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#chemours — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #chemours, aggregated by home.social.

  1. "Weltweit gibt es keinen Menschen, bei dem nicht PFAS im Blut sind."

    "PFAS zirkulieren heute im Blut aller Lebewesen auf der Erde."

    Die Folgen? Noch nicht umfassend erforscht.

    Die Lösung? *bwahahaha* - es gibt keine!

    EDIT:
    Ok, es gibt die Möglichkeit, in Klärwerken PFAS zu filtern, mit Aktivkohle-Filtern, aber ... teuer und wenig effektiv.

    "Einmal in die Umwelt freigesetzt, bleiben sie über Jahrhunderte beständig" - weswegen sie auch "Ewigkeitschemikalien" genannt werden.

    Seit 70 Jahren schon, werden sie produziert und gelangen in die Natur.
    Der Mensch ist Teil der Natur!

    Es ist zum Heulen!

    "Gift in unserem Alltag - Die Plage der PFAS"

    https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/121437-000-A/gift-in-unserem-alltag-die-plage-der-pfas/

    #PFAS #PFOA #TFA #Ewigkeitschemikalien #Gift #Gesundheit #Mensch #Natur #Krebs #3M #DuPont #Chemours #Solvay
  2. "Weltweit gibt es keinen Menschen, bei dem nicht PFAS im Blut sind."

    "PFAS zirkulieren heute im Blut aller Lebewesen auf der Erde."

    Die Folgen? Noch nicht umfassend erforscht.

    Die Lösung? *bwahahaha* - es gibt keine!

    EDIT:
    Ok, es gibt die Möglichkeit, in Klärwerken PFAS zu filtern, mit Aktivkohle-Filtern, aber ... teuer und wenig effektiv.

    "Einmal in die Umwelt freigesetzt, bleiben sie über Jahrhunderte beständig" - weswegen sie auch "Ewigkeitschemikalien" genannt werden.

    Seit 70 Jahren schon, werden sie produziert und gelangen in die Natur.
    Der Mensch ist Teil der Natur!

    Es ist zum Heulen!

    "Gift in unserem Alltag - Die Plage der PFAS"

    https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/121437-000-A/gift-in-unserem-alltag-die-plage-der-pfas/

    #PFAS #PFOA #TFA #Ewigkeitschemikalien #Gift #Gesundheit #Mensch #Natur #Krebs #3M #DuPont #Chemours #Solvay
  3. "Weltweit gibt es keinen Menschen, bei dem nicht PFAS im Blut sind."

    "PFAS zirkulieren heute im Blut aller Lebewesen auf der Erde."

    Die Folgen? Noch nicht umfassend erforscht.

    Die Lösung? *bwahahaha* - es gibt keine!

    EDIT:
    Ok, es gibt die Möglichkeit, in Klärwerken PFAS zu filtern, mit Aktivkohle-Filtern, aber ... teuer und wenig effektiv.

    "Einmal in die Umwelt freigesetzt, bleiben sie über Jahrhunderte beständig" - weswegen sie auch "Ewigkeitschemikalien" genannt werden.

    Seit 70 Jahren schon, werden sie produziert und gelangen in die Natur.
    Der Mensch ist Teil der Natur!

    Es ist zum Heulen!

    "Gift in unserem Alltag - Die Plage der PFAS"

    https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/121437-000-A/gift-in-unserem-alltag-die-plage-der-pfas/

    #PFAS #PFOA #TFA #Ewigkeitschemikalien #Gift #Gesundheit #Mensch #Natur #Krebs #3M #DuPont #Chemours #Solvay
  4. "Weltweit gibt es keinen Menschen, bei dem nicht PFAS im Blut sind."

    "PFAS zirkulieren heute im Blut aller Lebewesen auf der Erde."

    Die Folgen? Noch nicht umfassend erforscht.

    Die Lösung? *bwahahaha* - es gibt keine!

    EDIT:
    Ok, es gibt die Möglichkeit, in Klärwerken PFAS zu filtern, mit Aktivkohle-Filtern, aber ... teuer und wenig effektiv.

    "Einmal in die Umwelt freigesetzt, bleiben sie über Jahrhunderte beständig" - weswegen sie auch "Ewigkeitschemikalien" genannt werden.

    Seit 70 Jahren schon, werden sie produziert und gelangen in die Natur.
    Der Mensch ist Teil der Natur!

    Es ist zum Heulen!

    "Gift in unserem Alltag - Die Plage der PFAS"

    https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/121437-000-A/gift-in-unserem-alltag-die-plage-der-pfas/

    #PFAS #PFOA #TFA #Ewigkeitschemikalien #Gift #Gesundheit #Mensch #Natur #Krebs #3M #DuPont #Chemours #Solvay
  5. Chemours chemical plant in Washington West Virginia is still discharging deadly PFOS, PFOA and GenX forever chemicals into the Ohio River.
    Live downstream in Louisville, Cincinnati? Your water is poison.

