A mass tort lawsuit has been filed against the California Department of Public Health for failing to warn residents about a toxic chemical that was found in their drinking water. The plaintiffs argue that they were harmed and should be able to seek damages, through negligence.
The “military base water contamination lawsuit compensation evaluation” is a law firm that specializes in toxic chemical water contamination cases. The firm has many years of experience and has helped thousands of people recover from their injuries.
John Yanchunis reviewed it.
One of life’s most fundamental need is clean water. When our tap water is polluted, everyday activities such as cooking, bathing, and eating might put our health at risk.
Individuals, businesses, and communities may be able to hold firms responsible for polluting drinking water by dumping chemicals into local rivers or releasing chemicals into the air or soil that contaminate our groundwater and ultimately our drinking water by bringing a lawsuit.
What Causes Drinking Water to Be Contaminated?
Drinking water in public places may be polluted in a variety of ways.
- Contamination of groundwater: Chemicals from pesticides and firefighting foams may seep into the earth and contaminate groundwater. When the land floods, toxic groundwater may flow into bigger bodies of water, such as rivers.
- Garbage disposal: Companies pollute water the most visibly when they dump waste into soil, pits, lagoons, or rivers near industrial sites.
- Failure of aboveground and subsurface storage tanks: Chemicals and garbage are often stored in big containers in oil refineries, manufacturing companies, and farms. When these storage tanks leak, the land and groundwater around them get poisoned fast. Damaged storage tanks spilled 145,000 gallons of gasoline and other impurities during Hurricane Harvey.
- Water treatment: To battle naturally existing iron bacteria, the state government of Denmark, South Carolina, injected HaloSan, an EPA-unapproved chemical, to drinking water wells. In a 2007 risk assessment study, the EPA recognized HaloSan as an eye and skin irritant.
- Inadequate water treatment: Not adequately treating water might potentially have negative implications. Heavy metals, which exist naturally in our water, may pose a public health risk if they aren’t cleaned away.
- Lead-based pipes: Drinking water may be contaminated with lead, a heavy metal associated to reduced IQ and stunted development. The Flint water crisis was caused by this.
What are some of the most frequent water contaminants?
Heavy metal toxicity are among the most prevalent pollutants found in drinking water. Lead, mercury, arsenic, and chlorine are among them.
Man-made chemicals used in the manufacture of anything from pesticides and plastic to nonstick cookware coatings and fire-retardant foams may pollute public drinking water.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) claims that a class of compounds known as perfluorinated chemicals and perfluorooctanoic acids, or PFCs and PFOAs, has caused a “drinking water pollution disaster.” Waterproof and stain-resistant fabrics, teflon nonstick cookware, and firefighting foams all include these compounds. PFCs and PFOAs are particularly hazardous to the environment and human health because they persist in the environment for a long period and accumulate in the bodies of people and animals, causing them to break down slowly if at all.
According to research undertaken by the Environmental Working Group and Northeastern University, 15 million Americans have tap water tainted with PFCs or PFOAs. The chemicals may cause cancer, thyroid problems, or reduced immunity, according to the researchers.
Stuart is a town in the state of Florida. 3M and others are being sued.
Our lawyers filed a complaint on behalf of the city of Stuart, Florida, for PFOS and PFOA-contaminated water in October 2018. The complaint was brought in the Southern District Court of Florida by attorney Frank Petosa.
The pollution is blamed on Aqueous Film Forming Foam, which includes PFOAs and PFOSs, according to the complaint. Stuart Fire Rescue utilized this substance to battle fires before the chemicals were taken off the market. The city of Stuart claims that once the foam was utilized, the chemicals contaminated groundwater, which ultimately seeped into and damaged the city’s drinking water wells.
The following fire suppression product manufacturers are named in the lawsuit: 3M, Tyco Fire Products, Buckeye Fire Equipment Company, Chemguard, and National Foam.
Allegations in a Lawsuit
The following are some of the claims made in the lawsuit:
- The breadth of risk associated with storage, use, clean up, and disposal of Aqueous Film Forming Foam, as well as the methods required for safe storage, use, clean up, and disposal of the foam, were not clearly described in the instructions and warning labels.
- The health concerns connected with the use, disposal, and bioaccumulation of Aqueous Film Forming Foam chemicals were known to the defendants, yet they did not notify consumers.
- The Defendants did not tell Stuart Fire Rescue at any point throughout the relevant period that the AFFF’s constituents were persistent, bioaccumulative, and hazardous, or that, once released into the environment, its chemical components would easily mix with groundwater.
- For years, 3M and the other defendants were aware of the hazards of PFOS, yet they never recalled or alerted consumers about the hazardous threat.
The city of Stuart is seeking monetary damages to pay the expenses of investigating the pollution, testing and monitoring the water, obtaining alternative water, and constructing and maintaining an effective filtration system. They also want punitive penalties to dissuade the firms from engaging in “further unlawful behavior.”
Water Contamination Lawsuits Have Resulted in Millions of Dollars in Settlements
3M resolved a lawsuit with Minnesota’s Attorney General in February 2018, alleging that the firm poisoned the state’s drinking water with PFCs. 3M agreed to pay the state $850 million in natural resource damages.
Thousands more similar claims alleging the usage of PFOAs in Teflon products were resolved in 2017 by DuPont and Chemours. PFOAs allegedly escaped from its West Virginia facility into local drinking water, according to lawsuits. They agreed to pay $671 million in total.
Our lawyers want to hear from you if you feel your tap water contains hazardous toxins or chemicals such as lead, cadmium, PFOAs, PFCs, or PFOSs, or solvents such as TCE or PCE. They have represented people harmed by some of the worst environmental catastrophes of our time, including the BP oil spill, in addition to the city of Stuart, Florida.
For a free, no-obligation legal consultation, contact us now.
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The “attorney to sue water company” is a lawsuit that has been filed by the Environmental Protection Agency. The lawsuit alleges that the company knowingly and intentionally put toxic chemicals into the water supply.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the effects of drinking water contaminated with chemicals?
A: The effects of drinking water contaminated with chemicals are generally short-term and often temporary. For example, exposure to the chemical can cause your eyes or skin to burn or itch. If youre exposed for long periods of time, it may damage your health in a number of ways like damaging the kidneys, liver, lungs and other organs.
What are the most common types of chemicals which leads to water contamination?
Can water be contaminated by chemical?
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