Santa Clara County has filed a lawsuit against multiple companies, including 3M and DuPont, over toxic PFAS chemicals in the public water supply. The complaint alleges that firefighting foam (AFFF) produced by these manufacturers has contaminated local water systems, posing serious health risks to residents. The county seeks to hold the defendants accountable for the costs of cleanup and mitigation.
The Village of Nyack, N.Y., has also filed a lawsuit against more than a dozen companies, including Teva Pharmaceuticals and Estée Lauder, over claims that their manufacturing and waste disposal practices contaminated the town’s drinking water with toxic PFAS chemicals. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeks to hold these companies accountable for the costs of testing, monitoring, and installing treatment systems to remove PFAS from the Hackensack River, the village’s primary water source.
According to the lawsuit, the defendants knowingly released PFAS into the environment, allowing the chemicals to infiltrate the water supply at levels exceeding the EPA’s new safety threshold. PFAS exposure has been linked to cancer, immune disorders, and other serious health risks. The village argues that the contamination constitutes an ongoing public nuisance, threatening residents’ access to clean drinking water and requiring immediate corrective action.