DuPont Settles Water Contamination Lawsuit for $27 Million
DuPont has reached a $27 million settlement to resolve a nearly decade-long lawsuit regarding water contamination in upstate New York villages.
This agreement was disclosed on Wednesday by attorneys representing residents from Hoosick Falls, located just northwest of Albany. They were preparing for trial in a federal court this week.
With this settlement, the total amount recovered in a class-action lawsuit initiated in 2016 exceeds $90 million, according to lawyers from Farci Lange, a firm based in Rochester.
In addition to DuPont, three other companies—Corgovine Performance Plastics, Honeywell International, and 3M—settled in 2021, contributing over $65 million in total. DuPont was the last defendant to reach an agreement.
“We are glad to have arrived at what we believe will be the final resolution in this case, providing significant benefits to both the residents of Hoosick Falls and the town itself,” stated Stephen Schwarz.
While DuPont refrained from commenting on Friday, the company did point out that the contamination issue was connected to its former subsidiary, Ei Dupont de Nemours, which managed its Performance Chemicals business until it spun off in 2015.
The settlement, pending approval from a federal judge, also allocates $6 million towards an existing medical surveillance program for residents who were exposed, as mentioned by the lawyers.
Residents from Hoosick Falls filed claims indicating that local drinking water had been polluted with Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) from a Teflon fabric coating facility operated by Sant-Gobain and Honeywell.
DuPont produced the Teflon material used at the site and was responsible for the PFOA incorporated in its products; 3M was added as a defendant in the lawsuit in 2018.
PFOA was once extensively utilized in various industrial applications, but it has since been recognized as a dangerous “forever chemical” due to its persistence in the environment over many years. It’s linked to several severe health issues, including kidney and testicular cancers, and has recently been designated as a carcinogen.
