3M Class Action Says Water Contaminated Near Pa. Navy Base

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A proposed class action lawsuit has been filed by a group of workers and residents from two Pennsylvania military bases, alleging 3M’s toxic fire suppressant agents contaminated the local water supply.

The twelve names plaintiffs all resided near, served, or worked on the former Willow Grove Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Horsham and the former Naval Air Warfare Center in Warminster.

The 3M water contamination lawsuit asserts that 3M firefighting suppressant agents were sold to the US Navy, and used on these bases and washed down drains, mixing with ground and surface water, contaminating the surrounding communities.

Specifically, the proposed class action claims that 3M and other defendants manufactured and sold without proper warning, a fire suppressant known as aqueous film-forming foam, or AFFF, containing perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonate acid (PFOS) which can cause numerous and serious health issues.

Further, the presence of these toxic agents in the drinking water can devalue property.

The complaint states that 3M, Angus Fire, The Ansul Co., Buckeye Fire Equipment Co., Chemguard and National Foam Inc. sold the firefighting suppressant agent to the Navy for use on ships and at the military bases but failed to provide adequate warning about the related health and safety concerns.

“Defendants knew or should have known that their harmful and defective products, AFFF, would drain into the ground and soil, polluting and/or contaminating same, and would migrate into the ground water of the cases and eventually into the drinking/potable water of the plaintiffs,” the complaint states.

Exposure to PFOS and PFOA is associated with increased risk of testicular, kidney, and prostate cancer, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis and pregnancy-induced hypertension, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, as well as other conditions, according to the lawsuit.

Injuries from exposure to these toxic agents can arise months, years, or decades after exposure, the complaint states.

According to the 3M class action lawsuit, military personnel and civilians at the bases were exposed to PFOS-laden AFFF for years and that it wasn’t until they were informed by environmental officials that the concentrations of the PFOS and PFOA were well above the safe drinking levels that they were aware they were drinking contaminated water.

“Upon information and belief, 3M and the other defendants had known of these dangers for years, if not decades,” the lawsuit states.

The plaintiffs seek certification of a Class of “all persons who own or occupy residential properties in the affected geographic area” along with four different subclasses: 1) current property owners who obtained their drinking water from the affected area, 2) those who obtained drinking water from private wells, 3) non-property owners who obtained their drinking water from either the utilities or private wells; and 4) those who worked on the bases.

In addition to monetary damages, the plaintiffs are seeking an injunction requiring the implementation and funding of blood testing and medical monitoring programs that is reasonably tailored to the exposure risks posed by PFOS and PFOA.

This lawsuit echoes claims in a similar water contamination class action lawsuit against 3M and the defendants brought by residents of Hatboro, Horsham, Warrington and Warminster in Pennsylvania. The residents’ lawsuit claims that their groundwater supply was contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals manufactured and sold by 3M to the nearby military bases.

The proposed Class is represented by Joseph L. Feliciani and Heather A. Thomas of Creedon & Feliciani PC.

The 3M Water Contamination Class Action Lawsuit is Grande, et al. v. The 3M Co., et al., Case No. 2:16-cv-05380, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.