Above photo: Annie Ropeik/NHPR.
Floodgates Are Open For Individual Cases.
It’s been a busy June in the US District Court in Charleston, South Carolina!
Military veterans and civilians with a likelihood of occupational exposure to per-and poly fluoroalkyl substances, (PFAS) ought to understand what’s been going on.
On June 2, 2023, DuPont de Nemours, Chemours, and Corteva, three major producers of PFAS, announced that they had created a $1.2 billion fund for water utilities with PFAS contamination. The settlement only covers the agencies that provide drinking water in the U.S. They’ll use the money to replace pipes and install filtration systems to assure that people aren’t drinking water poisoned by these companies.
DuPont spun off its chemical division that manufactures PFAS into Chemours, in 2015. Corteva separated from Dupont in 2019 while DuPont changed its name to DuPont de Nemours, Inc.
Veterans with specific military occupational specialties (MOS’s) are especially vulnerable to PFAS contamination, while the DOD and the VA are largely AWOL. The VA does not recommend blood tests to determine levels of PFAS in any individual! This is the first step in diagnosing health impacts which may include dozens of diseases and cancers. In some ways, PFAS may be worse than Agent Orange, Mercury, Asbestos, and Trichloroethylene combined. Slowly, veterans are learning about this serious threat to their health, even 40 or 50 years after leaving the service. Vets who worked in and around hangars and machine shops are especially vulnerable. Those who drank water and breathed air on base may have high levels of PFAS in their bodies. The chemicals affect the way our bodies fight disease, often causing vets to suffer and die at early ages.
Newborn babies are threatened through placental transfer and breastfeeding. American babies are born with alarming concentrations of these carcinogens in their delicate little bodies. PFAS can cause a host of childhood diseases. Women who spent time on base and are pregnant or may become pregnant must take steps to protect the health of their babies. Learning about PFAS is the first step in safeguarding against disease.
Exposure to these chemicals is from a myriad of sources, not only from drinking water, as public health agencies would have us believe. Millions are sickened. This is a national health crisis of the greatest scale.
I taught 9th grade civics for the first four years of my professional odyssey. I taught the kids about the three branches of the federal government: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. I tried to explain to them the difference between theory and practice. I’m still teaching civics, while the gap between theory and practice has widened.
We have three wide avenues of redress for this deathly human contamination.
The legislative remedy is largely shut down in states across the country because chemical manufacturers wield great influence over the legislative process. Consequently, legislative bodies are slow to regulate the chemical sector. Sure, a handful of states are passing laws and enforcing regulations but the major pathways to human ingestion remain intact while the chemicals are still being manufactured.
PFAS-contaminated agricultural produce, contaminated seafood, and poisoned air are largely off the regulatory monitor while PFAS-contaminated waste continues to be dumped in rivers, landfilled, and incinerated.
The executive remedy is also tainted by chemical cash. The EPA still does not regard PFAS to be a hazardous substance! They dazzle us with studies and speeches but they are spineless. Protecting human health is up to the states and most are doing a terrible job. Governors are restrained in their responses to toxic contamination. Many states allow the inspection of the flow of campaign cash so it’s easy to see the corrupting influence of campaign cash. This is not rocket science. This is rocket contamination.
The judicial remedy is proving to be our greatest hope. DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva agreed the settlement excludes personal injury claims due to alleged exposure to PFAS. If lawyers can convince the court they’ve made you sick, you may be entitled to compensation.
Judicial redress is wielded at the US District Court in Charleston, South Carolina.
On June 22, 2023, the US District Court in Charleston, South Carolina also saw the announcement of a $10.3 billion proposed settlement by 3M, a company responsible for great misery around the world.
The preliminary settlements in Charleston have drawn the first blood. Even with the EPA on the sidelines the cases mark the dawn of PFAS accountability. Asked about the potential settlement, 3M said in a statement: “We don’t comment on rumors and speculation.” Nice.
Although the EPA suggested that 3M should stop using these chemicals in firefighting foam in 2002, it wasn’t until 2015 that 3M announced it would voluntarily phase out PFOS, widely used in the foams and a host of industrial applications. The company had known of the toxicity of these chemicals since the 1970’s and had suppressed incredibly damaging data at least since the early 1990’s.
Like the June 2, 2023 settlement, the proposed 3M settlement is also subject to court approval. Similarly, if approved, this settlement would resolve both current and future drinking water claims by public water suppliers against 3M for PFAS contamination. Critics say the firms got off easy. Way easy.
Quarter ending March 31, 2023
Company Assets
3M $46.9 B
DuPont de Nemours 41.2 B
Corteva 45.5 B
Chemours 7.6 B
Combined Assets $141.2 B
The recent proposed settlements do not affect individuals seeking to file their own personal injury claim. The floodgates are open.
There are many military occupational specialties (MOS’s) and civilian occupations that may entail exposure to PFAS. Here’s a brief list of potentially dangerous occupations:
Firefighting
Engine mechanics
Chemical manufacturing
Sailors on Navy ships
Waste disposal
Metal fabricating
Maintenance work in airport hangars
Although the list of PFAS-associated diseases and cancers is quite lengthy, here is a snapshot of the prominent diseases linked to Perfluoro Octane Sulfonic Acid (PFOS), used extensively and carelessly on military bases until recently.
If you believe you may have been exposed to PFAS, you ought to have your blood tested.
If you want to learn more about these carcinogens and how you may have been exposed, see these trusted sites:
The PFAS Project at Northeastern University – https://pfasproject.com/
The Environmental Working Group – https://www.ewg.org/areas-focus/toxic-chemicals/pfas-chemicals
The Guardian – https://www.theguardian.com/environment/pfas