Water Utility Targets Textile Industry In PFC Lawsuit
By Sara Jerome,
@sarmje
A water utility in Alabama is suing over 30 carpet and textile companies, alleging they contaminated the water supply with perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs).
Filed September 22, the lawsuit says the companies are to blame for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) in the local water supply, according to Insurance Journal. Gadsden Water Works and Sewer Board filed the suit in Etowah County Circuit Court, according to The Huntsville Times.
“According to the 16-page suit, Gadsden draws its water from Lake Neely Henry in the Coosa River basin. The suit contends that the companies named use the two chemicals for water, stain and grease resistance in their carpet and textile products,” the report said.
Industrial waste from the textile and carpet plants contains high levels of the chemicals, which "resist degradation during processing at Dalton (Ga.) Utilities' wastewater treatment center and contaminate the Conasauga River,” the lawsuit says, per the newspaper.
The lawsuit asks for punitive and compensatory damages. It says the contamination will create costs for the utility in the form of "future installation and operation of a filtration system capable of removing chemicals," the lawsuit said, per the newspaper.
Rhon Jones, an attorney representing the water works, weighed in on the suit.
"The Gadsden Water Works and Sewer Board and its customers did not put these chemicals in the water," Jones said. "This lawsuit says very clearly that they should not be responsible for removing them either."
The U.S. EPA issued a health advisory in May about PFC exposure as various cities wage high-profile battles against the compounds, including Hoosick Falls, NY, the Philadelphia suburbs, and factory towns across the country.
State authorities began monitoring the utility's PFOS and PFOA levels in May, according to WVTM.
“Concentrations above 70 parts per trillion are subject to EPA recommendations listed in the final health advisory,” according to the report.
“Over the last 18 weeks, the average of the Gadsden water samples for the levels of PFOA and PFOS is 70 parts per trillion. Because the two recent samples represent an elevation in the levels, monitoring of the water system will continue,” the report said.
For more on PFC issues visit Water Online’s Source Water Contamination Solutions Center.