Attorney general sues companies for contaminating Delaware water, soil

Attorney General Kathleen Jennings announced Oct. 26 that her office has filed a lawsuit against companies who she says have polluted Delaware rivers, streams and soil.

“I don’t care who you are: If you harm Delaware and its people, we will hold you accountable,” said Jennings in a press release. “3M and the other defendants knew the dangers that [per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances] posed and they still chose profits over our neighborhoods and our children. Delawareans shouldn’t have to pay the costs of corporate greed, and we’re taking action to ensure that they won’t.”

The lawsuit states that 3M Company and other manufacturers of a forever chemical used in firefighting foam have damaged Delaware’s environment and jeopardized public health by releasing the chemical into waterways and soil. Investigators reviewed environmental samplings, forensic analysis and corporate records involving the use of aqueous film-forming foam, a specialized firefighting foam product widely used at airports and military bases.

Each of the defendants designed, manufactured, marketed, distributed, supplied and/or sold PFAS-based aqueous film-forming foam products and/or AFFF components that contain or break down into toxic components that, when used as intended, result in significant environmental contamination and pollution with PFAS, Jennings said. PFAS compounds are toxic and do not occur naturally. She said due to the extraordinary strength of the carbon-fluorine bond that defines these compounds, they resist natural degradation processes and are commonly called forever chemicals. PFAS compounds accumulate in living tissue, leading to chronic exposures, and several have been linked to cancer, thyroid disruption, ulcerative colitis, and developmental and systemic disorders, Jennings said.  

Sites particularly impacted by the chemicals include the area near the New Castle County Airport in New Castle County and the Dover Air Force Base in Kent County where for decades, Jennings said, AFFF products were sprayed directly on or near the ground in firefighting and fire training exercises. This caused the chemicals to be disposed, spilled or otherwise discharged or released into the environment as a matter of ordinary and intended usage, she said. 

State property, private drinking water wells, water supplies, and public natural resources have been impacted by the chemicals, Jennings said. 

The lawsuit was filed in the Superior Court of Delaware and seeks monetary damages, including natural resource damages and costs to test, monitor, assess, and respond to contamination. It also seeks costs necessary to restore impacted natural resources and funding for state-run public health programs.                

Several Delaware water utilities have installed specialized filtration technologies to remove PFAS from drinking water. Officials encourage Delawareans who receive their drinking water from private wells to annually check their water. A simple water test is available from the State of Delaware for $4, with more comprehensive tests available from private companies. Learn more at dhss.delaware.gov/dph/lab/privdw.html. Delawareans who receive their water from a community water system can monitor their public water systems through the Delaware Drinking Water Watch at drinkingwater.dhss.delaware.gov.