are intentionally included in any “cookware” product that comes into contact with food or beverages. “Cookware” includes pots, pans, skillets, grills, baking sheets, baking molds, trays, bowls, and cooking utensils.
The coalition of law firms, including Taft, working together to lead litigation and secure settlements on behalf of those harmed by PFAS chemical contamination has announced additional significant developments in the implementation of their new settlements with 3M and DuPont-related companies that will provide benefits of up to $13.6 billion for public water providers across the country. Taft partner Rob Bilott is one of the coalition’s lawyers and has been working on these PFAS issues for more than two decades when he brought the first PFAS case in the country in 1999.
On Aug. 29, 2023, the federal court in South Carolina overseeing the ongoing nationwide litigation over damage caused by PFAS in aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) granted preliminary approval of the settlement with 3M, valued at up to $12.5 billion. This follows the Court’s similar preliminary approval of the settlement with DuPont and its related companies on Aug. 22, 2023, valued at an additional $1.185 billion. Together, these settlements represent the largest drinking water settlements in US history.
Taft is among a coalition of law firms that have been working together for over a decade to lead litigation and secure settlements on behalf of those harmed by PFAS chemical contamination. The coalition has announced two significant developments in the implementation of their new
Taft partner Rob Bilott is quoted and featured in the TIME article “’Forever Chemical’ Lawsuits Could Ultimately Eclipse the Big Tobacco Settlement,” published on July 12. The article discusses the evolution of PFAS lawsuits starting with the Tennant farm case filed by Bilott
On June 22, 2023, a settlement valued up to $12.5B was announced with the 3M Company to address contamination of U.S. public drinking water supplies with PFAS “forever chemicals.” The settlement was announced in the context of ongoing multi-district litigation (MDL) against 3M by public