Latest news with #Perdue
The Guardian
11-08-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Waste from agricultural plant poisoned US town's water with Pfas, lawsuits allege
Wastewater from an industrial soya bean farm and processor has poisoned a Maryland town's drinking water with Pfas, several lawsuits allege, raising questions about residents' health and 'forever chemical' pollution from industrial agricultural operations nationwide. Perdue Farms acknowledged that its 300-acre Salisbury, Maryland, operation is polluting local waters, but the chemicals' sources have not been confirmed. It appears the Pfas is in part also coming from some combination of sludge used as fertilizer and pesticides, attorneys for plaintiffs say. The latest suit was filed in late July under the nation's Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which requires toxic waste to be disposed of in a way that doesn't harm human health. Some residents say the contaminated drinking water has sickened them, and the attorneys charge that Perdue, a company with $11bn in revenues, is not acting quickly enough, or taking proper measures to rein in the pollution since it was discovered in 2023. 'The fact that they've had two years to do an investigation and they have not … is exceedingly frustrating,' said Phil Federico, an attorney for the plaintiffs in the RCRA lawsuit. '[Pfas] are a carcinogen for God's sake – they cause cancer.' Pfas are a class of about 15,000 compounds most frequently used to make products water-, stain- and grease-resistant. They have been linked to cancer, birth defects, decreased immunity, high cholesterol, kidney disease and a range of other serious health problems. They are dubbed 'forever chemicals' because they do not naturally break down in the environment. The suit alleges Perdue's operation, 100 miles (161km) south-east of Baltimore, is spitting approximately 180,000 gallons of Pfas-contaminated wastewater daily into local waters, emitting Pfas into the air and contaminating groundwater. Perdue's operation includes cropland, a soya bean processing facility, grain storage and an oilseed refinery, among other facilities. The company in 2023 applied for a permit to increase the level of contaminated wastewater it discharges. The RCRA lawsuit comes after the Maryland department of environment in 2023 discovered the Pfas during routine testing of waterways and initiated regulatory action to force Perdue to rein in its pollution. Early 2024 testing showed levels of some Pfas compounds in local streams and rivers that were as much as 350 times higher than federal limits for drinking water. State regulators also identified a massive Pfas plume in the groundwater likely stemming from the property. A class action lawsuit filed in late 2024 on behalf of 500 nearby residents alleges Perdue learned of its pollution but did not warn area residents about the potential contamination of their water for over a year. The company showed 'reckless indifference to the health and safety of the public', according to the complaint, and it demands the company pay for clean water and health monitoring. In a 28 February motion to dismiss the class action suit, Perdue wrote: ''PFAS' is not a magic word that can be invoked to open automatically the doors to federal litigation.' The lawsuit has not been dismissed. The company did not respond to the Guardian's request for comment, but has previously said it completed testing at about 700 residential properties and had installed about 400 water treatment systems. Federico said the number of homes affected is almost certainly much higher – he estimates as many as 3,000 people in the region are drinking contaminated water. The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know. If you have something to share on this subject you can contact us confidentially using the following methods. Secure Messaging in the Guardian app The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said. If you don't already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu. Select 'Secure Messaging'. SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post See our guide at for alternative methods and the pros and cons of each. Part of the motivation for the new RCRA lawsuit, Federico said, is the very slow pace at which Perdue has moved to identify the sources. Pesticides used on crops often contain Pfas, and sewage sludge used as fertilizer is virtually always contaminated with concerning levels of the chemicals. Unlined lagoons on the property that store wastewater and sludge are likely contaminating the groundwater, Federico said, and Pfas-laden firefighting foam may also have spilled or been used on the property. Meanwhile, there is evidence that the facility's stacks or lagoons may be emitting Pfas air pollution, Federico said. The RCRA suit asks the courts to allow independent wastewater experts onsite to evaluate the potential sources, and to order Perdue to install a wastewater treatment plant that removes Pfas onsite, among other measures. The legal fight comes at a moment when public health advocates are starting to consider how industrial agriculture operations could be major sources of Pfas contamination, said Laura Orlando, a waste management engineer with the Just Zero non-profit. Sewage sludge has long been a concern, but advocates are also calling attention to other sources of Pfas, like pesticides, firefighting foam and other agricultural products. 'Perhaps widening the stage will help strengthen the chorus that Pfas does not belong on the farm, from any source,' Orlando said. Perdue, in a statement to a local outlet, said the lawsuit was 'motivated more by the law firm's financial gain than by meaningful progress for communities affected by Pfas'. Federico dismissed the accusation. 'If you want to keep doing what you're doing in terms of production, then you've got to do it in an environmentally safe way – just spend the money and fix the problem,' Federico said.
