Articles Tagged with PFAS

PFAS litigationMost of you reading this are aware that PFAS belong to a family of compounds that are widely used in products, such as fire fighting foam, stain repellant coatings, and nonstick surfaces. Attorney Clay Hodges has written about PFAS in Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) on this blog site. Please check out those previous blog posts if you are looking for more specific information regarding AFFF. There have been recent developments in the litigation surrounding PFAS, which this article will dive into, as well as provide background information about the chemicals themselves.

What are PFAS?

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances are a group of man-made chemicals that have been used in various industrial and consumer products since the 1940s. Known as ‘forever chemicals,’ they take an extended amount of time to break down in the environment, and in the human body. There are thousands of different PFAS: Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) are two of the most widely used PFAS, and are the subject of recent EPA regulation, which will be discussed later in this article.

Firefighter using AFFF fire-fighting foam
Back in June I wrote a blog post about a possible $1.185 billion settlement between several defendants in the Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFF) Products Liability Litigation MDL No. 2873 (AFFF MDL). This is a large amount of money, but given how many people and municipalities may have been harmed, this is almost a drop in the bucket when it comes to how much more money could be at stake here. In fact, just a few weeks later, there was news of another viable settlement in the AFFF MDL.

The 3M Settlement

According to its June 22, 2023 press release, 3M announced a potential settlement with public water suppliers, many of which are plaintiffs in the AFFF MDL. The settlement amount will be at least $10.3 billion. This money would be used to help public water suppliers remove perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from municipal water supplies as well as fund continued water testing.

AFFF fire foam contains chemicals harmful to humansA while back I published a blog post discussing the potential health problems associated with aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF). Specifically, I discussed how it contained several chemicals (PFAS) that could potentially harm humans.

At the time of that blog post, some major litigation concerning AFFF had just begun. But a few years have now passed and we might have a potential settlement involving many of the litigants. Before I get to the settlement, let me provide some background information to better put things in perspective.

How Is AFFF Potentially Harmful?

Firefighter using AFFF foamFirefighters have a host of tools available to them to fight fires. Some of these are simple, like high-pressure water. Others are more state-of-the-art, like forward-looking infrared handheld cameras and aerial drones. One of the special tools in a firefighter’s arsenal is aqueous film-forming foam, or AFFF. This “fire foam” has served as a highly effective fire suppressant for about half a century. Unfortunately, exposure to this substance has been linked to serious health problems, including cancer.

Let’s take a closer look at AFFF, its relationship to cancer and what it means for those who might have been exposed.

What Is AFFF?

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