States are continuing the fight to give their citizens good, clean drinking water. Following in Minnesota’s footsteps, Michigan filed a lawsuit against 3M, Dupont and other chemical companies for their contributions to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) contamination.
According to Water Online, Dana Nelsen (Michigan’s Attorney General) filed the lawsuit on January 14th. This lawsuit is Michigan’s first legal action against PFAS contamination. The article quotes Michigan Dept. of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) Director Liesl Clark:
“Chemical companies have known for decades that PFAS compounds don’t break down, build up in the human body, and exposures can lead to illness, yet they never warned Michigan consumers or manufacturers of the unintended consequences associated with using these ‘forever’ chemicals.”
The complaint reiterates, “Michigan has established itself as a leader in protecting the environment and in identifying, monitoring, and addressing contamination caused by PFAS in Michigan.” Dupont and 3M have been involved in several other lawsuits concerning their PFAS chemicals. A movie was even made about the people of West Virginia filing lawsuits against Dupont for similar reasons to Michigan filing its lawsuit. With this increasing attention on PFAS substances, it is likely we’ll see more regulations in the future.
