Firefighting Foam Settlements Will Set A Precedent For PFAS Water Contamination Lawsuits In The Future

Water Contamination Lawsuit News

The recent settlement of 270 water well contamination cases for $17.5 million in Wisconsin extrapolates to billions of dollars nationwide

Monday, October 31, 2022 - Water contamination lawsuits are being filed throughout the US by state and municipal governments and also by individuals against the companies that manufactured and sold toxic firefighting foam to local fire departments. Of all of the potential sources of water pollution, the use of and improper disposal of firefighting foam containing PFAS aqueous film-forming foam may be the most glaring form of negligence and have caused a large number of personal injuries and deaths. Individuals that have developed cancer or other disease or the loved ones of those who died should speak with a wPFAS water attorney. The Milwaukee Sentinal News recently reported on the lawsuits that were proceeding and also about the recent, quiet settlement of dozens of claims that water wells had been polluted by firefighting foam. A cancer cluster had formed in the area near the local firefighting station. 270 residents of the Town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, filed lawsuits alleging that the local fire department improperly disposed of firefighting foam for more than three decades beginning in the early 1960s, by washing it into the underlying groundwater leading to and contaminating the private drinking water wells of the town's residents. Peshtigo families drank, cooked with, and bathed in water polluted with toxic PFAS forever chemicals. According to The Sentinal, "The company (TYCO Fire Products) in early 2021 reached a settlement with more than 270 households in Peshtigo over the contamination, agreeing to provide $17.5 million. Of that money, $15 million will be allocated for class-wide claims, such as property damage, while $2.5 million will be allocated for people who have been diagnosed with testicular cancer, kidney cancer, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, and preeclampsia." The settlement will include remediation of the environment and TFP to build a pipeline leading to each Peshtigo home affected by the water contamination, providing clean drinking water.

According to The Sentinal, PFAS water contamination has occurred at more than 50 locations in Wisconsin where firefighting foam was used, however, the most contaminated water was found to be in the area surrounding Tyco Fire Product testing facilities. Other mass tort lawsuits have been settled over PFAS water contamination near the manufacturing plants of companies that make Teflon non-stick cookware determined to contain dangerous PFAS forever chemicals. "In 2017, DuPont and Chemours settled 3,550 lawsuits for $670.7 million related to contamination from a plant in West Virginia, first run by DuPont and later Chemours, according to a report from Delaware Online," The Sentinal reported. Water well contamination has occurred throughout the United States at and around military bases, airports, and firefighting stations that have used firefighting foam. Personal injury and wrongful death water contamination lawsuits seek lump-sum monetary compensation and punitive damages for the negligence, carelessness, and recklessness companies have demonstrated by failing to warn of the potential damage to human health and the environment when their products were used and improperly disposed of.

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