PFAS Contamination Results In $17.5M Settlement With Tyco

Introduction

Tyco Fire Products, a major manufacturer of aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), and two other companies agreed to pay $17.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit over per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS contamination in the Peshtigo and Marinette areas in Wisconsin.

According to the class action lawsuit filed in 2018, on behalf of 270 households, the defendants were alleged of polluting private wells and water supplies of the properties since 1960. The suit claimed that the wells were contaminated with PFAS, which came from the Tyco Firefighting Technology Center in Marinette.

PFAS has been linked to several adverse health effects, which include thyroid disease, liver damage, high cholesterol, obesity, and cancer due to its ability to enter and stay in the human body through air, food, and water, as noted in the past studies. Experts have also stated that the toxic chemicals take thousands of years to degrade.

The multi-million dollar settlement includes $15 million for class-wide claims and property damage, and the individuals who have been diagnosed with various types of cancer linked to PFAS exposure will receive $2.5 million. Each resident is estimated to get between $60,000 and $70,000 per household from the settlement, depending upon the levels of contamination.

The defendants have denied any wrongdoing, and the settlement is yet to be approved by a judge, post which an appointed special administrator will divide the funds for distribution. According to a lead attorney representing the plaintiffs, the amount might be disbursed within six to eight months.

In a similar lawsuit where Jersey City property owners will receive $5 million from PPG Industries as per the terms of a proposed agreement over a class action filed against the company claiming that waste from a former chromium plant presented health risks and lowered property values.

The two defendants named in the lawsuit are PPG, a Pittsburgh-based paint and coatings company, who operated a chrome factory on Garfield Avenue from 1954 to 1963, and Honeywell International Inc., a successor to Mutual Chemical Company of America.

The lawsuit was filed in 2010 by three residents who owned property on Jersey City’s south side. The suit alleged that the defendants dumped wastes, including the carcinogenic byproduct hexavalent chromium, and the hazardous materials were used for fill at construction sites across the city.

In 2015, Honeywell settled the lawsuit for $10 million and paid roughly $3,000 to about 2,000 residents across the former West Side Avenue plant, where it dumped waste for more than 50 years until the mid-20th century.

PPG was held liable for a $367 million site cleanup by a federal appeals court in a separate order in May. Under the current settlement deal, current and former owners of roughly 1,500 properties in Bergen-Lafayette would approximately receive between $1,000 and $2,500, depending on the location of their homes.

The settlement agreement does not include any admissibility of wrongdoing from the company. U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas will approve the settlement, which is scheduled to be heard in January.

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