PFAS chemicals News

Massachusetts Joins States Suing Makers, Marketers of ‘Forever Chemicals’

Massachusetts has sued more than a dozen companies involved in the manufacture or marketing of so-called forever chemicals, alleging they knowingly polluted the environment and endangered public health, state Attorney General Maura Healey said Wednesday. The companies have known about …

Maine Attorney General Plans to Sue PFAS Manufacturers

Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey said the state is preparing for a lawsuit against manufacturers of so-called forever chemicals. Frey said at the Democratic State Convention last weekend that steps are being taken to “hold these chemical manufacturers to account.” …

EPA Launches Strategy to Regulate Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’

The Biden administration said it is launching a broad strategy to regulate toxic industrial compounds associated with serious health conditions that are used in products ranging from cookware to carpets and firefighting foams. Michael Regan, the head of the Environmental …

3M Offers $98M to Settle Tennessee River ‘Forever’ Chemicals Claims

Industrial conglomerate 3M Co on Tuesday said it had agreed to pay about $98.4 million to settle claims that it contaminated the Tennessee River with toxic chemicals. 3M agreed to resolve a lawsuit by environmental group Tennessee Riverkeeper and a …

Company Defends Use of Toxic Chemicals to Fight Illinois Plant Fire

A company whose northern Illinois chemical plant was heavily damaged in a fire defended its use of firefighting foam containing toxic chemicals, saying crews had taken steps to contain the material. An industrial team hired by Lubrizol Inc., parent company …

Half of Cosmetics Contain Toxic PFAS Chemicals

More than half the cosmetics sold in the United States and Canada are awash with a toxic industrial compound associated with serious health conditions, including cancer and reduced birth weight, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of …

Praedicat Develops Insurance Tool for COVID-19 Liability

Praedicat, the Los Angeles-based liability emerging risk modeling firm, has developed an insurance tool for the casualty insurance market, which allows insurers to track exposures, establish reserves, and manage aggregations in the face of this generation’s largest emerging risk, the …

Wisconsin Officials Draft Water Quality Standards for PFAS

Wisconsin health officials have finished drafting new groundwater standards for more than 20 substances, including a dozen types of PFAS chemicals. The Department of Natural Resources asked the Department of Health Services in April 2019 to begin researching the health …

Wisconsin DNR Board OKs Firefighting Foam Restrictions, Regulations

Wisconsin environmental regulators have approved an emergency rule that restricts the use of firefighting foam and lays out steps to treat PFAS chemicals. PFAS are human-made chemicals that research suggests can cause health problems in humans. The chemicals have been …

What Is the No. 1 Emerging Litigation Risk? ‘Forever Chemicals,’ Says Praedicat

The top emerging litigation risk identified for the year ahead is PFAS, the so-called “forever chemicals” used in a wide variety of products such as Teflon, Scotchgard, food containers, firefighting foam and ski wax, said the co-founders of Praedicat, the …