This is what the Rutland Herald had to say about the state of Vermont’s lawsuits in regards to PFAS:
We are nearing the three-year anniversary of the filing of lawsuits by the Vermont Attorney General’s Office regarding polyfluoroalkyl substances, better known and easier to pronounce in their shorthand as PFAS. PFAS chemicals include PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonic acid).
The suits were filed in June 2019 against manufacturers who used the chemicals dating back to the 1950s. They were used in everything from fabrics for stain resistance to cookware to make it nonstick. The lawsuits listed 3M and DuPont as major chemical makers manufacturing and distributors of the chemicals. Particularly troubling are the accusations that these companies were aware of the hazards of their products long before it became public knowledge. We’ve seen it historically with cigarettes and more recently with the oil industry. There are companies with clear knowledge they’re creating a public health risk, but continue to forge forward putting profit over people.
When the lawsuits were announced in 2019, Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan was quoted in the press release from his office.
“This is about making Vermont whole, by making the responsible parties pay to remove their toxic chemicals from Vermont’s groundwater and other resources,” he said. “These lawsuits are against the companies that invented, made and sold PFAS chemicals and related products. For decades, they knew these chemicals were harmful and gave no notice to the public. We’re taking this action to protect Vermonters and our environment by holding these companies responsible for the environmental harms they caused.”
According to the release, “The State’s allegations against the chemical manufacturers include claims that the defendants are responsible for: damage to Vermont’s natural resources; altering the quality of Vermont’s groundwater; manufacturing and supplying defective products, and failing to warn of their hazards; creating a public nuisance; trespass upon the State’s natural resources and property; and violating the Voidable Transactions Act (DuPont and its related companies only). The State is seeking damages and other remedies to recover for the harm caused to Vermont’s environment by PFAS chemicals.”
On the heels of the lawsuit, the Vermont Senate passed Act 21 the following month, in May 2019.
In the wording of Act 21, it’s stated that “PFAS may enter the environment from numerous industrial or commercial sources, including when emitted during a manufacturing process, from the disposal of goods containing PFAS, or from leachate from landfills.”
It further states, “Many PFAS do not readily break down and persist in the environment for a very long time, especially in water, and, consequently, PFAS can be found in many bodies of water and in the blood of humans and wildlife.”
The fact that they “do not readily break down,” has landed them with the nickname of “forever chemicals.” That “forever” quality is problematic because even though more states are banning the use of PFAS in products, it’s not a universal ban and there are plenty of existing products containing them and those products can still release the chemicals. Other countries also don’t necessarily have the same restrictions, so it’s possible we’ll see continued harm from them even if they were banned at a federal level.
In Vermont, Act 21 provides rules and guidance meant to determine how pervasive PFAS are in the state, but it’s limited. Part of the work occurring since the lawsuits were filed and the act was passed was to get a better idea of how bad the damage from these chemicals actually is and how much of a hazard they pose to the public. Testing of municipal water supplies and leachates from landfills was to occur and investigations of other possible sources to monitor were to happen, too. Dependent on those findings, further testing could occur. However, considering the chemicals have been found in private wells and — according to information from the 2018 Vermont Groundwater Management Plan — more than 60% of Vermonters depend on private wells or springs for their water, it seems the monitoring and testing plan isn’t nearly as aggressive as it needs to be.
We can hope these chemicals aren’t as widespread as some fear. We can also hope that they are not as damaging to public health as some information hints. At the end of the day though, it shouldn’t be on the shoulders of Vermonters to foot the bill for irresponsible corporate profiteering. The tobacco industry was slapped with fines and had to fund public service announcements about the hazards of their products. That industry survived and even thrived. Fossil fuels may someday face their reckoning, but enjoy record profits now. For today, in the case of PFAS, let’s make sure responsible parties act responsibly and are held accountable if they choose not to do the right thing.
As your daily newspaper, we are committed to providing you with important local news coverage for Sullivan County and the surrounding areas.