Major fire products company agrees to $750 million settlement over concerning chemicals — here's who will benefit
A major chemical company has agreed to settle a lawsuit that alleges its product contaminated drinking water with "forever chemicals."
What's happening?
Reuters reported that Johnson Controls subsidiary Tyco Fire Products will pay $750 million to some U.S. public water systems. The lawsuit claimed that Tyco's firefighting foam contained perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS or "forever chemicals," that contaminated water supplies.
While the settlement does not include an admission of guilt, it will help communities clean up the water supplies. However, it first has to be approved by a judge.
An attorney for the water systems, Paul Napoli, said, "This settlement resolves claims involving contaminated drinking water and provides compensation critical to protecting our nation's drinking water supplies and upgrading our water treatment infrastructure to deal with this new emerging threat."
Why is this settlement important?
A study done by the Environmental Working Group "estimates that more than 200 million Americans could have the toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS in their drinking water at a concentration of 1 part per trillion."
These chemicals have also been linked to cancers and other diseases and can cause reproductive and immune system harm. It has serious health effects because the chemicals don't break down in your body or the environment.
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Companies have covered up the health issues caused by PFAS, and today, nearly all Americans have them in their bloodstreams.
While the companies are still not admitting liability or wrongdoing, the money from these lawsuits can go a long way toward fixing the problem by cleaning up the water supplies and raising awareness.
What's being done about forever chemicals?
The lawsuit against Tyco Fire Products isn't the first one. More than $11 billion in settlements were reached in 2023. In addition, individuals have brought personal injury lawsuits claiming the PFAS caused their illnesses.
Some companies are taking more action than just paying a settlement. For example, 3M, an industrial conglomerate, will phase out PFAS in its products by 2025.
Researchers are also developing ways to remove "forever chemicals" from drinking water. A team at the University of British Columbia has created filters to remove PFAS and created another system that will break them down.
In addition, researchers at the University of California, Riverside, are working with UV light to break down the chemicals in less than an hour. By adding hydrogen to the water and then using the UV light, the researchers found that it breaks down 95% of the toxic chemicals and the hydrogen then turns into water.
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