Woodbridge Man Sues Middlesex Water Co. Over PFOA Issue

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — On Thursday, we reported how Woodbridge and five other Central NJ towns have put two law firms on retainer in the likely event the towns decide to sue Middlesex Water Co. over high amounts of PFOAs in Middlesex County's water.

And now it has been revealed an Avenel man already filed his own class-action lawsuit against the water company.

The Avenel resident is Tomas Vera and you can read his suit here. He filed it Oct. 29 in Middlesex County Superior Court.

Vera is demanding Middlesex Water Company reimburse him and any other customers for the cost of buying bottled water; reimburse them for having to install home water filters and also financially reimburse them for unspecified "damages."

He also wants Middlesex Water Company to pay for medical monitoring of customers’ PFOA levels.

PFOA stands for perfluorooctanoic acid, the so-called "forever chemical" that comes from Teflon, the chemical in non-stick cookware and water-resistant outdoor clothing — basically, any modern product that causes water "beading" on its surface. PFOA is made by New Jersey-based chemical company 3M. Subscribe to get Woodbridge, NJ news: https://patch.com/subscribe

On Oct. 22, Middlesex Water Company sent out multiple public letters notifying their customers that their tap water now tests above the state's new standards. The water company was required by law to send those public notices out.

Middlesex County's water is now testing high because, in February of this year, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection made a drastic reduction in PFOA drinking water levels, reducing the allowable limits by 65 percent.

For decades, the state of NJ allowed 40 parts per trillion in NJ drinking water. But this past winter the state lowered that to 14 parts per trillion. New Jersey has some of the strictest PFOA standards in America; most U.S. states remain at or even above the 40 parts per trillion allowable drinking water levels.

About 57,000 customers in Central Jersey get their water from Middlesex Water Company; their plant is located in South Plainfield.

While research is still being done, high intake of PFOA in drinking water over time has been linked to problems with blood serum cholesterol levels, reproductive issues in men and cancers of the liver, kidneys and immune system.

Middlesex Water Company has repeatedly said the higher levels of PFOA are not a public health risk.

"If this were truly a health emergency, an acute threat that posed an immediate health risk, we would pay for filters, we would pay for bottled water, we would do what it takes to keep our customers safe," Middlesex Water Company president Dennis Doll said at a public meeting Oct. 27, according to NJ Spotlight. "But at the levels we're talking about, we do not believe this is an immediate health risk."

He also called the new levels from the NJ DEP "extraordinarily stringent."

Vera said in his lawsuit he has specific health issues and a severely compromised immune system. As soon as he got the letter from the water company in the mail, he called his doctor and started buying bottled water, incurring a huge personal cost.

Last week, Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac sent out a press release explaining to the public that the reason the water is testing higher is because the state lowered the PFOA thresholds.

"There have been absolutely no changes to the water that is used by Woodbridge residents," McCormac said as recently as Nov. 1 in this YouTube address. "The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection recently established a new standard for the allowable level of PFOA in the water supply. It formerly had a health guidance level of 40 parts per trillion but lowered that to 14 parts per trillion. Water that was only recently deemed compliant now is over the new threshold."

But this week, he seems to have changed his tune, announcing the town now has two law firms, one from Iselin and another from Philadelphia, on retainer, and may file their own class-action lawsuits against Middlesex Water Co. and 3M chemical company.

Up to 100 people can join Vera's class-action lawsuit. The lawyers who filed it are DeNittis Osefchen & Prince of Marlton and Javerbaum, Wurgaft, Hicks, Kahn, Wikstrom & Sinins of Voorhees, two law firms that are highly experienced in class actions.

“If you follow the news, you have heard about PFOA and you know that a lot of attention recently has been focused on this cancer-causing chemical and the fact that once it enters the human body, it never leaves," said Michael Galpern, Vera's chief lawyer on the case. "It is not fair that these customers should have to bear the expense of paying for consultations with doctors, bottled water, water filters, or similar costs."

Prior: High PFOA Levels In Middlesex Co. Water? Get The Full Story

Contact this Patch reporter: Carly.baldwin@patch.com