Dive Brief:
- A northwestern Georgia county sued chemical makers 3M, EIDP and Daikin America, as well as carpet manufacturer Mohawk Industries, late last month for allegedly polluting a local landfill with PFAS-based waste.
- Catoosa County also accused the companies of negligence in disposing of the contaminated waste and for failing to warn residents of forever chemicals’ possible harm, according to the lawsuit.
- The county is seeking monetary relief for punitive damages, attorney fees and costs, past and future damages as well as out-of-pocket expenses.
Dive Insight:
Catoosa County’s filing stated that Georgia-based Mohawk and its subsidiaries used chemical-laced brands such as Stainmaster, 3M’s Scotchgard and Teflon to coat their carpets in the manufacturing processes. EIDP used to produce Teflon as E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Co. before it broke into three companies in 2015. The Chemours Co. now produces the PFAS-laden brand.
The county said Mohawk would boil the carpets to apply PFAS and other chemicals, which helps make the carpets stain-resistant. After the company completed the boiling process, it would allegedly dispose of the forever chemical waste in one of Catoosa’s landfills located near the carpet maker’s manufacturing facilities.
The landfill was operational from 1979 to 2004 and is now “pickled in the chemicals,” according to the lawsuit. Catoosa County’s landfill collects rainwater that then goes through rotting waste to form leachate, or liquid pollution, which is then discharged in a wastewater treatment plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
As of Oct. 15, 2024, the levels of various PFAS in the county’s drinking water vastly surpass the Environmental Protection Agency’s permitted levels, according to the lawsuit. The EPA’s PFAS levels range from 4 to 10 parts per trillion, whereas the county’s landfill leachate is up to 445 times that limit.
Chattanooga city officials now require Catoosa County to test its leachate for PFAS and has indicated it’s prepared to refuse the liquid pollution because of forever chemicals contamination, the county said in the court filing.
“Our community has enjoyed a long and beneficial relationship with North Georgia carpet manufacturers and our hope is that we can all agree on a timely solution that safeguards our health, property, water, soil and air,” Catoosa County Attorney Chad Young said in a statement. “We expect that those who contaminated our landfill with PFAS pay the cost to clean it up.”
Catoosa isn’t the only Georgia county suing the chemical and carpet companies. Gordon County filed a similar lawsuit, according to a Jan. 23 press release. Gordon and Catoosa are both serviced by the same wastewater treatment plant in Chattanooga.
In a related lawsuit, Mohawk sued 3M, EIDP, Chemours and Daikin America in Georgia state court in November. The carpet maker accused the chemical giants of concealing the risks of PFAS when 3M began selling the toxic substances in the 1970s.
It was not until the late 1990s that 3M informed Mohawk that the chemicals contained PFAS, the carpet maker said in its lawsuit. Daikin and DuPont informed the carpet manufacturer in 2003. Mohawk also accused the chemical companies of falsely assuring the chemicals were safe.
Mohawk is asking the court for relief and for the chemical companies to pay for any future litigation, reimbursement for any PFAS reduction, removal or remediation and compensatory damages.
3M, DuPont and Chemours finalized settlements with U.S. cities last year to resolve PFAS-related drinking water contamination claims. However, 3M may have another obstacle to distribute its $10.5 billion settlement funds. Insurance company AIG filed a lawsuit in a federal court in Minnesota against 3M in October 2024 to avoid paying for the chemical company’s numerous PFAS-related lawsuits.
