The Hampton Bays Water District has filed a lawsuit against the makers of chemicals that have contaminated wells in the hamlet claiming the companies knew the compounds were toxic and would not biodegrade.
The lawsuit, filed in state Supreme Court last Wednesday, names The 3M Co., Buckeye Fire Equipment Co., Chemguard Inc., Tyco Fire Products LP and National Foam Inc., all of which sold aqueous film-forming foam containing perfluorinated compounds (PFCs).
“Defendants knew it was substantially certain that their acts and omissions .
would cause injury and damage,” states the lawsuit filed by Manhattan-based law firm Napoli Shkolnik.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation was investigating the Hampton Bays Fire Department as the cause, but it is not clear if a determination has been made.
Three of the 11 wells in the district, which serves 7,000 households and withdraws one billion gallons from the aquifer annually, were found to be contaminated with PFCs and have since been taken offline, according to the suit.
Contamination was discovered in the other two wells in 2017, with one taken offline in July and the other in September of that year.
Exposure to the perfluorinated compounds can affect the immune system and fetal health and development, as well as cause liver damage, cancer and thyroid problems, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has said.
However, the companies are jointly responsible because they “actually knew of the health and environmental hazards which PFOA [perfluoroocatanoic acid] and PFOS [perfluorooctanesulfonic acid] posed” and conspired to conceal that information from the public, the lawsuit states.
Representatives from 3M, Buckeye and National Foam did not respond to a request for comment.