    #Chemours #PFOS #Teflon

    eenews.net/articles/infamous-p

  6. En bedankt hè, Chemours, Dupont, voor het vergiftigen van je eigen klanten.

    "'Alarmerend' hoge concentraties PFAS in Europese wijnen aangetroffen"

    --> "Na groenten, fruit, melkproducten, vlees, vis en eieren, lijken ook Europese wijnen PFAS te bevatten. Onderzoekers van het Pesticide Action Network Europe troffen in recente wijnen "alarmerend" hoge concentraties [..] aan"

    (Via #nosnieuws ) #pfas #volksvergiftiging #chemours #dupont #wijn
    nos.nl/nieuwsuur/artikel/25654

  7. En bedankt hè, Chemours, Dupont, voor het vergiftigen van je eigen klanten.

    "'Alarmerend' hoge concentraties PFAS in Europese wijnen aangetroffen"

    --> "Na groenten, fruit, melkproducten, vlees, vis en eieren, lijken ook Europese wijnen PFAS te bevatten. Onderzoekers van het Pesticide Action Network Europe troffen in recente wijnen "alarmerend" hoge concentraties [..] aan"

    (Via #nosnieuws ) #pfas #volksvergiftiging #chemours #dupont #wijn
    nos.nl/nieuwsuur/artikel/25654

  8. En bedankt hè, Chemours, Dupont, voor het vergiftigen van je eigen klanten.

    "'Alarmerend' hoge concentraties PFAS in Europese wijnen aangetroffen"

    --> "Na groenten, fruit, melkproducten, vlees, vis en eieren, lijken ook Europese wijnen PFAS te bevatten. Onderzoekers van het Pesticide Action Network Europe troffen in recente wijnen "alarmerend" hoge concentraties [..] aan"

    (Via #nosnieuws ) #pfas #volksvergiftiging #chemours #dupont #wijn
    nos.nl/nieuwsuur/artikel/25654

  9. En bedankt hè, Chemours, Dupont, voor het vergiftigen van je eigen klanten.

    "'Alarmerend' hoge concentraties PFAS in Europese wijnen aangetroffen"

    --> "Na groenten, fruit, melkproducten, vlees, vis en eieren, lijken ook Europese wijnen PFAS te bevatten. Onderzoekers van het Pesticide Action Network Europe troffen in recente wijnen "alarmerend" hoge concentraties [..] aan"

    (Via #nosnieuws ) #pfas #volksvergiftiging #chemours #dupont #wijn
    nos.nl/nieuwsuur/artikel/25654

  10. En bedankt hè, Chemours, Dupont, voor het vergiftigen van je eigen klanten.

    "'Alarmerend' hoge concentraties PFAS in Europese wijnen aangetroffen"

    --> "Na groenten, fruit, melkproducten, vlees, vis en eieren, lijken ook Europese wijnen PFAS te bevatten. Onderzoekers van het Pesticide Action Network Europe troffen in recente wijnen "alarmerend" hoge concentraties [..] aan"

    (Via #nosnieuws ) #pfas #volksvergiftiging #chemours #dupont #wijn
    nos.nl/nieuwsuur/artikel/25654

  11. PFAS dans l’eau : les sites les plus polluants de France identifiés

    146 sites industriels sont à l’origine de la quasi-totalité des rejets de PFAS dans l’eau, selon une étude publiée par Générations futures. Au total, l’association a cartographié les 225 usines les plus émettrices.

    Ce rapport inédit s’appuie sur l’exploitation des données collectées par les Directions régionales de l’environnement (Dreal) auprès de quelque 2 700 Installations classées pour la protection de l’environnement (ICPE).

    Parmi les sites pollueurs, l’association a également identifié 13 « super-émetteurs » — notamment Arkema près de Lyon, Solvay dans le Gard et Chemours dans l’Oise.

    Le résumé : https://reporterre.net/PFAS-dans-l-eau-les-sites-les-plus-polluants-de-France-identifies
    Le rapport : https://www.generations-futures.fr/actualites/rejets-pfas-icpe/icpe-pfas-avril-2025/
    La liste : https://www.generations-futures.fr/actualites/rejets-pfas-icpe/liste-des-225-icpe-identifiees-par-gf/

    D’après @Reporterre

    #pollution #PolluantsEternel #DechetsIndustriels #eau #Arkema #Solvay #Chemours

  12. Notorious US #ChemicalPlant polluting water with toxic #PFAS, lawsuit claims

    Complaint says #Chemours factory dramatized in Hollywood movie #DarkWaters continues to pollute #WestVirginia river

    by Tom Perkins, January 27, 2025

    "The chemical giant Chemours’s notorious West Virginia PFAS plant is regularly polluting nearby water with high levels of toxic 'forever chemicals', a new lawsuit alleges.

    "It represents the latest salvo in a decades-old fight over pollution from the plant, called Washington Works, which continues despite public health advocates winning significant legal battles.

    The new federal complaint claims #WashingtonWorks has been spitting out levels of PFAS waste significantly higher than what a discharge permit has allowed since 2023, which is contaminating the #OhioRiver in #ParkersburgWestVirginia, a town of about 50,000 people in #Appalachia.

    "The factory was the focal point of a Hollywood movie, Dark Waters. It dramatized the story of how the pollution widely sickened Parkersburg residents, and the David v Goliath legal saga in which a group of residents and attorneys took on Chemours, then part of DuPont.
    The findings ‘highlight the importance of careful scrutiny of novel chemicals’, said Irene Jacz, a study co-author and Iowa State economist.

    "An epidemiological study stemming from the case blew the lid off of the health risks of PFAS, and ultimately cost #DuPont about $700m.

    "Though the landmark case still reverberates across the regulatory landscape, the suit started almost 25 years ago, concluded in 2016, and Chemours’s pollution continues. The new lawsuit is part of other legal actions related to the facility that have filled the gap left by weak regulatory action, local advocates say. The never-ending struggle 'wears you out', added Joe Kiger, a Parkersburg resident who was one of the original litigants in 2001.

    "'We have put up with this for 24 years, and [Chemours] is still polluting, they’re still putting this stuff in the water,' Kiger said.

    "The new lawsuit, filed by the #WestVirginiaRiversCoalition, alleges 'numerous violations' since the level of PFAS the company is permitted to discharge per a consent order was lowered in early 2023. Among the contaminants are #PFOA, a PFAS chemical to which virtually no level of exposure in drinking water is safe, the #EnvironmentalProtectionAgency (#EPA) has found. It also includes #GenX, a compound for which the EPA has similarly found very low exposure levels can cause health problems.

