8 Companies Sold Toxic Chemicals In NJ Used To Protect You: AG

New Jersey says eight companies manufactured and sold products in the state for decades despite knowing they released toxic and harmful chemicals into the environment.

The Office of Attorney General has filed a lawsuit to prevent the manufacture, advertising and sale in New Jersey of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), products that contain chemicals known as PFOS, or perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, and PFOA, or perfluorooctanoic acid.

The chemicals, which have been linked to testicular and kidney cancer, have been found in firefighting foam, according to an OAG release. They also have been found at a number of sites that serve as sources for groundwater and drinking water. Read more: 43 NJ Sites Have Toxic Contamination: See Report's Full List

The state’s complaint names the following manufacturers and sellers as defendants:

• The 3M Company
• Tyco Fire Products LP
• Chemguard, Inc.
• Buckeye Fire Equipment Company
• Kidde-Fenwal, Inc
• National Foam, Inc.
• E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company
• The Chemours Company.

AFFF was sold to military and industrial facilities, airports, firefighting training academies, state government firefighting entities and local fire departments across New Jersey and elsewhere, according to the release.

“The corporations we’re suing knew full well the health and environmental risks associated with this foam, and yet they sold it to New Jersey’s firefighters anyway,” said Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal. “Their conduct was unconscionable, and we’re going to hold these companies accountable.”

Filed in New Jersey Superior Court, the state’s five-count complaint alleges that the defendant companies manufactured, marketed and sold their AFFF products for decades despite knowing the significant threat they posed to the environment and human health.

PFOS and PFOA are mobile chemicals that persist indefinitely in the environment, bioaccumulate in humans and animals over long periods of time, and biomagnify as they are consumed up the food chain, according to the release.

PFOS and PFOA, attributable to AFFF, have been found in groundwater, surface water, sediments, biota, and other natural resources of the state. In combination or alone, PFOS and PFOA are dangerous pollutants, and are associated with a host of human health risks, including immune system suppression and testicular and kidney cancer, according to the release.

“To protect our environment and ensure the restoration of damaged natural resources, we must hold responsible the manufacturers who knew of the dangers of these products,” said DEP Commissioner Catherine R. McCabe.

“Together with Attorney General Grewal and Acting Director Rodríguez, I am proud to file this suit to protect New Jersey’s residents as DEP continues to lead the nation in proactively reducing exposure to PFAS chemicals, including the PFOS found in these foams.”

Aqueous film-forming foam products are mixed with water to form a foam solution, which is then used to extinguish fuel and other flammable liquid fires. Spraying a fire with AFFF creates a film that coats the fire, blocking its oxygen supply and preventing re-ignition, according to an OAG release.

The lawsuit alleges that the defendants are responsible for vast quantities of foam-laced water running off from fuel spills, firefighting events and routine training sessions and then being introduced into New Jersey’s environment, where they can remain indefinitely and present a continuing threat to natural resources and human health.

Specifically, the complaint alleges PFOS and PFOA released from AFFF has contaminated groundwater and surface water in New Jersey – including several lakes – as well as sediment and a variety of wildlife species, according to the release. The complaint seeks natural resource damages for the PFOS and PFOA contamination.

Investigations have already confirmed PFOS and PFOA contamination in and around several military and other facilities in New Jersey where AFFF was used for many years. Those sites include: Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Burlington County; Naval Weapons Station Earle in Monmouth County; the former Naval Air Warfare Center in Trenton; and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Technical Center in Atlantic County.

The complaint notes that three bodies of water surrounding Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst were found in a 2018 DEP study to have sustained “significant damage” from the chemicals at issue. Those bodies of water include Little Pine Lake, Mirror Lake, and Pine Lake, according to the release.

DEP issued fish consumption advisories for all three water bodies based on PFOS found in fish tissue, and a "Do Not Eat" advisory for sensitive subpopulations.

The complaint also notes that DEP sampling has shown “elevated levels” of PFOS and PFOA contamination in the Atlantic City Municipal Utilities Authority’s surface water reservoirs, which are located on FAA Technical Center property, according to the release.

Statewide, as investigation continues and additional foam-related PFOS and PFOA contamination sites are identified, it is expected that widespread contamination will be uncovered.