For decades, the corporate makers and users of “forever chemicals” used on carpet produced in Northwest Georgia have hidden the associated dangers, leading to a public health crisis, Murray County alleges in a new lawsuit.
In its Dec. 30 complaint, the county takes aim at chemical producers — including 3M, Daikin and DuPont — as well as carpet manufacturers, including Mohawk and Shaw Industries. It claims the companies have known since the 1960s that the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances they make and use are toxic and hid that fact while contaminated waste was dumped in the county landfill.
“Thanks to these and other failures by the chemical makers and users, all or substantially all the residents of Northwest Georgia effectively have Scotchgard, Stainmaster, and Teflon coursing through their veins, suppressing their immune systems and triggering debilitating and fatal illnesses,” the county says in its lawsuit.
Representatives for the companies sued by Murray County did not immediately respond Monday to inquiries. A spokesperson for DuPont noted that its predecessor, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., is the entity sued by Murray County, under the new name EIPD Inc. The spokesperson said E.I. du Pont de Nemours operated its performance chemicals business until it was spun out and became the Chemours Co. in 2015.
Murray County’s case, which also includes claims against Chemours, is the latest in a growing legal battle stemming from the use of chemicals known as PFAS in Georgia’s carpet manufacturing industry. The county sits between the cities of Dalton and Ellijay and extends to the Tennessee line. It has a population of almost 40,000.
The chemicals, also used in nonstick pans, firefighting foams and some food wrappers, do not break down in nature and have been increasingly linked to fertility problems, developmental delays and increased risk of certain cancers.
Attorneys representing Murray County and others involved in pending litigation have assembled a team of lawyers, water experts and consumer advocates, including Erin Brockovich — whose fight against Pacific Gas & Electric Co. inspired an Oscar-winning film.
3M has pledged to cease making PFAS by the end of 2025. It agreed to pay up to $12.5 billion to public water suppliers.
In 2023, DuPont and associated companies announced a $1 billion settlement to end PFAS-related drinking water claims. In 2005, DuPont paid $10 million to settle U.S. Environmental Protection Agency claims that it failed to report PFAS-related risks.
Murray County’s complaint comes on the heels of a lawsuit Mohawk itself filed in a Whitfield County court against 3M, Daikin and other chemical makers, alleging they concealed the dangers of PFAS from users.
In its complaint, Murray County says it wants the defendant companies to foot the bill for the necessary cleanup, claiming they made billions of dollars from PFAS-tainted products.
“The PFAS in and around the county’s landfill, which are migrating into the waters of the state of Georgia, must be contained, captured and destroyed,” the county said in its suit.
Dozens of water systems in Georgia — from small providers in Chatsworth and Summerville in North Georgia to larger ones serving cities like Augusta and Columbus — have already uncovered PFAS levels in their water that could exceed safe levels.
Murray County alleges in its complaint that its landfill is “pickled” in PFAS, which migrate daily into waterways through stormwater runoff, groundwater and landfill “juice” called leachate, in which PFAS levels are “off the charts.” The county’s complaint includes a map showing dozens of water sources around the landfill that it says have high levels of PFAS.
Credit: Courtesy Murray County
Credit: Courtesy Murray County
Earlier this year, the small North Georgia city of Calhoun agreed to overhaul its water system as part of a legal settlement with the Coosa River Basin Initiative.
The city of Dalton, known as “the carpet and flooring capital of the world,” is pursuing its own water pollution case against 3M, Daikin, EIPD, Chemours, Shaw Industries and others.
Rome has been grappling with PFAS in its water system for years. It settled PFAS claims against 3M for $75 million in 2023. More than 30 other defendants also settled with the city.
Jarrod Johnson, a Rome resident, has separately been notching agreements with various companies to improve water quality in his community as part of a proposed class action against dozens of alleged polluters, including 3M, Mohawk and Daikin.
Johnson’s case has been pending before a federal judge in the Northern District of Georgia since the start of 2020. His settlements with some of the defendant companies include river protection efforts and promises not to discharge wastewater containing PFAS into public water treatment systems.
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