The lawsuit aims to hold polluters responsible for cleaning up the contamination and covering water treatment costs.
By María Ramos Pacheco, Dallas Morning News
The city of Dallas is suing 3M, DuPont and other chemical companies, alleging they contaminated some of the area’s drinking water.
The lawsuit alleges 3M and other companies manufactured and sold PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances), often called “forever chemicals.” PFAS are known to be toxic, extremely persistent in the environment and capable of causing significant health risks.
Related: What to know about Dallas water systems and new federal limits on ‘forever chemicals’
PFAS are a group of synthetic chemicals used in various consumer products, such as nonstick metal coatings for cookware, paper food packaging, facial creams and cosmetics. The chemicals were used in Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF), a foam commonly used by firefighters to suppress fires.
The city says the foam was released over the years into its water system and soil. Many residential locations with groundwater contaminated by PFAS are near military bases or airports where AFFF firefighting foam was regularly used.
The city’s attorney’s office and 3M declined to comment.
The lawsuit is part of a multidistrict litigation brought by multiple public water providers and individuals against the companies that manufactured and sold these products. The city sued in January and filed an updated version on Feb. 28 in a District Court in Charleston, South Carolina.
Gale Pearson, a senior partner with the Dallas-based Nachawati Law Group, has been part of the plaintiffs’ executive committee on AFFF litigation. “The cat is out of the bag,” and companies can no longer deny the harmful effects of these chemicals, Pearson said.
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