Business Times
19-06-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Trump's envoy to China calls out threat of foreign supply chains
[WASHINGTON] The US wants to revamp its trading relationship with China and the world by bringing many critical supply chains back onshore, the American ambassador to Beijing said. 'Unfettered globalisation has increasingly created single-source supply chain vulnerabilities,' David Perdue, who assumed his post last month, told a dinner in Washington on Thursday (Jun 19). 'We have all witnessed the extent to which our businesses have become overly dependent on China for components, inputs, intermediate goods and even entire supply chains,' he said, adding that American leaders had been 'blind to the hollowing out of many US strategic industries'. The assessment echoes criticism by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who said at the recent Group of Seven meeting that the world is experiencing a new 'China Shock'. Her accusation, which drew a sharp retort from Beijing, took aim at what von der Leyen characterised as China's use of its quasi-monopoly over some sectors as both a bargaining chip and a weapon to undermine competition. Perdue took a more measured view, noting in his comments that US President Donald Trump does not blame China for pursuing its own national interest. 'President Trump's vision is to have a trading relationship with China that is based on reciprocity, fairness and respect – one in which the United States puts the American people first, just as China does for its own people,' he said via a video message to the annual dinner of the US-China Business Council. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up In earlier remarks at the same event, China's ambassador to the US, Xie Feng, made a case for America to become a partner and not a rival to his country, calling for the removal of still 'unreasonably high' tariffs imposed by Trump. Xie also argued that the trading relationship between China and the US was a 'two-way street', and neither side was getting ripped off. While the US had a goods trade deficit with China, American companies generated a lot of revenue in China, which in turn ran a shortfall in its services trade with the US. For Perdue, however, the lopsided commerce between the world's two biggest economies cannot go on as before. 'We must remedy the current imbalance in our relationship,' he said. 'If the United States is to pursue its own national interest in global trade while ensuring the US dollar's place as the world's reserve currency, then our economy cannot be so dependent on foreign supply chains that can be severed at any moment.' BLOOMBERG
Miami Herald
16-06-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
In U.S. opioid crisis, states say yes to $7B Purdue Pharma settlement
June 16 (UPI) -- All 50 states, the District of Columbia and four other U.S. territories signed off on a multi-billion dollar settlement proposal with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma in litigation over Purdue's alleged role in fueling America's opioid addiction crisis. In March, Purdue Pharma attorneys filed the proposed $7.4 billion settlement deal in a federal bankruptcy court over Purdue's assumed role in improper marketing practices after private negotiations with state attorneys general and other stakeholders in its bid to finalize the years-long lawsuit. It takes the place of a prior settlement proposal the U.S Supreme Court overturned last year in a 5-4 ruling in June. If finalized by all relevant parties, payouts would be issued over the next several years contingent on the approval by a U.S. bankruptcy court. Purdue first introduced its oxycodone spinoff into the U.S. market in the 1990s, but in 2019 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections after Perdue was later recipient to thousands of lawsuits over OxyContin. State law enforcement officers in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia lead settlement talks in what is now thought to be America's largest lawsuit of its caliber involving the opioid addiction epidemic. Purdue under the ownership of the Sackler family invented, manufactured and marketed its opioid products for decades, which local officials say directly exasperated addiction and droves of overdose-related deaths. The settlement ends Sackler family control of Purdue Pharma, bars their ability to sell opioids in the United States with the Sacklers expected to pay $6.5 billion. Purdue Pharma, to be overseen by a monitor, must shell out nearly $900 million in its first payment, followed by $500 million a year later then again after two years, and $400 million after three years. In a statement, Perdue said Monday's revelation of "unanimous support" for the settlement among states and territories was a "critical milestone towards