U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel has temporarily halted proceedings in a broad national pollution case following 37,446 new claims filed in a recent week by Americans who say they’ve been harmed by “forever chemicals.”
The surge in claims is part of a broad load of national cases consolidated in Charleston in 2019 that involve health issues and environmental damage tied to a group of chemicals that don’t break down easily. These chemicals, which are found in drinking-water systems across the nation, have been linked to a range of health problems, including some cancers.
A first phase of the lawsuits dealt with public water systems contaminated by the chemicals from things like firefighting foam that leached into underground aquifers. Chemical companies, such as 3M and DuPont, agreed to pay more than $13 billion to settle claims.
Now the litigation has moved to thousands of personal-injury claims. A kindney cancer trial was supposed to start next month in Charleston. But the onslaught of new claims led Gergel to slow down the process to vet the voluminous information. Gergel gave deadlines for filing new claims and said the court would resume the cases when appropriate.
Meanwhile, forever chemicals continue to make headlines across the country:
- Fire departments are investing in new gear due to forever chemical risks
- Forever chemicals found in U.S. and international beers
- New research shows that filters can remove forever chemicals from drinking water
Other stuff to do
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