The state of New Jersey is suing several companies, including two from Delaware, for manufacturing and selling toxic firefighting foam products for decades— despite being aware of their dangers.
E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company and The Chemours Company are among the eight companies New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and other state officials are charging with environmental and consumer fraud.
The state is seeking natural resource damages for the companies’ role in manufacturing and selling aqueous film-forming foam products containing PFOS and PFOA. These chemicals accumulate in the environment and the bodies of animals and humans. They have been found to increase the risk of cancer and affect human development, fertility and the immune system, according to the CDC.
The state’s complaint alleges the companies knew about these risks, but continued to manufacture, market and sell the products to military and industrial facilities, airports and firefighting departments in New Jersey and elsewhere.
According to state officials, contamination from the chemicals has already been found at several military bases and bodies of water in New Jersey — while an investigation continues.
The chemicals have also been found in Delaware. PFOA and PFOS were found in the public water supply in New Castle in 2014. Related chemicals were found in groundwater at the Dover Air Force Base in 2015 and in public water in Blades, Delaware last year.