confirming a Plan of Reorganization that will provide billions of dollars to compensate victims, abate the opioid crisis and deliver opioid use disorder and overdose rescue medicines that will save American lives." It will infuse more than $50 billion by corporate America over the next 15 years in hard-hit small towns where addiction flourished in order to support programming for opioid addiction treatment, prevention and recovery. "We appreciate the extraordinarily hard work of the state attorneys general and our other creditors in getting us to this point, and we look forward to soliciting creditor votes on the Plan after the disclosure statement is approved," Purdue officials added. On Monday, Pennsylvania's attorney general noted how the state's local communities and its families "suffered" in what he described as an "unprecedented addiction crisis" in which Purdue and its Sacklers "reaped the mammoth profits from their products." "This monumental settlement achieves the top priority of getting as much money as quickly as possible to prevention, treatment and recovery programs across the Commonwealth," Sunday, a Republican, wrote in a statement. Meanwhile, local governments will be asked to join states in approving the settlement as part of legal process. A court hearing is schedule for Wednesday on the matter. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
UPI
16-06-2025
- Business
- UPI
In U.S. opioid crisis, states say yes to $7B Purdue Pharma settlement
June 16 (UPI) -- All 50 states, the District of Columbia and four other U.S. territories signed off on a multi-billion dollar settlement proposal with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma in litigation over Purdue's alleged role in fueling America's opioid addiction crisis. In March, Purdue Pharma attorneys filed the proposed $7.4 billion settlement deal in a federal bankruptcy court over Purdue's assumed role in improper marketing practices after private negotiations with state attorneys general and other stakeholders in its bid to finalize the years-long lawsuit. It takes the place of a prior settlement proposal the U.S Supreme Court overturned last year in a 5-4 ruling in June. If finalized by all relevant parties, payouts would be issued over the next several years contingent on the approval by a U.S. bankruptcy court. Purdue first introduced its oxycodone spinoff into the U.S. market in the 1990s, but in 2019 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections after Perdue was later recipient to thousands of lawsuits over OxyContin. State law enforcement officers in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia lead settlement talks in what is now thought to be America's largest lawsuit of its caliber involving the opioid addiction epidemic. Purdue under the ownership of the Sackler family invented, manufactured and marketed its opioid products for decades, which local officials say directly exasperated addiction and droves of overdose-related deaths. The settlement ends Sackler family control of Purdue Pharma, bars their ability to sell opioids in the United States with the Sacklers expected to pay $6.5 billion. Purdue Pharma, to be overseen by a monitor, must shell out nearly $900 million in its first payment, followed by $500 million a year later then again after two years, and $400 million after three years. In a statement, Perdue said Monday's revelation of "unanimous support" for the settlement among states and territories was a "critical milestone towards confirming a Plan of Reorganization that will provide billions of dollars to compensate victims, abate the opioid crisis and deliver opioid use disorder and overdose rescue medicines that will save American lives." It will infuse more than $50 billion by corporate America over the next 15 years in hard-hit small towns where addiction flourished in order to support programming for opioid addiction treatment, prevention and recovery. "We appreciate the extraordinarily hard work of the state attorneys general and our other creditors in getting us to this point, and we look forward to soliciting creditor votes on the Plan after the disclosure statement is approved," Purdue officials added. On Monday, Pennsylvania's attorney general noted how the state's local communities and its families "suffered" in what he described as an "unprecedented addiction crisis" in which Purdue and its Sacklers "reaped the mammoth profits from their products." "This monumental settlement achieves the top priority of getting as much money as quickly as possible to prevention, treatment and recovery programs across the Commonwealth," Sunday, a Republican, wrote in a statement. Meanwhile, local governments will be asked to join states in approving the settlement as part of legal process. A court hearing is schedule for Wednesday on the matter.
