DuPont and Chemours sued in Dutch 'forever chemicals' case
by AFP Staff Writers
The Hague (AFP) Sept 4, 2023

Dutch lawyers filed a class action lawsuit Monday against US chemical giant DuPont and its spinoff Chemours for causing decades of pollution of so-called "forever chemicals" at a plant south of Rotterdam.

The complaint by some 2,400 people is the latest in a saga which has seen chemical firms pay out billions of dollars over contamination from toxic chemicals found in everyday products such as non-stick frying pans and waterproof clothing.

"The complainants accuse DuPont/Chemours of deliberately and illegally contaminating the air, soil and surface water with PFOA and GenX from 1962 until today, thereby endangering public health or putting lives in danger," their lawyer Benedicte Ficq said.

PFOA and GenX are two of many substances known as polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), chemicals that take a very long time to break down in nature and have been linked to cancer, infertility and environmental damage, among other complaints.

"The lawsuit's purpose is for the Public Prosecutor's Office to start a criminal probe to trace the actual managers of DuPont/Chemours from 1962 to the present, who were responsible for the emissions, compliancy with the law and regulations," Ficq said in a statement.

Based on US court documents Dutch investigative programme Zembla reported in June that the Chemours plant, run by DuPont for decades, knew that PFAS was polluting Dordrecht and surrounding areas.

The programme led to a hearing within the Dutch parliament into the matter.

"The complainants believe particular attention should be paid to the knowledge within DuPont/Chemours since the 1970s about the harmful emissions of PFOA, while this knowledge was not shared with the authorities," Ficq said.

Chemours, in response said it had "actively communicated with the authorities."

"We've been investing for decades in limiting air and water emissions through the use of the best technologies," Chemours told the NOS public broadcaster.

But DuPont, Chemours and another spinoff Corteva in June said they would pay nearly $1.2 billion to settle claims of contaminated water across the United States.

Dutch authorities in May said it was holding US multinational 3M, the maker of Post-it and Scotch tape, responsible for damages caused by PFAS pollution in the Western Scheldt river.

The company had already agreed last year to a settlement of 571 million euros ($582 million) with the Belgian region of Flanders over the PFAS chemical discharges around its Zwijndrecht plant, near the Belgian city of Antwerp.

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