    "The EPA ordered Chemours to take corrective action, but the company has done nothing in response, and the agency has not taken further action, the suit states. The complaint does not mention drinking water, which is largely filtered. But the suit alleges the ongoing pollution prevents residents from using the river for recreation.

    "In a statement, Chemours said the 'concerns are being addressed' through the consent order. It also noted it was renewing discharge permits with the state, and was working with regulators 'to navigate both the consent order and the permit renewal process'.

    "'Chemours recognizes the Coalition as a community stakeholder and invites the Coalition to engage directly with the Washington Works team,' a spokesperson wrote.

    "The EPA and West Virginia Rivers Coalition declined to comment because litigation is ongoing.

    "Kiger and others who have taken on Chemours and DuPont railed against the company, accusing it of 'greed' and putting profits above residents’ health. Some in Parkersburg refer to the waste as the 'Devil's Piss'.

    "'They do what they can to make money,' said Harry Deitzler, a West Virginia attorney who helped lead past lawsuits.

    "'The officers in the corporation sometimes don’t care about what’s right and wrong – they need to make money for shareholders and the lawsuits make everyone play by the same rules.'

    "Still, most residents are not aware of the ongoing pollution, those who spoke with the Guardian say. Chemours is a large employer that still wields power locally, and spends heavily on charitable giving. Many remain supportive of the company, regardless of the pollution, Kiger said.

    "'That’s the kind of stuff you’re up against,' he added. 'People put a blind trust in them. It could be snowing out and Chemours would tell everyone it’s 80F [27C] and sunny, and everyone will grab their tan lotion.'

    "The saga began in the late 1990s when the plant’s pollution was suspected of sickening nearby livestock, and an investigation by attorneys revealed the alarming levels at which PFAS was being discharged into the water and environment.

    "A class action lawsuit yielded about $70m in damages for area residents in 2004, but the litigation did not prove DuPont’s PFAS pollution was behind a rash of #cancer, #KidneyDisease, stubbornly high cholesterol and other widespread health problems in the region.

    "Instead of dividing the settlement up among tens of thousands of residents, which would have only provided each with several hundred dollars, the money went toward developing an epidemiological study with independent scientists to verify that widespread local health issues were caused by DuPont’s pollution.

    "The move was a gamble that ultimately paid off – the study of about 70,000 people showed by 2012 that PFOA probably caused some forms of cancer, #ThyroidDisease, persistently #HighCholesterol, pregnancy-induced #hypertension and #autoimmune problems.

    "Subsequent studies have shown links between the chemical and a host of other serious health problems – #BirthDefects, #neurotoxicity, kidney disease and #LiverDisease – that residents in the area suffered.

    "DuPont and Chemours in 2017 settled for $671m in costs for about 3,500 injury suits, and have paid more to install water-filtration systems throughout the region. Separately, Chemours in 2023 settled with the state of #Ohio for $110m for pollution largely from Washington Works.

    "The EPA and state regulatory agencies have at times been staffed with former DuPont managers or industry allies, and litigation has been the only way to get any meaningful movement, said Rob Bilott, the attorney who led the original class-action suit.

    '"It’s infuriating,' Bilott said. 'It took decades of making DuPont documents and internal data public, and getting the story out through movies, news articles, books and public engagement, and that’s what finally pushed the needle here. This is the impact of citizens forcing it through decades of litigation.'

    "The latest lawsuit is a citizen’s suit under the #CleanWaterAct. Such suits give citizens the power to ask a judge to enforce federal law when a polluter is violating it and regulators fail to act.

    "The lawsuit asks a judge to order the company to pay $66,000 for each day it has been in violation, which is stipulated in the permit. That would total around $50m, but the main goal is to stop the pollution.

    "The EPA has acknowledged Chemours is violating the law, but has 'taken no further enforcement action regarding Chemours’s violations as of the date of this complaint', the suit reads."

    Source:
    theguardian.com/environment/20

    Archived:
    archive.ph/p3wA6
    #Environment #PFASPollution #PollutionRunoff #WaterIsLife #DevilsPiss

  13. Notorious US #ChemicalPlant polluting water with toxic #PFAS, lawsuit claims

    Complaint says #Chemours factory dramatized in Hollywood movie #DarkWaters continues to pollute #WestVirginia river

    by Tom Perkins, January 27, 2025

    "The chemical giant Chemours’s notorious West Virginia PFAS plant is regularly polluting nearby water with high levels of toxic 'forever chemicals', a new lawsuit alleges.

    "It represents the latest salvo in a decades-old fight over pollution from the plant, called Washington Works, which continues despite public health advocates winning significant legal battles.

    The new federal complaint claims #WashingtonWorks has been spitting out levels of PFAS waste significantly higher than what a discharge permit has allowed since 2023, which is contaminating the #OhioRiver in #ParkersburgWestVirginia, a town of about 50,000 people in #Appalachia.

    "The factory was the focal point of a Hollywood movie, Dark Waters. It dramatized the story of how the pollution widely sickened Parkersburg residents, and the David v Goliath legal saga in which a group of residents and attorneys took on Chemours, then part of DuPont.
    The findings ‘highlight the importance of careful scrutiny of novel chemicals’, said Irene Jacz, a study co-author and Iowa State economist.

    "An epidemiological study stemming from the case blew the lid off of the health risks of PFAS, and ultimately cost #DuPont about $700m.

    "Though the landmark case still reverberates across the regulatory landscape, the suit started almost 25 years ago, concluded in 2016, and Chemours’s pollution continues. The new lawsuit is part of other legal actions related to the facility that have filled the gap left by weak regulatory action, local advocates say. The never-ending struggle 'wears you out', added Joe Kiger, a Parkersburg resident who was one of the original litigants in 2001.

