PARKERSBURG (WV) - OCTOBER 28, 28: The Washington Works DuPont Plant in Parkersburg, WV, October 28,... [+] 2015. (Photo by Maddie McGarvey/ The Washington Post via Getty Images. The Washington Post via Getty Images.Dark Waters' protagonist Rob Bilott sues DuPont. He reveals that a subset PFAs in its chemical is contaminating the drinking water supply for the Ohio Valley. The stress of the lawsuit almost kills him. However, his clients suffered side effects such as thyroid disease, testicular and kidney cancer. Final liability: $671 Million, split between DuPont (and Chemours) that was acquired from DuPont in 2015.This is not the end of the story. PFAs are a broad umbrella group that houses approximately 5,000 chemicals. C-8 was the main focus of the DuPont case. It was used in making products such as Teflon or carpet fibers. These PFAs are known as "forever chemicals" because they don't easily break down and remain in the body. There is a lot of effort to ensure that these chemicals are not in the water supply. Bilott and other lawyers are on the trail to any companies producing them if this fails. Both cases aim to protect the environment and human health.The complex issues of dealing with these forever chemicals are one of the greatest environmental challenges we face today. This is due to the large number of chemicals, their effects on human health and the widespread use and ubiquity of PFAS in the environment. Biden supports legislation that would reduce the exposure to these substances.After a panel of independent scientists found that C-8 caused cancer, Dupont began removing C-8 from its market in 2014. However, questions remained about the safety of the chemical for human health. This raises the question of why Dupont continued to dump it into the Ohio River.According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), PFAs are found in cookingware, pizza boxes, and stain-repellents. The potential for low birth weight, reduced fertility, and weakened immune systems could all be caused by PFAs. According to the Environmental Working Group, forever chemicals have been found in more than 2,800 communities. This includes 2,411 drinking water systems, and 328 military installations. According to the Environmental Working Group, more than 200 million Americans have been exposed to PFAs. It is possible that around 30,000 companies are releasing these chemicals into the atmosphere and water.Scott Faber is the senior vice president of government affairs at EWGs. He says that no one should have worry about their water safety. Congress should signal to the EPA to turn off the tap for PFAS pollution, and to quickly establish a national PFAS drinking-water standard.For the peopleWater hydrant located near the grounds of the former Naval Air Warfare Center Warminster. Bucks... County, Pennsylvania, USA, February 6, 2019. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), will release updates on testing of per- and/or polyfuoroalkyl chemicals or PFAs pollution within public water supplies for 16,000,000 Americans in 33 states including Pennsylvania. January 2019 shutdown caused delays in the federal report. Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (Republican from Bucks County, Eastern Pennsylvania) and Dan Kildee (Democrat from Michigan), cochair a bipartisan taskforce in the House of Representatives that was formed to address the growingPFAS ContaminationCrisis. Foam used at former military bases nearby is linked to contaminated drinking water. This affects tens of thousands in Bucks and Montgomery Counties, Eastern Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bastiaan Skabers/NurPhoto via Getty Images). NurPhoto via Getty ImagesIn July, bipartisan legislation was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives to force the EPA to reduce PFAS levels in drinking waters. The agency would have to declare these chemicals hazardous substances in order to force cleanups at contaminated sites across the country. Currently, these limits are set at 70 parts per trillion by the agency. However, the agency is working to lower that limit to 1 part per trillion or to no more than 5 percent per trillion as per the bottled water industry.Consumer Reports and The Guardian did their own analysis. The Guardian and Consumer Reports did their own analysis, which included an examination of 140,000 public water systems across America for forever chemicals. It states that the average number of violations in Oklahoma, West Virginia and New Mexico is high.Consumer Reports identifies a variety of dangerous pollutants water systems are having trouble filtering out. These include nitrates from agricultural runoff in California and radioactive mining substances in West Virginia.Thus, the potential mass tort class includes the entire US population. Rob Bilott (the protagonist of Dark Waters) is now leading a class action lawsuit. PublicSource.org asked him to discuss his legal strategy at a recent virtual meeting. Someone asked him how he would identify the companies responsible and calculate the damages. This is a great question, considering that about 5,000 PFAs are used in food packaging and firefighting foam.Bilott explained that the case he brought is about raw PFAS chemicals found in blood. It is not about any particular product these chemicals were used in. Bilott continues to state that it is relatively easy to identify the companies responsible for producing these compounds once they are identified. Dana Nessel, the Michigan Attorney General, also filed a suit against 17 defendants, which includes 3M MMM, DuPont, as well as The Chemours Co. CC, Dyneon LLC and Asahi Kasei Plastics North America.Nessel stated that we brought this action today for the benefit of the people of Michigan. It is our responsibility protect the state's residents and its natural resources. This includes preventing and eliminating hazards to the public's health, safety, welfare, and the environment. We also have to share the responsibility for the enormous undertaking with those who created it.Innovation and InequalityOn Sunday, August 1, 2021, the U.S. Capitol was reopened in Washington, D.C., U.S. After a two year suspension, the U.S. debt limit... [+] was re-instated today. However, lawmakers in Washington still have to explain how they will avoid defaulting later in the year. Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg Finance LPTwo Michigan legislators have introduced legislation in the House to address PFAs: Fred Upton (a Republican) and Rep. Debbie Dingell (a Democrat). Let's review the history of the DuPont case to give context.DuPont was sued in 2001 for tainted water. In 2005, the parties reached a settlement. They agreed to have three scientists study C-8. These experts determined that C-8 was more probable than not to cause conditions such as ulcerative colitis and kidney cancer. They also concluded that C-8 could be responsible for thyroid disease, testicular cancer, kidney disease, and thyroid disease.The U.S. District Court for Southern Ohio considered approximately 3,500 cases related to C-8 chemicals. In October 2015, the jury awarded $1.6million in compensatory damages and no punitive penalties to a woman with kidney cancer. A different jury then awarded $5.1 Million in compensatory damages and $500,000 as punitive damages to another man who claimed he had testicular cancer. A third jury awarded $2,000,000 to an Ohio man with testicular cancer in December 2016.DuPont settled for $671million after it saw the writing on Wall. Chemours, its spinoff, is responsible for half of that.The Charleston (WV), Gazette-Mail noted that West Virginians were being harmed due to the dumping C-8 in Ohio River. The editorial then asked why Alex Mooney and Carol Miller (both Republicans in Congress) would vote down legislation to curb PFAs. They both resisted responsible action for months after voting against the certification of the presidential election results and against a bipartisan commission to investigate violence at the U.S. Capitol, January 6th.Mooney is the likely victim of the state's loss of one congressional seat. Mooney will face off against Rep. David McKinley (R-WV), who voted to limit PFAs from drinking water supplies. McKinley is a forward-thinking leader, while Miller and Mooney are political opportunists. This is because the chemicals are most dangerous to rural West Virginia communities.It is clear that chemical companies like DuPont or Chemours produce products that are used worldwide to benefit society. Public policy must balance invention and inequality to minimize the possible harm to the environment or human health. If this fails, the trial lawyers will be more than happy to help clean up any mess.The Authors' Coverage of C-8 and DuPont:Economic Progress and the DuPont CaseDuPont is praised by the Third JuryDuPont Forced to Resign for Hundreds of millionsDuPont isn't Teflon
