3M Class Action Lawsuit Filed Over Penn. Water Contamination

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A class action lawsuit has been filed against The 3M Company accusing it, along with several other companies, of manufacturing and selling a fire retardant that contains toxic chemicals without providing adequate warning about the dangers.

The other defendants named in the 3M water contamination class action lawsuit include Angus Fire, the Ansul Company, Buckeye Fire Protection Company, Chemguard and National Foam.

The 3M class action lawsuit was filed last week by a group of residents from the following Philadelphia cities: Hatboro, Horsham, Warrington and Warminster. They are seeking coverage for medical monitoring and property damage.

According to the water contamination class action lawsuit, the defendants manufactured and sold the U.S. Navy a fire retardant known as aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), which contains cancer-causing chemicals that have seeped into the water supply near two former military bases outside of Philadelphia.

The defendants allegedly sold AFFF to the Navy for use on ships and at military bases, including the Willow Grove Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base and the Naval Air Warfare Center, which are both former military bases located outside of Philadelphia.

“Residents in the area near the Bases obtain their drinking water predominantly from groundwater pumped by either municipal or private wells,” the 3M class action lawsuit states. “For decades, residents near the Bases, and employees on the Bases, have been drinking water laced with dangerous chemicals, namely, perfluorooctane sulfonate (‘PFOS’) and perfluorooctanoic acid (‘PFOA’).”

According to the 3M water contamination class action lawsuit, these chemicals can cause serious health issues when consumed. Further, the presence of PFOS and PFOA in the drinking water causes devaluation of the property.

Health issues associated with exposure to PFOS and PFOA include an increased risk of testicular cancer, kidney cancer, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, pregnancy-induced hypertension and other conditions.

The 3M class action lawsuit also asserts that exposure to these chemicals may cause developmental effects to fetuses or breastfed infants.

The water contamination class action lawsuit points to the regulations by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that govern contaminants of concern. PFOS and PFOA were reportedly listed on the EPA’s Third Contaminant Candidate List in 2009. The EPA subsequently established a Provisional Health Advisory for the chemicals.

In 2012, the EPA included PFOS and PFOA in its Third Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule and required some water providers across the United States to test their water for the presence of these chemicals. Testing of the water supply in the plaintiffs’ cities revealed concentrations of PFOS and PFOA.

The plaintiffs assert that the defendants should have known that the chemicals in the ATFF posed an “unreasonable risk to human health and the environment.” However, despite knowledge of this risk, the defendants continued to market and sell their fire retardant products, according to the water contamination class action lawsuit.

The 3M class action lawsuit asserts claims for negligence, failure to warn and design defect. They seek monetary damages, medical monitoring, injunctive relief and remediation of the affected water supplies to ensure they are free from PFOS and PFOA.

The plaintiffs are represented by John M. Broaddus, Robin L. Greenwald and Donald A. Soutar of Weitz & Luxenberg.

The 3M Groundwater Contamination Class Action Lawsuit is Bates, et al. v. The 3M Co., et al., Case No. 2:16-cv-04961, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.