    "'We have put up with this for 24 years, and [Chemours] is still polluting, they’re still putting this stuff in the water,' Kiger said.

    "The new lawsuit, filed by the #WestVirginiaRiversCoalition, alleges 'numerous violations' since the level of PFAS the company is permitted to discharge per a consent order was lowered in early 2023. Among the contaminants are #PFOA, a PFAS chemical to which virtually no level of exposure in drinking water is safe, the #EnvironmentalProtectionAgency (#EPA) has found. It also includes #GenX, a compound for which the EPA has similarly found very low exposure levels can cause health problems.

    "The EPA ordered Chemours to take corrective action, but the company has done nothing in response, and the agency has not taken further action, the suit states. The complaint does not mention drinking water, which is largely filtered. But the suit alleges the ongoing pollution prevents residents from using the river for recreation.

    "In a statement, Chemours said the 'concerns are being addressed' through the consent order. It also noted it was renewing discharge permits with the state, and was working with regulators 'to navigate both the consent order and the permit renewal process'.

    "'Chemours recognizes the Coalition as a community stakeholder and invites the Coalition to engage directly with the Washington Works team,' a spokesperson wrote.

    "The EPA and West Virginia Rivers Coalition declined to comment because litigation is ongoing.

    "Kiger and others who have taken on Chemours and DuPont railed against the company, accusing it of 'greed' and putting profits above residents’ health. Some in Parkersburg refer to the waste as the 'Devil's Piss'.

    "'They do what they can to make money,' said Harry Deitzler, a West Virginia attorney who helped lead past lawsuits.

    "'The officers in the corporation sometimes don’t care about what’s right and wrong – they need to make money for shareholders and the lawsuits make everyone play by the same rules.'

    "Still, most residents are not aware of the ongoing pollution, those who spoke with the Guardian say. Chemours is a large employer that still wields power locally, and spends heavily on charitable giving. Many remain supportive of the company, regardless of the pollution, Kiger said.

    "'That’s the kind of stuff you’re up against,' he added. 'People put a blind trust in them. It could be snowing out and Chemours would tell everyone it’s 80F [27C] and sunny, and everyone will grab their tan lotion.'

    "The saga began in the late 1990s when the plant’s pollution was suspected of sickening nearby livestock, and an investigation by attorneys revealed the alarming levels at which PFAS was being discharged into the water and environment.

    "A class action lawsuit yielded about $70m in damages for area residents in 2004, but the litigation did not prove DuPont’s PFAS pollution was behind a rash of #cancer, #KidneyDisease, stubbornly high cholesterol and other widespread health problems in the region.

    "Instead of dividing the settlement up among tens of thousands of residents, which would have only provided each with several hundred dollars, the money went toward developing an epidemiological study with independent scientists to verify that widespread local health issues were caused by DuPont’s pollution.

    "The move was a gamble that ultimately paid off – the study of about 70,000 people showed by 2012 that PFOA probably caused some forms of cancer, #ThyroidDisease, persistently #HighCholesterol, pregnancy-induced #hypertension and #autoimmune problems.

    "Subsequent studies have shown links between the chemical and a host of other serious health problems – #BirthDefects, #neurotoxicity, kidney disease and #LiverDisease – that residents in the area suffered.

    "DuPont and Chemours in 2017 settled for $671m in costs for about 3,500 injury suits, and have paid more to install water-filtration systems throughout the region. Separately, Chemours in 2023 settled with the state of #Ohio for $110m for pollution largely from Washington Works.

    "The EPA and state regulatory agencies have at times been staffed with former DuPont managers or industry allies, and litigation has been the only way to get any meaningful movement, said Rob Bilott, the attorney who led the original class-action suit.

    '"It’s infuriating,' Bilott said. 'It took decades of making DuPont documents and internal data public, and getting the story out through movies, news articles, books and public engagement, and that’s what finally pushed the needle here. This is the impact of citizens forcing it through decades of litigation.'

    "The latest lawsuit is a citizen’s suit under the #CleanWaterAct. Such suits give citizens the power to ask a judge to enforce federal law when a polluter is violating it and regulators fail to act.

    "The lawsuit asks a judge to order the company to pay $66,000 for each day it has been in violation, which is stipulated in the permit. That would total around $50m, but the main goal is to stop the pollution.

    "The EPA has acknowledged Chemours is violating the law, but has 'taken no further enforcement action regarding Chemours’s violations as of the date of this complaint', the suit reads."

    Source:
    theguardian.com/environment/20

    Archived:
    archive.ph/p3wA6
    #Environment #PFASPollution #PollutionRunoff #WaterIsLife #DevilsPiss

  14. Notorious US #ChemicalPlant polluting water with toxic #PFAS, lawsuit claims

    Complaint says #Chemours factory dramatized in Hollywood movie #DarkWaters continues to pollute #WestVirginia river

    by Tom Perkins, January 27, 2025

    "The chemical giant Chemours’s notorious West Virginia PFAS plant is regularly polluting nearby water with high levels of toxic 'forever chemicals', a new lawsuit alleges.

    "It represents the latest salvo in a decades-old fight over pollution from the plant, called Washington Works, which continues despite public health advocates winning significant legal battles.

    The new federal complaint claims #WashingtonWorks has been spitting out levels of PFAS waste significantly higher than what a discharge permit has allowed since 2023, which is contaminating the #OhioRiver in #ParkersburgWestVirginia, a town of about 50,000 people in #Appalachia.

    "The factory was the focal point of a Hollywood movie, Dark Waters. It dramatized the story of how the pollution widely sickened Parkersburg residents, and the David v Goliath legal saga in which a group of residents and attorneys took on Chemours, then part of DuPont.
    The findings ‘highlight the importance of careful scrutiny of novel chemicals’, said Irene Jacz, a study co-author and Iowa State economist.

