Source: https://www.insurancejournal.com/, September 17, 2020 By: L.S. Howard The top emerging litigation risk identified for the year ahead is PFAS, the so-called “forever chemicals” used in a wide variety of products such as Teflon, Scotchgard, food containers, firefighting foam and ski wax, said the co-founders of Praedicat, the Los Angeles-based liability risk analytics company. The […]

Source: https://www.natlawreview.com/, September 16, 2020 On September 11, 2020, the Borough of Hopatcong, New Jersey sued 3M Company for contaminating the municipality’s drinking water with perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which fall within a class of over 7,000 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS are manmade chemicals used in numerous consumer products due […]

Source: https://www.ewg.org/, September 16, 2020 More than 700 Department of Defense sites are likely to be contaminated with the fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS, according to new data released this week by the Pentagon. The Defense Department identified 34 new installations where PFAS chemicals are suspected, bringing the total number of installations where PFAS has been […]

Source: https://www.njspotlight.com/, September 16, 2020 By: Jon Hurdle Newly released data on contamination at the Chambers Works site in Salem County shows that groundwater contained three PFAS chemicals at levels that sharply exceeded the health limits recently set by New Jersey regulators. The data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was based on samples taken […]

Source: https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/, September 11, 2020 By: Scott Schwebke The city of South Pasadena is suing The Dow Chemical Co. and Shell Oil Co., alleging that for more than four decades both firms  willfully manufactured a pesticide containing a cancer-causing chemical that has contaminated the municipality’s drinking water supply. The 25-page complaint, filed last month in […]

Source: https://www.cbs42.com/, September 14, 2020 The city of Guin is suing 3M over chemical pollution discovered in the city’s drinking water source this summer, according to a lawsuit that was recently filed. The suit was filed Wednesday in the circuit court of Marion County, which alleges that PFAS chemicals from 3M’s Guin facility had leached […]

Source: https://www.kiro7.com/, September 11, 2020 By: Theresa Seiger A parking deck under construction in midtown Atlanta partially collapsed Friday, trapping workers and leaving at least five people injured, according to Atlanta Fire Rescue and WSB-TV. Firefighters used a crane to free one worker who had been trapped by the collapse Friday. Atlanta Fire Rescue Deputy Chief […]

Source: Los Angeles Times, September 12, 2020 Posted on: https://www.advisen.com/ Air quality officials have cited a land developer and contractor over a chemical spill in the Compton area that has generated hundreds of complaints of lingering gas-like odors across a large area of Los Angeles and Orange counties. The South Coast Air Quality Management District […]

Source: https://theconversation.com/, September 8, 2020 By: Caitlin R. Proctor & Andrew J. Whelton As schools cautiously reopen for the fall semester, several have discovered potentially harmful bacteria in their water systems. Parents are likely concerned about what this means for their children, and other districts may be checking their own water’s safety. As researchers who […]

Source: https://www.clickondetroit.com/, September 10, 2020 By: Frank McGeorge, MD The coronavirus (COVID-19) isn’t the only illness that educators and parents are worried about as students head back to school. The early and extended closure of school buildings has also heightened the risk of legionella. Legionella is the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease, and it has been detected in several […]

Source: https://www.wqpmag.com/, September 10, 2020 By: Cristina Tuser The companies that allegedly contaminated drinking water wells in Rhode Island and Massachusetts are not accepting responsibility Companies accused of contaminating drinking water wells in North Smithfield, Rhode Island and Millville, Massachusetts are taking steps to reduce public-health risks. North Smithfield has contaminated sites associated with industrial operations and dumping. […]

Source: https://www.wtsp.com/, September 10, 2020 By: Jenna Bourne, Lauren Powell, Nate Morabito 10 Investigates found something hospitals use every day could be hurting some patients, even killing them: Tap water. At least eight Florida surgery patients have filed lawsuits over infections caused by bacteria that can hide in water. Read more.