Texas Sues Chemical Manufacturers for Deceptive PFAS Marketing

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit on Dec. 11 against manufacturers 3M and DuPont for misrepresenting the health risks of products made with forever chemicals

The lawsuit alleges the companies for decades manufactured, marketed, and sold an array of consumer products containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as forever chemicals. PFAS-containing materials were sold to Texas consumers under brand names including Teflon. and Scotchgard.

PFAS are known as forever chemicals because most don’t break down naturally in the human body. Once introduced into the environment, PFAS can contaminate drinking water and other natural resources, and accumulate in the blood of humans.

PFAS have been linked to causing cancer and other health concerns.

“These companies knew for decades that PFAS chemicals could cause serious harm to human health yet continued to advertise them as safe for household use around families and children,” Paxton said in a press release. “Texas is taking action to penalize these companies and hold them accountable for deceiving Texans into buying consumer products without vital information.”

Related: Underwriters Wary of PFAS Amid ‘Superstorm’ of Litigation, Regulation

Texas is seeking civil penalties of up to $10,000.00 per violation of the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act as well as pre-judgment and post-judgment interest on all awards of restitution, damages, or civil penalties.

Texas is the latest state to bring PFAS-related litigation against giant chemical manufacturers.

In 2023 Ohio settled a lawsuit with DuPont and two-spin firms for $110 million over the environmental threats from toxic chemicals used at a former DuPont facility in neighboring West Virginia.

Solvay Specialty Polymers USA agreed to a $330 settlement with New Jersey officials last year over cleanup and compensation for the discharge of so-called “forever chemicals” and other pollutants at a plant near West Deptford.

3M recently began making payments on a multi-billion dollar settlement over claims that the company made or sold firefighting foams containing PFAS. The company is expected to pay in the range of $10.5 billion to $12.5 billion over the next dozen years.