Plastic Company to Pay Millions to NY Town Over Water Pollution

A plastics company will settle a class-action lawsuit over allegations it knowingly polluted the water supply of an upstate New York town, the Hill reported.

Petersburgh-based Taconic Plastics will pay $23 million to settle a lawsuit brought by eight plaintiffs who claimed that the company’s smoke stacks released dangerous chemicals into Petersburgh’s water supply.

The plaintiffs said high levels of the chemical perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) were found in their bloodstreams, and that Taconic Plastics used it to coat their products.

According to the American Cancer Society, PFOA may have links to causing cancer in humans.  CDC studies on animals have shown their growth and development was affected when exposed to high doses of PFOA, and the chemical causes liver damage.

The settlement would use the money to establish three separate funds. The first would be spent on a 15-year monitoring program for people who reported high levels of PFOA in their blood, the second would be for a fund for people who found pollution in their private wells, and the third would be for people who relied on Petersburgh’s public water supplies.

“We are very pleased that after five and a half years of litigation, the Parties were able to negotiate a class action settlement to compensate current and former residents of Petersburgh for loss of property value, nuisance, and to establish at 15 year medical monitoring program,” according a statement from James Bilsborrow, an attorney for the plaintiffs on their behalf.

“We hope this resolution helps the community continue to recover and we trust that the medical monitoring program will assist those exposed to PFOA to improve their health and detect any PFOA-related health conditions at an early stage.”

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smarcus@hamodia.com