    "An epidemiological study stemming from the case blew the lid off of the health risks of PFAS, and ultimately cost #DuPont about $700m.

    "Though the landmark case still reverberates across the regulatory landscape, the suit started almost 25 years ago, concluded in 2016, and Chemours’s pollution continues. The new lawsuit is part of other legal actions related to the facility that have filled the gap left by weak regulatory action, local advocates say. The never-ending struggle 'wears you out', added Joe Kiger, a Parkersburg resident who was one of the original litigants in 2001.

    "'We have put up with this for 24 years, and [Chemours] is still polluting, they’re still putting this stuff in the water,' Kiger said.

    "The new lawsuit, filed by the #WestVirginiaRiversCoalition, alleges 'numerous violations' since the level of PFAS the company is permitted to discharge per a consent order was lowered in early 2023. Among the contaminants are #PFOA, a PFAS chemical to which virtually no level of exposure in drinking water is safe, the #EnvironmentalProtectionAgency (#EPA) has found. It also includes #GenX, a compound for which the EPA has similarly found very low exposure levels can cause health problems.

    "The EPA ordered Chemours to take corrective action, but the company has done nothing in response, and the agency has not taken further action, the suit states. The complaint does not mention drinking water, which is largely filtered. But the suit alleges the ongoing pollution prevents residents from using the river for recreation.

    "In a statement, Chemours said the 'concerns are being addressed' through the consent order. It also noted it was renewing discharge permits with the state, and was working with regulators 'to navigate both the consent order and the permit renewal process'.

    "'Chemours recognizes the Coalition as a community stakeholder and invites the Coalition to engage directly with the Washington Works team,' a spokesperson wrote.

    "The EPA and West Virginia Rivers Coalition declined to comment because litigation is ongoing.

    "Kiger and others who have taken on Chemours and DuPont railed against the company, accusing it of 'greed' and putting profits above residents’ health. Some in Parkersburg refer to the waste as the 'Devil's Piss'.

    "'They do what they can to make money,' said Harry Deitzler, a West Virginia attorney who helped lead past lawsuits.

    "'The officers in the corporation sometimes don’t care about what’s right and wrong – they need to make money for shareholders and the lawsuits make everyone play by the same rules.'

    "Still, most residents are not aware of the ongoing pollution, those who spoke with the Guardian say. Chemours is a large employer that still wields power locally, and spends heavily on charitable giving. Many remain supportive of the company, regardless of the pollution, Kiger said.

    "'That’s the kind of stuff you’re up against,' he added. 'People put a blind trust in them. It could be snowing out and Chemours would tell everyone it’s 80F [27C] and sunny, and everyone will grab their tan lotion.'

    "The saga began in the late 1990s when the plant’s pollution was suspected of sickening nearby livestock, and an investigation by attorneys revealed the alarming levels at which PFAS was being discharged into the water and environment.

    "A class action lawsuit yielded about $70m in damages for area residents in 2004, but the litigation did not prove DuPont’s PFAS pollution was behind a rash of #cancer, #KidneyDisease, stubbornly high cholesterol and other widespread health problems in the region.

    "Instead of dividing the settlement up among tens of thousands of residents, which would have only provided each with several hundred dollars, the money went toward developing an epidemiological study with independent scientists to verify that widespread local health issues were caused by DuPont’s pollution.

    "The move was a gamble that ultimately paid off – the study of about 70,000 people showed by 2012 that PFOA probably caused some forms of cancer, #ThyroidDisease, persistently #HighCholesterol, pregnancy-induced #hypertension and #autoimmune problems.

    "Subsequent studies have shown links between the chemical and a host of other serious health problems – #BirthDefects, #neurotoxicity, kidney disease and #LiverDisease – that residents in the area suffered.

    "DuPont and Chemours in 2017 settled for $671m in costs for about 3,500 injury suits, and have paid more to install water-filtration systems throughout the region. Separately, Chemours in 2023 settled with the state of #Ohio for $110m for pollution largely from Washington Works.

    "The EPA and state regulatory agencies have at times been staffed with former DuPont managers or industry allies, and litigation has been the only way to get any meaningful movement, said Rob Bilott, the attorney who led the original class-action suit.

    '"It’s infuriating,' Bilott said. 'It took decades of making DuPont documents and internal data public, and getting the story out through movies, news articles, books and public engagement, and that’s what finally pushed the needle here. This is the impact of citizens forcing it through decades of litigation.'

    "The latest lawsuit is a citizen’s suit under the #CleanWaterAct. Such suits give citizens the power to ask a judge to enforce federal law when a polluter is violating it and regulators fail to act.

    "The lawsuit asks a judge to order the company to pay $66,000 for each day it has been in violation, which is stipulated in the permit. That would total around $50m, but the main goal is to stop the pollution.

    "The EPA has acknowledged Chemours is violating the law, but has 'taken no further enforcement action regarding Chemours’s violations as of the date of this complaint', the suit reads."

    Source:
    theguardian.com/environment/20

    Archived:
    archive.ph/p3wA6
    #Environment #PFASPollution #PollutionRunoff #WaterIsLife #DevilsPiss

  15. Notorious US #ChemicalPlant polluting water with toxic #PFAS, lawsuit claims

    Complaint says #Chemours factory dramatized in Hollywood movie #DarkWaters continues to pollute #WestVirginia river

    by Tom Perkins, January 27, 2025

    "The chemical giant Chemours’s notorious West Virginia PFAS plant is regularly polluting nearby water with high levels of toxic 'forever chemicals', a new lawsuit alleges.

    "It represents the latest salvo in a decades-old fight over pollution from the plant, called Washington Works, which continues despite public health advocates winning significant legal battles.

