3M, DuPont Win Class Action Over ‘Forever Chemicals’

3M, DuPont Win Class Action , Over ‘Forever Chemicals’.
3M, DuPont Win Class Action , Over ‘Forever Chemicals’.
On Nov. 27, a U.S. appeals court ruled in favor
of 3M and other manufacturers regarding a
class action lawsuit about "forever chemicals.".
The ruling supersedes a lower court's
decision that would have granted over 11 million Ohio residents the right to sue the companies
as a whole, Reuters reports. .
Ohio's 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that
the lead plaintiff's complaint was too broad and
could not prove that the "forever chemicals" found in
his body were directly from 3M, DuPont and others.
Ohio's 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that
the lead plaintiff's complaint was too broad and
could not prove that the "forever chemicals" found in
his body were directly from 3M, DuPont and others.
According to Circuit Judge Raymond Kethledge,
while thousands of companies manufacture
per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
only 10 were listed in the lawsuit.
Since a single company was "rarely" called
out in the complaint and they were
instead treated as a whole, the appeals court
told the lower court to dismiss the case.
The lawsuit sought to force the companies
to conduct studies about the health impacts
of PFAS, among other things.
PFAS, which are used in a multitude of
products ranging from non-stick pans
to clothing, have been linked to cancer
and other diseases, Reuters reports. .
The EPA previously referred to PFAS as an
"urgent public health and environmental issue."