by Alex Brooks
The law firm of Weitz & Luxenberg filed a class action lawsuit against Taconic on September 26 on behalf of four Petersburgh residents, and others similarly impacted, alleging that Taconic improperly disposed of PFOA, creating a health hazard for nearby residents.[private] The suit alleges three pathways by which PFOA used in the Taconic plant found its way into the environment: in water which went down the sinks and drains in the plant and from there into the ground around the plant; in air when heated materials turned to vapor and were carried out the smokestack and blown by the wind to areas surrounding the plant; and in garbage bags containing PFOA-laced materials which were disposed of at the municipal landfill.
The lawsuit said tests conducted by Taconic in 2005 found concentrations of PFOA in the groundwater on their property as high as 13,700,000 parts per trillion. Taconic at that time put carbon filters on their own wells, but did not notify their neighbors that there might be a problem with the groundwater.
Robin Greenwald, head of the Environmental and Consumer Protection Unit at Weitz & Luxenberg, said, “residents of Petersburgh need water filters, regular testing of their wells, and biomonitoring to detect illnesses associated with the chemicals Taconic has unleashed on the community, and this lawsuit seeks to provide them with all of these things.”[/private]