New Jersey reached a $2 billion “groundbreaking” settlement with three companies over contamination caused by PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
According to the agreement, DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva will pay $825 million over 25 years to address the damages to four sites and the contamination of resources. The companies have also agreed to create a remediation funding source worth up $1.2 billion and will establish a reserve fund of $475 million.
“When I became Attorney General in 2022, I pledged to fight corporate polluters who, for decades, have knowingly contaminated our land and water with PFAS and other dangerous chemicals,” said New Jersey Attorney General Platkin. “PFAS are particularly insidious. These dangerous chemicals build up and accumulate everywhere, and New Jersey has some of the highest levels of PFAS in the country. It is why I have worked so diligently alongside Commissioner LaTourette on this issue, and I am pleased that the companies agreed to a settlement rather than continue with the trial.”
State Environmental Commissioner Shawn LaTourette noted that the “landmark settlement” will “advance New Jersey’s nation-leading PFAS abatement efforts, improve drinking water quality, and restore injured natural resources.”
The companies said in a statement that the settlement will “resolve all legacy contamination claims related to the companies’ current and former operating sites (Chambers Works, Parlin, Pompton Lakes and Repauno) and claims of statewide PFAS contamination unrelated to those sites, including from the use of aqueous film forming foam.”
Studies have linked PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” to cancer, including kidney, testicular, breast, ovarian, prostate, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and thyroid cancer.