    The new federal complaint claims #WashingtonWorks has been spitting out levels of PFAS waste significantly higher than what a discharge permit has allowed since 2023, which is contaminating the #OhioRiver in #ParkersburgWestVirginia, a town of about 50,000 people in #Appalachia.

    "The factory was the focal point of a Hollywood movie, Dark Waters. It dramatized the story of how the pollution widely sickened Parkersburg residents, and the David v Goliath legal saga in which a group of residents and attorneys took on Chemours, then part of DuPont.
    The findings ‘highlight the importance of careful scrutiny of novel chemicals’, said Irene Jacz, a study co-author and Iowa State economist.

    "An epidemiological study stemming from the case blew the lid off of the health risks of PFAS, and ultimately cost #DuPont about $700m.

    "Though the landmark case still reverberates across the regulatory landscape, the suit started almost 25 years ago, concluded in 2016, and Chemours’s pollution continues. The new lawsuit is part of other legal actions related to the facility that have filled the gap left by weak regulatory action, local advocates say. The never-ending struggle 'wears you out', added Joe Kiger, a Parkersburg resident who was one of the original litigants in 2001.

    "'We have put up with this for 24 years, and [Chemours] is still polluting, they’re still putting this stuff in the water,' Kiger said.

    "The new lawsuit, filed by the #WestVirginiaRiversCoalition, alleges 'numerous violations' since the level of PFAS the company is permitted to discharge per a consent order was lowered in early 2023. Among the contaminants are #PFOA, a PFAS chemical to which virtually no level of exposure in drinking water is safe, the #EnvironmentalProtectionAgency (#EPA) has found. It also includes #GenX, a compound for which the EPA has similarly found very low exposure levels can cause health problems.

    "The EPA ordered Chemours to take corrective action, but the company has done nothing in response, and the agency has not taken further action, the suit states. The complaint does not mention drinking water, which is largely filtered. But the suit alleges the ongoing pollution prevents residents from using the river for recreation.

    "In a statement, Chemours said the 'concerns are being addressed' through the consent order. It also noted it was renewing discharge permits with the state, and was working with regulators 'to navigate both the consent order and the permit renewal process'.

    "'Chemours recognizes the Coalition as a community stakeholder and invites the Coalition to engage directly with the Washington Works team,' a spokesperson wrote.

    "The EPA and West Virginia Rivers Coalition declined to comment because litigation is ongoing.

    "Kiger and others who have taken on Chemours and DuPont railed against the company, accusing it of 'greed' and putting profits above residents’ health. Some in Parkersburg refer to the waste as the 'Devil's Piss'.

    "'They do what they can to make money,' said Harry Deitzler, a West Virginia attorney who helped lead past lawsuits.

    "'The officers in the corporation sometimes don’t care about what’s right and wrong – they need to make money for shareholders and the lawsuits make everyone play by the same rules.'

    "Still, most residents are not aware of the ongoing pollution, those who spoke with the Guardian say. Chemours is a large employer that still wields power locally, and spends heavily on charitable giving. Many remain supportive of the company, regardless of the pollution, Kiger said.

    "'That’s the kind of stuff you’re up against,' he added. 'People put a blind trust in them. It could be snowing out and Chemours would tell everyone it’s 80F [27C] and sunny, and everyone will grab their tan lotion.'

    "The saga began in the late 1990s when the plant’s pollution was suspected of sickening nearby livestock, and an investigation by attorneys revealed the alarming levels at which PFAS was being discharged into the water and environment.

    "A class action lawsuit yielded about $70m in damages for area residents in 2004, but the litigation did not prove DuPont’s PFAS pollution was behind a rash of #cancer, #KidneyDisease, stubbornly high cholesterol and other widespread health problems in the region.

    "Instead of dividing the settlement up among tens of thousands of residents, which would have only provided each with several hundred dollars, the money went toward developing an epidemiological study with independent scientists to verify that widespread local health issues were caused by DuPont’s pollution.

    "The move was a gamble that ultimately paid off – the study of about 70,000 people showed by 2012 that PFOA probably caused some forms of cancer, #ThyroidDisease, persistently #HighCholesterol, pregnancy-induced #hypertension and #autoimmune problems.

    "Subsequent studies have shown links between the chemical and a host of other serious health problems – #BirthDefects, #neurotoxicity, kidney disease and #LiverDisease – that residents in the area suffered.

    "DuPont and Chemours in 2017 settled for $671m in costs for about 3,500 injury suits, and have paid more to install water-filtration systems throughout the region. Separately, Chemours in 2023 settled with the state of #Ohio for $110m for pollution largely from Washington Works.

    "The EPA and state regulatory agencies have at times been staffed with former DuPont managers or industry allies, and litigation has been the only way to get any meaningful movement, said Rob Bilott, the attorney who led the original class-action suit.

    '"It’s infuriating,' Bilott said. 'It took decades of making DuPont documents and internal data public, and getting the story out through movies, news articles, books and public engagement, and that’s what finally pushed the needle here. This is the impact of citizens forcing it through decades of litigation.'

    "The latest lawsuit is a citizen’s suit under the #CleanWaterAct. Such suits give citizens the power to ask a judge to enforce federal law when a polluter is violating it and regulators fail to act.

    "The lawsuit asks a judge to order the company to pay $66,000 for each day it has been in violation, which is stipulated in the permit. That would total around $50m, but the main goal is to stop the pollution.

    "The EPA has acknowledged Chemours is violating the law, but has 'taken no further enforcement action regarding Chemours’s violations as of the date of this complaint', the suit reads."

