{"id":60723,"date":"2024-05-28T16:30:06","date_gmt":"2024-05-28T16:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/28\/lawyers-to-plastics-makers-prepare-for-astronomical-pfas-lawsuits\/"},"modified":"2024-05-28T16:30:07","modified_gmt":"2024-05-28T16:30:07","slug":"lawyers-to-plastics-makers-prepare-for-astronomical-pfas-lawsuits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/28\/lawyers-to-plastics-makers-prepare-for-astronomical-pfas-lawsuits\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawyers to Plastics Makers: Prepare for \u2018Astronomical\u2019 PFAS Lawsuits"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/23\/multimedia\/00CLI-PFAS-01-ftqc\/00CLI-PFAS-01-ftqc-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Lawyers to Plastics Makers: Prepare for \u2018Astronomical\u2019 PFAS Lawsuits\" title=\"Lawyers to Plastics Makers: Prepare for \u2018Astronomical\u2019 PFAS Lawsuits\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The defense lawyer minced no words as he addressed a room full of plastic-industry executives. Prepare for a wave of lawsuits\u200b with\u200b potentially \u201castronomical\u201d costs\u200b. Speaking at a conference earlier this year, the lawyer, Brian Gross, said the coming litigation could \u201cdwarf anything related to asbestos,\u201d one of the most sprawling corporate-liability battles in United States history.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Gross was referring to PFAS, the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/10\/climate\/six-things-to-know-about-forever-chemicals.html\" title=\"\">\u201cforever chemicals\u201d<\/a> that have emerged as one of the major pollution issues of our time. Used for decades in countless everyday objects \u2014 cosmetics, takeout containers, frying pans \u2014 PFAS have been linked to serious health risks including cancer. Last month the federal government said several types of PFAS must be <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/10\/climate\/epa-pfas-drinking-water.html\" title=\"\">removed from the drinking water of hundreds of millions of Americans<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cDo what you can, while you can, before you get sued,\u201d Mr. Gross said at the February session, according to a recording of the event made by a participant and examined by The New York Times. \u201cReview any marketing materials or other communications that you\u2019ve had with your customers, with your suppliers, see whether there\u2019s anything in those documents that\u2019s problematic to your defense,\u201d he said. \u201cWeed out people and find the right witness to represent your company.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A spokesman for Mr. Gross\u2019s employer, MG+M The Law Firm, which defends companies in high-stakes litigation, didn\u2019t respond to questions about Mr. Gross\u2019s remarks and said he was unavailable to discuss them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A wide swathe of the chemicals, plastics and related industries are gearing up to fight a surge in litigation related to PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a class of nearly 15,000 versatile synthetic chemicals linked to serious health problems.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">PFAS chemicals have been detected almost everywhere scientists have looked: in drinking water, in <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/doi\/10.1021\/acs.est.3c10098\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">rain falling over the Great Lakes<\/a>, even in <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/doi\/10.1021\/acs.est.2c02592\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Antarctic snow<\/a>. They are thought to be <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4483690\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">present in the blood of nearly every American<\/a>. Researchers have linked exposure to PFAS to testicular and kidney cancers, developmental delays in children, decreased fertility, liver damage and thyroid disease. The man-made chemicals are so long-lasting that scientists haven\u2019t been able to reliably identify how long it might take for them to break down.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">PFAS-related lawsuits have already targeted manufacturers in the United States, including DuPont, its spinoff Chemours, and 3M. Last year, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/investors.3m.com\/news-events\/press-releases\/detail\/1836\/3m-settlement-with-public-water-suppliers-to-address-pfas\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">3M agreed to pay<\/a> at least $10 billion to water utilities across the United States that had sought compensation for cleanup costs. Thirty state attorneys general have also sued PFAS manufacturers, accusing the manufacturers of widespread contamination.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But experts say the legal battle is just beginning. Under increasing scrutiny are a wider universe of companies that use PFAS in their products. This month, plaintiffs filed a class-action lawsuit against Bic, accusing the razor company for failing to disclose that some of its razors contained PFAS.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Bic said it doesn\u2019t comment on pending litigation, and said it had a longstanding commitment to safety.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Biden administration has moved to regulate the chemicals, for the first time requiring municipal water systems <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/10\/climate\/epa-pfas-drinking-water.html\" title=\"\">to remove six types of PFAS<\/a>. Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency also designated two of those PFAS chemicals <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/19\/climate\/epa-pfas-superfund-cleanup.html\" title=\"\">as hazardous substances<\/a> under the Superfund law, shifting responsibility for their cleanup at contaminated sites from taxpayers to polluters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Both rules are expected to prompt a new round of litigation from water utilities, local communities and others suing for cleanup costs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cTo say that the floodgates are opening is an understatement,\u201d said Emily M. Lamond, an attorney who focuses on environmental litigation at the law firm Cole Schotz. \u201cTake tobacco, asbestos, MTBE, combine them, and I think we\u2019re still going to see more PFAS-related litigation,\u201d she said, referring to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/wwwn.cdc.gov\/TSP\/ToxFAQs\/ToxFAQsDetails.aspx?faqid=227&amp;toxid=41\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">methyl tert-butyl<\/a> ether, a former harmful gasoline additive that contaminated drinking water. Together, the trio led to claims totaling hundreds of billions of dollars.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">PFAS were an industrial marvel when chemists at Dupont in the 1940s synthesized the material, a remarkably durable compound resistant to water, stains, heat and grease. It quickly became a mainstay in DuPont\u2019s Teflon nonstick pans and 3M\u2019s Scotchgard fabric protector. A powerful fire suppressant, it helped firefighters battle flames. Today, they are used for everyday items as varied as microwave popcorn bags, shampoos, raincoats and firefighting foam.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But the very qualities that have made PFAS so valuable have also prevented them from breaking down naturally in the environment. As PFAS entered the environment from factories, products and landfills, the chemicals have started to accumulate in water, air and soil.