PFAS-related suits gain steam as litigants hit Wolverine Worldwide
22 Apr 2019 | The Detroit News
Read the full article by Leonard N. Fleming “Some of the nation’s high-profile environmental law firms, along with Michigan-based ones, are waging legal battles related to PFAS contamination in the state after decades of waste dumping by a popular shoe manufacturer that has seeped into private wells. The civil lawsuits over per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, the so-called forever…
Military challenging states on $2 billion chemical liability
16 Apr 2019 | Bucks County Intelligencer
The U.S. Department of Defense has quietly begun battling environmental regulators in several states, after the agencies attempted to force the military to clean toxic firefighting chemicals from polluted streams, marshes and aquifers. The efforts mark the opening acts of what could turn into a…
Thousands of gallons of toxic foam used at Luke Air Force Base for more than 40 years. Here’s what it means for our water
16 Apr 2019 | Arizona Republic
Luke Air Force Base used a toxic firefighting foam to put out at least 10 jet crash fires and suppress many more controlled fires in training activities in the last half century, according to a U.S. Air Force report. Overall, thousands of gallons of the foam may have seeped into the…
Should you be concerned about PFAS chemicals?
13 Apr 2019 | Consumer Reports
A group of substances known as PFAS chemicals are behind a variety of everyday conveniences that make our lives a little bit easier. They line pizza boxes and fast-food packaging so grease doesn’t seep through, form the nonstick coating on many pans, make fabrics and carpets stain-resistant, and help outdoor…
The hunt is on for GenX chemicals in people
12 Apr 2019 | Chemical & Engineering News
On a chilly day in November 2017, Beth Markesino sat in the county health department. She pushed up the sleeve of her sweater and extended her arm. A medical technician drew her blood. During her visit to the facility, Markesino spotted several people she knew and said hi…
PFAS found at Gordie Howe International Bridge site in Detroit
12 Apr 2019 | MLive
Michigan’s search for PFAS contamination now touches the Gordie Howe International Bridge, where multiple samples over four months on the Detroit side of the project showed the chemicals in both soil and groundwater. Now officials are ensuring that plans for soil movement and stormwater address the presence of the per-…
WI groups issue joint statement on PFAS
12 Apr 2019 | Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger
Background Information: A statewide coalition of 28 organizations organized by CSWAB issued a joint position statement today supporting regulation of PFAS as a class of compounds. Assessing risks of chemicals having a similar mechanism of toxicity is not unusual and is similar to how…
CDC maps out chemical health study, excludes cancer
8 Apr 2019 | Bucks County Courier Times
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced its plans for a highly anticipated health study on PFAS, but the study will not assess whether or not the chemicals can cause cancer, a primary concern of impacted communities, including in Bucks and Montgomery counties. The U.S.…
Couple believe son’s death, their health issues result of high PFAS in drinking water
2 Apr 2019 | MLive
After more than a decade of drinking water that recently was determined to have high levels of PFAS and related compounds, Steven and Patsy Lamb believe the ‘forever chemicals’ were behind the untimely death of their son and their own health problems…
New Jersey is making companies pay for toxic contamination — Shining a new light on a little-known offender
2 Apr 2019 | The Intercept
New Jersey laid financial responsibility for dealing with PFAS contamination squarely at the feet of the chemical companies responsible for it. The state’s Department of Environmental Protection issued a directive on Monday ordering five companies to pay the costs of dealing with the toxic chemicals that have been associated with numerous health…
DuPont and Chemours sued by New Jersey over pollution in Pompton Lakes and other sites
2 Apr 2019 | North Jersey Record
New Jersey sued chemical giant DuPont on Wednesday seeking financial damages for widespread pollution that contaminated air, soil and water at four sites across the state and endangered the health of thousands, including residents of a Pompton Lakes neighborhood who have had to endure cancer-causing…
Des Moines Water Works official says more testing needed, after PFAS found at area military base
26 Mar 2019 | Iowa Public Radio
The Des Moines Water Works plans to do more testing for toxic chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS, after high levels were detected at a nearby military base. Groundwater contamination at the Iowa Air National Guard base in Des Moines is nearly 200 times the federal government’s health advisory, according…
Maine dairy farm plagued by chemical contaminants may be ‘tip of the toxic iceberg’
26 Mar 2019 | York County Coast Star
More than two years after learning drinking water and milk tanks on his 100-year-old Stoneridge Farm were contaminated with a class of chemicals linked to cancer and other health concerns, farmer Fred Stone still can’t sell his milk and is losing hundreds of dollars a day, every day.…
Linking pollution and infectious disease
18 Mar 2019 | Chemical & Engineering News
Read the full article by Britt E. Erickson “Thousands of seals died along the coasts of the heavily polluted Baltic Sea in the late 1980s. Scientists traced the deaths to a virus similar to the one that causes distemper in dogs. Last year, the same virus struck hundreds of seals in Maine. In both instances,…
New Mexico sues Air Force over groundwater contamination at bases
15 Mar 2019 | The Hill
New Mexico sued the U.S. Air Force on Tuesday over water contamination, arguing that the federal government has a responsibility to clean up leftover plumes of toxic chemicals, according to an Associated Press report. Regulators say that groundwater at the Cannon and Holloman air bases is contaminated with chemicals known…