    Source:
    theguardian.com/environment/20

    Archived:
    archive.ph/p3wA6
    #Environment #PFASPollution #PollutionRunoff #WaterIsLife #DevilsPiss

  16. Notorious US #ChemicalPlant polluting water with toxic #PFAS, lawsuit claims

    Complaint says #Chemours factory dramatized in Hollywood movie #DarkWaters continues to pollute #WestVirginia river

    by Tom Perkins, January 27, 2025

    "The chemical giant Chemours’s notorious West Virginia PFAS plant is regularly polluting nearby water with high levels of toxic 'forever chemicals', a new lawsuit alleges.

    "It represents the latest salvo in a decades-old fight over pollution from the plant, called Washington Works, which continues despite public health advocates winning significant legal battles.

    The new federal complaint claims #WashingtonWorks has been spitting out levels of PFAS waste significantly higher than what a discharge permit has allowed since 2023, which is contaminating the #OhioRiver in #ParkersburgWestVirginia, a town of about 50,000 people in #Appalachia.

    "The factory was the focal point of a Hollywood movie, Dark Waters. It dramatized the story of how the pollution widely sickened Parkersburg residents, and the David v Goliath legal saga in which a group of residents and attorneys took on Chemours, then part of DuPont.
    The findings ‘highlight the importance of careful scrutiny of novel chemicals’, said Irene Jacz, a study co-author and Iowa State economist.

    "An epidemiological study stemming from the case blew the lid off of the health risks of PFAS, and ultimately cost #DuPont about $700m.

    "Though the landmark case still reverberates across the regulatory landscape, the suit started almost 25 years ago, concluded in 2016, and Chemours’s pollution continues. The new lawsuit is part of other legal actions related to the facility that have filled the gap left by weak regulatory action, local advocates say. The never-ending struggle 'wears you out', added Joe Kiger, a Parkersburg resident who was one of the original litigants in 2001.

    "'We have put up with this for 24 years, and [Chemours] is still polluting, they’re still putting this stuff in the water,' Kiger said.

    "The new lawsuit, filed by the #WestVirginiaRiversCoalition, alleges 'numerous violations' since the level of PFAS the company is permitted to discharge per a consent order was lowered in early 2023. Among the contaminants are #PFOA, a PFAS chemical to which virtually no level of exposure in drinking water is safe, the #EnvironmentalProtectionAgency (#EPA) has found. It also includes #GenX, a compound for which the EPA has similarly found very low exposure levels can cause health problems.

    "The EPA ordered Chemours to take corrective action, but the company has done nothing in response, and the agency has not taken further action, the suit states. The complaint does not mention drinking water, which is largely filtered. But the suit alleges the ongoing pollution prevents residents from using the river for recreation.

    "In a statement, Chemours said the 'concerns are being addressed' through the consent order. It also noted it was renewing discharge permits with the state, and was working with regulators 'to navigate both the consent order and the permit renewal process'.

    "'Chemours recognizes the Coalition as a community stakeholder and invites the Coalition to engage directly with the Washington Works team,' a spokesperson wrote.

    "The EPA and West Virginia Rivers Coalition declined to comment because litigation is ongoing.

    "Kiger and others who have taken on Chemours and DuPont railed against the company, accusing it of 'greed' and putting profits above residents’ health. Some in Parkersburg refer to the waste as the 'Devil's Piss'.

    "'They do what they can to make money,' said Harry Deitzler, a West Virginia attorney who helped lead past lawsuits.

    "'The officers in the corporation sometimes don’t care about what’s right and wrong – they need to make money for shareholders and the lawsuits make everyone play by the same rules.'

    "Still, most residents are not aware of the ongoing pollution, those who spoke with the Guardian say. Chemours is a large employer that still wields power locally, and spends heavily on charitable giving. Many remain supportive of the company, regardless of the pollution, Kiger said.

    "'That’s the kind of stuff you’re up against,' he added. 'People put a blind trust in them. It could be snowing out and Chemours would tell everyone it’s 80F [27C] and sunny, and everyone will grab their tan lotion.'

    "The saga began in the late 1990s when the plant’s pollution was suspected of sickening nearby livestock, and an investigation by attorneys revealed the alarming levels at which PFAS was being discharged into the water and environment.

    "A class action lawsuit yielded about $70m in damages for area residents in 2004, but the litigation did not prove DuPont’s PFAS pollution was behind a rash of #cancer, #KidneyDisease, stubbornly high cholesterol and other widespread health problems in the region.

    "Instead of dividing the settlement up among tens of thousands of residents, which would have only provided each with several hundred dollars, the money went toward developing an epidemiological study with independent scientists to verify that widespread local health issues were caused by DuPont’s pollution.

    "The move was a gamble that ultimately paid off – the study of about 70,000 people showed by 2012 that PFOA probably caused some forms of cancer, #ThyroidDisease, persistently #HighCholesterol, pregnancy-induced #hypertension and #autoimmune problems.

    "Subsequent studies have shown links between the chemical and a host of other serious health problems – #BirthDefects, #neurotoxicity, kidney disease and #LiverDisease – that residents in the area suffered.

    "DuPont and Chemours in 2017 settled for $671m in costs for about 3,500 injury suits, and have paid more to install water-filtration systems throughout the region. Separately, Chemours in 2023 settled with the state of #Ohio for $110m for pollution largely from Washington Works.

    "The EPA and state regulatory agencies have at times been staffed with former DuPont managers or industry allies, and litigation has been the only way to get any meaningful movement, said Rob Bilott, the attorney who led the original class-action suit.

    '"It’s infuriating,' Bilott said. 'It took decades of making DuPont documents and internal data public, and getting the story out through movies, news articles, books and public engagement, and that’s what finally pushed the needle here. This is the impact of citizens forcing it through decades of litigation.'

    "The latest lawsuit is a citizen’s suit under the #CleanWaterAct. Such suits give citizens the power to ask a judge to enforce federal law when a polluter is violating it and regulators fail to act.