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Industry documents released through litigation show that manufacturers found adverse health effects from PFAS exposure <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/01\/10\/magazine\/the-lawyer-who-became-duponts-worst-nightmare.html\" title=\"\">as early as 1961<\/a>. But it wasn\u2019t until the early 2000s that questions increasingly emerged in public about their safety. In 2005, the E.P.A. <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/archive\/epapages\/newsroom_archive\/newsreleases\/fdcb2f665cac66bb852570d7005d6665.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">fined DuPont $10 million<\/a>, at that time the largest administrative fine ever levied by the agency, for failing to disclose PFAS\u2019s adverse effects.\u200b\u200b<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">All that has set the stage for a potential legal storm. Unlike tobacco, used by only a subset of the public, \u201cpretty much every one of us in the United States is walking around with PFAS in our bodies,\u201d said Erik Olson, senior strategic director for environmental health at the Natural Resources Defense Council. \u201cAnd we\u2019re being exposed without our knowledge or consent, often by industries that knew how dangerous the chemicals were, and failed to disclose that,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s a formula for really significant liability.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Sandy Wynn-Stelt of Belmont, Mich., brought one early case. A year after she lost her husband to liver cancer in 2016, she discovered that the Christmas tree farm in front of her home, which had seemed such an idyllic setting, had been a dumping ground for PFAS-laden tannery waste from Wolverine World Wide, the maker of Hush Puppies shoes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Wolverine had been among the first to license 3M\u2019s Scotchgard for its waterproof footwear. Mrs. Wynn-Stelt got her blood tested, and found PFAS levels hundreds of times the norm. In 2020, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">She sued Wolverine and 3M, and reached a settlement in 2021. Separately, nearly 2,000 local residents settled a class-action lawsuit against Wolverine. The region\u2019s water source remains polluted with PFAS.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThose lawyers are exactly right. This is going to be huge, now that people are starting to hold companies accountable,\u201d Mrs. Wynn-Stelt said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Wolverine declined to comment. 3M said it continued to \u201caddress PFAS litigation by defending itself in court or through negotiated resolutions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Much of the course of future litigation hinges on the evidence over PFAS\u2019s health risks. There is broad scientific consensus that certain PFAS chemicals are harmful. \u201cThere\u2019s a weight of evidence,\u201d said Linda Birnbaum, a toxicologist and the former director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. \u201cMultiple studies by different investigators, and in different populations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Max Swetman, another MG+M partner who presented with Mr. Gross at the February industry conference, addressed the research in his remarks to the group. \u201cThere\u2019s a whole lot of new science being created,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not the best for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Still, some of the research could be vulnerable to criticism, he said. Getting the right experts to testify was crucial, he said. \u201cEpidemiologists, if you get the right one, is always going to be your best expert in trial.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Swetman was unavailable to comment on his remarks, according to his law firm.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">One challenge facing medical research lies in the sheer number of different PFAS chemicals that have now entered the environment, each of which can have slightly different health effects, said Steph Tai, associate dean at the University of Wisconsin\u2019s Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and an expert in the use of science in environmental protection and litigation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe other thing, too, is that it takes a long time for health effects to show up,\u201d Dr. Tai said, so the only way that scientists have been able to assess those effects is through long-term studies. Researchers must essentially look for what is referred to as \u201cnatural experiments,\u201d she said, comparing people who are naturally less exposed to PFAS with those who are more exposed. That inevitably leads to some uncertainties.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The industry has scored some major victories. Last November, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit tossed out a lawsuit that would have covered every Ohio citizen in a major case over exposure to PFAS, ruling that a firefighter who brought the lawsuit failed to prove that the PFAS found in his blood specifically came from the companies he sued.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">3M phased out most uses of two of the most widely used PFAS chemicals, PFOS and PFOA, in the early 2000s, and DuPont in 2015 stopped using PFOA. 3M has said it will phase out PFAS chemicals by the end of next year, though that\u2019s contingent on the company finding substitutes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cAs the science and technology of PFAS, societal and regulatory expectations, and our expectations of ourselves have evolved, so has how we manage PFAS,\u201d 3M said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">DuPont referred inquiries to Chemours, the company that was spun off in 2015. Chemours declined to comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A long and difficult cleanup is beginning. President Biden\u2019s 2021 infrastructure law provides $9 billion to help communities address PFAS contamination, and the E.P.A. has said $1 billion of that money would be set aside to help states with initial testing and treatment. Meantime, new kinds of PFAS are still being released into the environment. Scientists are working to learn more about them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/28\/climate\/pfas-forever-chemicals-industry-lawsuits.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The defense lawyer minced no words as he addressed a room full of plastic-industry executives. Prepare for a wave of lawsuits\u200b with\u200b potentially \u201castronomical\u201d costs\u200b. Speaking at a conference earlier this year, the lawyer, Brian Gross, said the coming litigation could \u201cdwarf anything related to asbestos,\u201d one of the most sprawling corporate-liability battles in United [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":60724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/23\/multimedia\/00CLI-PFAS-01-ftqc\/00CLI-PFAS-01-ftqc-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[58793,58794,10853,10521,26974,3764,8026],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60723"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60723"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60725,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60723\/revisions\/60725"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}