PFOA (C-8) Water Contamination Litigation Lawsuit

PFOA (C-8) Water Contamination Litigation

The product and its manufacturer. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a perfluorinated carboxylic acid used in industry as a surfactant and chemical precursor, most notably in the manufacture of fluoropolymers sold under the Teflon brand. The compound is commonly known as "C8," the internal designation DuPont used for it. 3M first manufactured PFOA in 1947, and beginning in 1951 DuPont bought the chemical from 3M for use in its own production. PFOA belongs to the family of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): it resists natural breakdown, persists in soil and water, and can migrate into drinking water supplies. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified PFOA as a human carcinogen.

The alleged harm. DuPont used PFOA for more than five decades at its Washington Works plant in Parkersburg, West Virginia. A risk assessment commissioned by the company in 2004 concluded that, between 1951 and 2003, the plant had released substantial quantities of C8 into the environment. Residents of Parkersburg and surrounding communities alleged that PFOA released from the plant contaminated their drinking water and caused illness. Community epidemiology supported the exposure pathway: residents who drank local tap water or ate locally produced food showed higher blood levels of PFOA, and a large community cohort study overseen by an independent three-expert C8 Science Panel identified associations between exposure and conditions including kidney cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid disease, elevated cholesterol, and ulcerative colitis.

The litigation. The dispute came to public attention after attorney Robert Bilott, acting in a separate matter, obtained a court order compelling DuPont to produce its internal PFOA documentation; the files indicated that by the early 1990s the company had evidence that PFOA caused tumors in laboratory animals, yet it continued to use the chemical. Area residents then sued DuPont over water contamination, and the resolution of that matter provided for blood testing and a health survey of residents believed to be affected. The EPA separately pursued enforcement action against the company, and a consent order required DuPont to fund health studies for nearby residents. In the federal case in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, the court denied certification of a class of PFOA-exposed residents and dismissed their claims except for a request for medical monitoring. Residents then proceeded as individual plaintiffs, and over the following years thousands of personal-injury claims were filed against DuPont.

The outcome. In 2017, DuPont and Chemours — the chemical business that had been spun off from DuPont — reached a cash settlement resolving thousands of personal-injury claims arising from PFOA contamination of drinking water in the Parkersburg area. Chemours agreed to share the cost of the settlement, and both companies denied wrongdoing.

Aftermath. The litigation became a reference point for PFAS regulation in the United States. PFOA and related compounds were added to the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants, and in 2024 the EPA promulgated the first national drinking water standards for PFOA and several related PFAS, requiring public water systems to reduce the substances to near-zero levels.