Maryland is suing W.L. Gore & Associates, the maker of Gore-Tex — a waterproof material often used in outdoor gear such as raincoats — alleging its leaders continued to use per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) “forever chemicals” long after they learned of the chemicals’ serious health risks.
By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
The complaint filed in federal court last week by the state’s attorney general on behalf of the departments of environment, health and natural resources said the company has been aware for decades that the substances posed serious health risks to residents of Cecil County, but did not notify nearby communities or the state about the dangers, reported The Washington Post.
The lawsuit states that the company’s operations released perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a highly regulated forever chemical, into the area, contaminating drinking and surface waters, groundwater, soils, animals, plants and natural resources owned by the state, The Baltimore Banner reported.
Maryland sues W.L. Gore over decades of forever chemicals pollution
— Baltimore Banner (@thebaltimorebanner.com) December 18, 2024 at 6:36 PM
“It is unacceptable for any company to knowingly contaminate our drinking water with these toxins, putting Marylanders at risk of severe health conditions,” said Attorney General of Maryland Anthony G. Brown in a statement, as reported by The Washington Post.
Maryland seeks to hold Gore, a Delaware-based company, liable for the costs of the state’s investigation, contamination cleanup and other damages.
Gore operates 13 facilities in and around Elkton, a town in northeast Maryland, The Associated Press reported.
The company denied the state’s allegations. Over the past two years, Gore has provided water filtration and bottled water to nearby residents, conducted sampling and made efforts to limit potential damage around the sites, according to company website forward.gore.com.
Amy Calhoun, spokesperson for Gore, said the company “is surprised by the Maryland Attorney General’s decision to initiate legal action, particularly in light of our proactive and intensive engagement with state regulators over the past two years,” reported The Washington Post.
The action by the state comes after another lawsuit was filed by a family in Maryland, in addition to a class-action suit, making similar claims.
The class action, filed on behalf of residents of Cecil County last year, demanded that Gore pay for medical bills, water filtration systems and additional damages associated with harmful pollution being pumped into the mostly rural community for decades, The Associated Press reported.
“PFAS are linked to cancer, weakened immune systems, and can even harm the ability to bear children,” Brown said, as reported by The Associated Press.
PFAS are particularly harmful because they can accumulate in various environments and are almost indestructible. They can also cause developmental delays in children and increased cholesterol levels, among other health issues, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said.
Philip Federico, an attorney representing plaintiffs in lawsuits against Gore, including the class action, said the company’s efforts were “too little, much too late,” The Associated Press reported.
“It’s typical corporate environmental contamination,” Federico said. “They’re in no hurry to fix the problem.”
Federico said that, in the meantime, residents continue to suffer, and one of his clients has been diagnosed with kidney cancer.
The complaint claims Gore’s failure to warn those living close to its Maryland facilities of the potential harms has resulted in “a toxic legacy for generations to come.”
The lawsuit highlights Gore’s relationship with DuPont, pointing out that knowledge of the dangers of PFAS have been long known by both companies as they continued to rake in profits. It states that DuPont scientists knew as early as 1961 that adverse liver reactions were caused by PFOA in rats and dogs.
“Gore, through these discussions with DuPont and otherwise, knew of the potential for releases of PFOA to air and water from the Gore Facilities and yet did not inform the State,” the attorneys said in the lawsuit, as reported by The Baltimore Banner.
State officials have said recent tests of residential drinking water near certain Gore sites have shown levels of PFOA well above EPA safety limits, according to The Associated Press.
In 2014, Gore announced that PFOA had been eliminated from raw materials used in the making of Gore-Tex. However, the chemical continues to cause long-term impacts due to its persistence in the environment, the attorneys said.
“While we appreciate Gore’s limited investigation to ascertain the extent of PFAS contamination around its facilities, much more needs to be done to protect the community and the health of residents,” said Maryland Secretary of the Environment Department Serena McIlwain in a statement, as The Associated Press reported. “We must remove these forever chemicals from our natural resources urgently, and we expect responsible parties to pay for this remediation.”