    "The lawsuit asks a judge to order the company to pay $66,000 for each day it has been in violation, which is stipulated in the permit. That would total around $50m, but the main goal is to stop the pollution.

    "The EPA has acknowledged Chemours is violating the law, but has 'taken no further enforcement action regarding Chemours’s violations as of the date of this complaint', the suit reads."

    Source:
    theguardian.com/environment/20

    Archived:
    archive.ph/p3wA6
    #Environment #PFASPollution #PollutionRunoff #WaterIsLife #DevilsPiss

  17. #Chemical companies’ #PFAS payouts are huge – but the problem is even bigger

    #3M, #DuPont, #Chemours and #Corteva have agreed settlement in the billions for #polluting drinking #water with ‘forever chemicals’

    by Tom Perkins, Aug 3, 2023

    "“When the chemical giant 3M agreed in early June to pay up to $12.5bn to settle a lawsuit over PFAS contamination in water systems across the nation, it was hailed by attorneys as 'the largest drinking water settlement in American history', and viewed as a significant win for the public in the battle against toxic 'forever chemicals'.

    “A second June settlement with the PFAS manufacturers DuPont, Chemours and Corteva tallied a hefty $1.1bn. But while the sums are impressive on their face, they represent just a fraction of the estimated $400bn some estimate will be needed to clean and protect the nation’s drinking water. Orange county, California, alone put the cost of cleaning its system at $1bn.

    “‘While over a billion dollars is real money, it is a virtual drop in the bucket of potential utility costs to monitor, remove and dispose of these contaminants in accordance with anticipated federal regulations,' the American Municipal Water Association trade group said in a statement.

    “Moreover, the two settlements include just over 6,000 water systems nationwide. Utilities that were not part of the suits but have PFAS in their systems can claim some of the settlement money, or they can sue the chemical manufacturers on their own.

    “That means the settlements only represent the first wave of utility lawsuits to hit #ChemicalManufacturers, legal observers say. Because PFAS are so widely used and the scale of their harm is so great, chemical makers will get hit from a range of legal angles, and some suspect the industry’s final bill could exceed the $200bn paid by #BigTobacco in the 1990s.

    “The number will be 'very large', said Kevin McKie, an attorney with the Environmental Litigation Group who represented a water management company in the 3M case. Though the 3M settlement does not cover all the nation’s costs, it is a strong start, he added.

    “‘A good settlement is one where both sides walk away a bit frustrated’ is the old saying,' McKie said. 'Of course I would have liked a bit more money but I do believe they got as much as they could at this time, and there’s a lot more to go.'

    “PFAS are a class of about 15,000 compounds used to make products across dozens of industries resistant to water, stains and heat. They are called 'forever chemicals' because they do not naturally break down, and are linked to #cancer, #KidneyDisease, #liver conditions, #immune disorders, #BirthDefects and other health problems.

    “The chemicals are thought to be contaminating drinking water for over 200 million Americans. Tens of thousands of contaminated #PrivateWells are not included in the settlement. The chemicals are also widely used in thousands of consumer products from #DentalFloss to #cookware to #clothing, and have been found to #contaminate #food, #soil and #air.

    “PFAS constantly cycle and accumulate throughout the environment, and removing them from water is costly. The highly mobile chemicals can slip through most utilities’ filtration systems. Granular activated carbon and reverse osmosis are considered the best options.

    “Leaders in Stuart, Florida, which was the bellwether case in the 3M settlement, chose to take what they could get without further litigation. Bellwethers are cases that represent all the other plaintiffs in a multi-district lawsuit. Stuart estimated damages at up to $120m, and the city acknowledged the settlement would fall short.

    “‘I don’t think we’ll ever get close to that much net to the city, so I think there is no making us whole,' Stuart’s city manager told the New York Times.

    “Among those utilities going at it alone is the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) near Wilmington, North Carolina, which sits on the #CapeFear River about 75 miles downstream from a Chemours PFAS manufacturing plant. It cost the utility about $46m to develop a granular activated carbon system to remove PFAS, and officials estimate an additional $5m in annual operational costs.

    “The utility declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation, but in a late June op-ed, the CFPUA director Kenneth Waldrop explained the motivation for not joining the settlements: 'The information currently available suggests that the proposed settlement, when divided among thousands of other utilities with similar needs, would be insufficient to meet the needs of our community.'

    “The utility has a 'strong case' against Chemours which has the reserves to cover the full cost, Waldrop added. There is generally support for that approach among Wilmington-area residents, said Emily Donovan, a public health advocate who lives in the region.

    “‘This is not our fault, but it has been made our problem, and the community mostly understands what’s going on,' she said.

    “The settlements also drew unlikely opponents in 22 state attorneys general who urged the judge to reject the 3M settlement because it 'does not adequately account for the pernicious damage that 3M has done in so many of our communities', said the California attorney general, Rob Bonta.

    “Beyond water utility settlements, chemical makers face personal injury suits. Most US states will also probably sue over #contamination of #lakes, #rivers and other #NaturalResources #Minnesota alone found eliminating PFAS contamination from its wastewater could run to $28bn.

    “Local water systems that are not made whole will need help from the federal government, which 'basically abandoned public water infrastructure a long time ago', said Oday Salim, director of the Environmental Law and Sustainability Clinic at the University of Michigan.

    “‘Any amount of money that gets shifted to the victims is helpful,' he added.
    “The government could implement an excise tax on PFAS to help cover costs, McKie said, and he noted the chemical manufacturers are taking a significant hit. By some estimates, 3M’s PFAS liabilities may soar to as much as $30bn as claims roll in.
    “‘That’s a pretty big chunk of the total size of their corporation,' McKie said."

    theguardian.com/environment/20

    #EPA #EPAFail #PFOS #WaterIsLife #ToxicWaste #ChemicalIndustries #ForeverChemicals