Hindustan Times
16-06-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Who is Mitzi Perdue? Heiress of $12 billion Sheraton hotel empire still rides the subway
Mitzi Perdue, the 84-year-old heiress to not one, but two American business empires, Sheraton Hotels and Perdue Farms, is an anomaly in a world where wealthy individuals often show off their fortune through private jets and couture wardrobes. Perdue chooses hand-me-downs over designer threads and prefers fixing her old shoes to buying new ones. She could have spent her life floating above it all in first class. Instead, she stands firmly on the ground, living in a middle-class apartment and taking the subway like any regular commuter. And she insists it's not for show. In a recent interview with Perdue opened up about why she chooses a modest, service-oriented life despite her billionaire legacy. 'I'm unaware of getting praise for wearing really expensive clothes- you get praised like heck for being an Eagle Scout, or working for Habitat for Humanity. You get praise for serving others,' she says. Mitzi's story begins in 1941, as the fifth child of the Henderson family, the founders of the Sheraton hotel chain. She grew up during wartime in hand-me-downs and attended public school for a time before going on to earn a Harvard education. Her father, Ernest Henderson, passed away when she was in her late twenties, leaving her and her siblings with controlling stakes in the $12 billion hospitality business. Later, she married Frank Perdue, the man behind Perdue Farms, America's largest chicken producer which is now worth over $10 billion. The double inheritance could have easily led to a life of luxury. But Mitzi never saw wealth as a reason to stop working or contributing. She's had access to a sizable trust and immense privilege, yet she has always chosen to live simply. Her one-bedroom flat in Salisbury, Maryland, shares walls with nurses, police officers and even a few Perdue employees. The annual rent, she notes, is about the same as what her New York friends pay in a month. Mitzi could have stayed out of the spotlight, letting her wealth work quietly in the stock market. Instead, she leaned into agriculture. After buying land near the University of California, Davis, she managed a rice farm that supported research experiments. Later, she moved into journalism, covering farming practices and mental health. Then came the Ukraine war. In 2022, she started reporting on the conflict and sold her $1.2 million engagement ring to support humanitarian efforts. She now devotes time to developing an AI trauma therapist for Ukrainian victims in need of mental health care. Also read: Seeking unity, G7 meets amid escalating Ukraine, Middle East conflicts For all her travels, economy class remains her seat of choice. Even in New York City, she skips the black cars and rides the subway. 'If you're always going on private jets, what inkling do you have about the real world?' she asks. So why does a woman with unimaginable wealth choose frugality? For Mitzi, it's simple. A life of service brings her joy-far more than luxury ever could. She believes the key to sustaining a legacy lies in stewardship, not splurging. In both the Henderson and Perdue families, she says, the emphasis was always on looking after the wealth for the next generation. Mitzi may have inherited billions, but the way she lives suggests something richer: a deep understanding that meaning comes not from what you have, but from what you give. 1 Who is Mitzi Perdue?Mitzi Perdue is the heiress to both the Sheraton hotel empire and Perdue Farms. She is also a journalist, author, and philanthropist known for her modest lifestyle. 2 How is she connected to Sheraton and Perdue Farms?She inherited the Sheraton legacy through her father, Ernest Henderson, and married Frank Perdue, the man behind Perdue Farms. 3 Why does she live frugally despite her wealth?Perdue believes in service over indulgence. She says her family never encouraged extravagance and taught her to be a steward of wealth rather than a spender.
