Michigan AG Files PFAS Complaint Against 17 Companies

Michigan Attorney General (AG),  Dana Nessel filed a lawsuit in state court on Tuesday, January 14 against seventeen (17) companies connected with the manufacturing and use of Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The complaint seeks to recover funds for remediation of PFAS throughout the state and charges that defendants knew and neglected to act on their knowledge about health and environmental risks associated with PFAS.

Most of the actions in the lawsuit are against all 17 named defendants except a charge under the Michigan Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (MUFTA) that focuses on DuPont, identified as "Historical DuPont" and companies that were at some point directly related. The lawsuit charges that historical DuPont organized The Chemours Company to transfer assets and approximately $4 billion of liabilities associated with the manufacture and discharge of PFAS and that The Chemours Company did not receive reasonably equivalent value in exchange for the transfer of obligation.

According to several news outlets, Dupont said in a statement, "we are extremely disappointed they have taken this action we believe is without merit. DuPont does not make PFOA, PFOS or GenX. Further, DuPont never manufactured or sold firefighting foam. Across our portfolio, DuPont’s use of other PFAS is a small fraction of the total PFAS used in the world. While our use is extremely small, we’re actively pursuing alternatives to PFAS where possible in our manufacturing processes. While fulfilling our remediation responsibilities continue to be a priority for DuPont, we are, and have always been, committed to upholding the highest standards for the wellbeing of our employees, our customers and the communities in which we operate, and we will vigorously defend our record of safety, health, and environmental stewardship."

Although the DuPont statement refers to firefighting foam, paragraph 19 in the Michigan AG's complaint explicitly excludes aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs) of any kind or type containing PFOA and/or PFOS, or otherwise.