Latest news with #PolyfluoroalkylSubstances
06-08-2025
- Business
New Jersey reaches historic $2 billion environmental settlement with DuPont over 'forever chemicals'
Three chemical producers have reached a historic settlement with the state of New Jersey over "forever chemicals" and other pollutants released into the environment. Global chemical manufacturer DuPont and its affiliates, Chemours and Corteva, have agreed to a $2 billion settlement with New Jersey to resolve environmental claims tied to decades of pollution involving Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), commonly known as 'forever chemicals,' as well as other pollutants originating from four industrial sites across the state. NJDEP Commissioner LaTourette and NJ Attorney General Platkin made the announcement on Monday, calling the deal the 'largest environmental settlement ever achieved by a single state'. The proposed settlement, which still requires court approval, obligates the companies to pay $875 million in natural resource and other damages to the state over a 25-year period. It also mandates that DuPont and its affiliates create a $1.2 billion remediation fund for cleanup efforts at the four industrial sites and establish a separate $475 million reserve fund to ensure that, if any of the companies go bankrupt or otherwise fail to meet their obligations, New Jersey taxpayers are not left footing the bill. "Polluters who place profit above public well-being by releasing poisonous PFAS and other contamination in our State can expect to be held responsible to clean up their mess and fully compensate the State and its citizens for the precious natural resources they've damaged or destroyed," Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Shawn LaTourette said. The proposed settlement will resolve the Chambers Works case, a 2019 lawsuit against Delaware-based E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Co. (now known as EIDP, Inc.) and other DuPont-related entities, officials said. The settlement follows a month of trial proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. In a press release, DuPont, Chemours and Corteva said the settlement will not only resolve the 2019 lawsuit, but 'all legacy contamination claims related to the companies' current and former operating sites (Chambers Works, Parlin, Pompton Lakes and Repauno) and claims of statewide PFAS contamination unrelated to those sites." ABC News reached out to the companies for comment, and they declined to comment further. Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) are a group of manufactured chemicals that have been used for decades in a wide range of products, including non-stick cookware. Commonly referred to as 'forever chemicals,' PFAS do not break down easily in the human body or the environment, and are associated with certain cancers, hormonal dysfunction, and other health problems, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). New Jersey's extensive industrial and manufacturing history has put it on the front lines of pollution monitoring and remediation. New Jersey was the first state in the nation to set a maximum contaminant level for certain PFAS. The affected sites include Pompton Lakes Works in Pompton Lakes and Wanaque in Passaic County; the Parlin Site in Sayreville, Middlesex County; the Repauno Site in Greenwich Township in Gloucester County; Chambers Works, in Pennsville and Carney's Point in Salem County. The Sierra Club, one of the largest and most influential grassroots environmental organizations in the country, called the settlement 'an incredible and historical achievement' for the state. 'DuPont has finally been held responsible for what they have done to New Jersey, to our public health, and to our environment', NJ Sierra Club Chapter Director, Anjuli Ramos-Busot, said in a statement. 'DuPont has been knowingly poisoning our lands and waters for decades. As an entity of chemical innovation, DuPont brought prosperity to New Jersey. But, like with all polluters with a ROI bottom line, the true impact brought to New Jersey was hidden from us'. 'This outcome proves that New Jersey will fight to ensure that polluters pay their fair share for the devastating damages they have caused. I remain committed to working alongside the Attorney General and the DEP to ascertain how to swiftly and effectively allocate these funds to best clean up our communities and protect public health in the future,' State Senator Linda Greenstein (D-Middlesex/Mercer) said. The DuPont settlement will be published in the New Jersey Register and is subject to a public comment period before it can be finalized. Following that, the proposed agreement must be approved by the U.S. District Court.
New Indian Express
03-07-2025
- Health
- New Indian Express
No tech to treat ‘forever chemicals' in Chennai waters, NGT told
CHENNAI: Chennai's water bodies may be contaminated with Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), also known as 'forever chemicals', but Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) says there is no mandate nor technology available to treat them, both in drinking water and wastewater. The submission was made by CMWSSB superintending engineer Sivakumar in an affidavit before the Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The tribunal had registered a suo motu case based on media reports highlighting alarming levels of PFAS in waterbodies, including drinking water sources such as Chembarambakkam lake. A recent study by IIT Madras, published in a scientific journal, found PFAS concentrations in the city's water to be nearly 19,400 times higher than the safety levels set by the US Environmental Protection Agency. The chemicals were detected in groundwater near the Perungudi dumpyard, and in the Adyar river, Buckingham Canal, and Chembarambakkam lake. 'Forever chemicals', due to their persistent nature and strong carbon-fluorine bonds, are widely used in products like non-stick cookware, food packaging, and firefighting foams. When present in drinking water, they pose serious health risks, including links to cancer and liver ailments. A metro water official stated that current treatment facilities are not equipped to remove PFAS due to inadequate infrastructure and limited technical expertise. However, CMWSSB maintains that it meets Indian Standard (IS:10500) requirements for treated water. Sivakumar said the Union Environment Ministry and the Central Pollution Control Board must issue specific guidelines for PFAS regulation. Though advanced PFAS treatment methods are being explored in the US, EU, Australia, and China, their adoption in developing countries remains limited due to high costs and lack of expertise.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The Navy is expanding well testing for so-called ‘forever chemicals' in Hampton Roads
PFAS are showing up in water systems across the U.S. () By Steve Walsh/WHRO Residents who live around the Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads Northwest Annex in Chesapeake are being offered free well testing for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency released new standards for PFAS in drinking water as part of the Safe Drinking Water Act. The Department of Defense adopted a new standard of 70 parts per trillion for PFAS in drinking water, which has triggered a new round of testing, said Cecilia Landin, geologist with Mid-Atlantic Naval Facilities Engineering Command. 'We have one property that we identified that is above the September 2024 DOD interim action levels. That property has since been fitted with a whole house point of entry treatment system,' she said. Northwest Annex first tested private wells in 2019 at the base that straddles the North Carolina border in Chesapeake. The base is home to several training areas for the Marines, U.S. Coast Guard and also communications equipment for the FBI and Department of Homeland Security. The annex has sampled 30 private wells in the latest round of testing,70 wells in total since 2019. The DOD has provided bottled water to homes that exceed the standard, but the military prefers more long-term options, such as a whole home filtration system or connecting to a municipal water system, where available, Landin said. Several local bases have tested positive for PFAS over the years. Last year, the Pentagon released a memo saying more than 700 installations around the country received a preliminary inspection for PFAS and 578 were identified for further study. PFAS are? is a group of 1,000 chemicals that have been used in manufacturing since the 1940s, in everything from nonstick cookware to stain-resistant fabric. Dubbed 'forever chemicals' because they don't easily break down in the environment, the compounds have been implicated in numerous health conditions, including cancer. The most common use in the Navy is in firefighting foam, which has been banned for training, but installations can apply for waivers to continue using the foam to fight fires until October 2026. The military still uses the foam at 1,500 facilities and more than 6,800 mobile assets around the world. The Government Accountability Office estimates it will cost the DOD $2.1 billion to transition to a foam that does not contain PFAS. To find out if a property is within the testing area for Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads Northwest Annex, call (833) 692-6639 or visit the website for more information. This story was originally published by the Mercury's media partner WHRO Public Media, the Hampton Roads region's largest media company. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
