Maryland, My Maryland

WaPoo, Maryland sues maker of Gore-Tex, alleging decades of pollution

Maryland is suing the maker of Gore-Tex, the material used in popular waterproof fabrics, alleging the company knew for decades that substances used in its manufacture posed significant health risks in the Cecil County area but failed to notify the state or nearby communities about the dangers.

The Delaware-based company, W.L. Gore & Associates, operates more than a dozen facilities just across the state line in and around Elkton, Maryland. State officials say Gore polluted the area’s groundwater, surface water and soils with “forever chemicals,” even while company officials understood the potential for harm.

“It is unacceptable for any company to knowingly contaminate our drinking water with these toxins, putting Marylanders at risk of severe health conditions,” Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown (D) said in a statement Wednesday as his office filed a complaint in U.S. district court on behalf of the state’s departments of environment, health and natural resources.

The suit seeks to hold Gore liable for the state’s costs to investigate and clean up the contamination, as well as other damages.

The state’s action follows another lawsuit filed by a Maryland family, as well as a class-action lawsuit, making similar claims. During the past couple of years, Gore has worked to limit potential damage by conducting sampling around the sites and providing bottled water and water filtration systems to nearby residents, according to a company website, forward.gore.com.

The company denies the state’s allegations and “is surprised by the Maryland Attorney General’s decision to initiate legal action, particularly in light of our proactive and intensive engagement with state regulators over the past two years,” Gore spokeswoman Amy Calhoun said this week in a statement.

EPA,  EPA Releases Draft Health-Based Recommendations for PFAS Levels in Bodies of Water

EPA’s draft recommended human health criteria identify concentrations of three PFAS in a water body at or below where they are not expected to cause adverse human health effects from chronic (lifetime) exposure. The three chemicals are perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS). Human health criteria are not regulatory requirements and do not, on their own, compel any action. Rather they are information for entities, including state and Tribal regulators, to consider when making policy decisions that protect water quality.

The recommendations aren't there, but you can find them if you follow enough links. 

The interesting thing is that Maryland is suing Gore for violating standards that aren't set yet, and would have no force of law.