New York state has taken legal action against chemical giants 3M, DuPont, and several other corporations, alleging they created a public nuisance by knowingly selling toxic substances called “forever chemicals” for use in everyday consumer goods.
Attorney General Letitia James filed the lawsuit on Thursday, accusing the companies of concealing the environmental and health dangers posed by these chemicals — known as PFAS — from consumers for decades, even as the companies quietly began pulling some of them from use.
James is asking the court to order the companies to pay for cleanup efforts and to issue proper warnings to consumers about the dangers. She is also pursuing financial damages, restitution, and additional penalties.
Among the other defendants named in the suit are Chemours, Corteva, and EIDP — all of which were formerly part of DuPont before being spun off as separate companies. The lawsuit was filed in state court in Albany, New York’s capital city.
“For far too long, our communities have unfairly shouldered the costs of protecting people from these toxic forever chemicals and cleaning up their contamination,” James said in a prepared statement. “I look forward to ensuring the companies responsible for PFAS pollution are held accountable.”
None of the companies named in the suit responded to requests for comment.
PFAS — short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — show up in hundreds of everyday products, ranging from cosmetics and non-stick cookware to stain-resistant clothing.
The chemicals have earned the nickname “forever chemicals” because they resist breaking down in the human body or in the natural environment. Exposure to PFAS has been associated with a range of serious health problems, including elevated cholesterol, low birth weight, weakened immune response to vaccines, and kidney and testicular cancer.
