Tuesday April 16, 2024
Reuters —
A new lawsuit filed by public drinking water systems in California against manufacturers of toxic “forever chemicals” is among the first to cite new Biden administration regulations that set strict limits for the chemicals in drinking water.
The Orange County Water District and more than a dozen other California water utilities filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court on Friday against seven manufacturers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, including Dynax America Corp. and Arkema Inc. The lawsuit accuses the manufacturers of negligence and of creating a nuisance by contaminating water with PFAS, and seeks money to remediate that contamination.
PFAS are a class of chemicals used in thousands of consumer and commercial products including firefighting foams, nonstick pans and stain resistant fabrics. They are often called forever chemicals because they do not easily break down in nature or the human body.
While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards finalized on April 10 only apply to drinking water systems and do not directly regulate manufacturers, the lawsuit could be an example of how drinking water systems could use the regulations in court to their benefit.