In the weeks before the coronavirus began tearing through California, the city of Commerce made an expensive decision: It shut down part of its water supply.
Like nearly 150 other public water systems in California, the small city on the outskirts of Los Angeles had detected “forever chemicals” in its well water.
Nine Orange County water agencies have retained a legal team to study whether to file suit to recoup the estimated $450 million cost of purifying drinking water in local wells contaminated with PFAS chemicals.
The PFAS compounds — long used in Scotchguard, Teflon and other products — have leached into groundwater supplies over several decades and have been linked to a variety of health problems, including cancer, liver and kidney damages and ulcerative colitis.
It’s likely that 3M and DuPont, the primary manufacturers of PFAS products, would be defendants.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
