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Dive Brief:
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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.
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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.
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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.”