Lawsuit filed against 3M, DuPont, others over LA County PFAS contamination

By Staff | Water Finance & Management | November 12, 2021

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"SL Environmental Law Group has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Water Replenishment District (WRD) against 3M Company, E.I. DuPont de Nemours, Inc., and other manufacturers of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) for their involvement in the manufacture and sale of per and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that have contaminated groundwater supplies within WRD’s service area, which includes 43 cities and covers a 420-square-mile region of southern Los Angeles County.

John D.S. Allen, president of the board of directors of the Water Replenishment District, said, “WRD is working with the water systems throughout its service area to identify and treat wells that have been contaminated with PFAS to ensure the safety of these crucial water supplies. Through this lawsuit, WRD is seeking to protect the ratepayers in our service area and ensure that the costs of cleaning up these contaminants are borne by 3M, DuPont, and the other companies that sold and profited from their products containing PFAS.”

PFAS are persistent toxic chemicals that bioaccumulate when released into the environment. Exposure to certain PFAS have been associated with several negative health outcomes in both humans and animals. PFAS has impacted surface water and groundwater throughout the country resulting in hundreds of similar suits brought forward by water providers, and mostly against the same defendants, in an ongoing multidistrict litigation supervised by a federal judge in South Carolina."