News
The Baltimore Sun
February 15, 2024
The maker of the renowned Gore-Tex waterproofing for outdoor gear polluted groundwater near two of its plants in Northeastern Maryland with a hazardous “forever chemical,” according to the Maryland Department of the Environment.
State investigations at the manufacturing sites in the Elkton area of Cecil County indicate W.L. Gore & Associates released a harmful type of the long-lasting PFAS pollutants, formally known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, at some point in its decadeslong past, said Tyler Abbott, director of MDE’s land and materials administration. The locations are the company’s Cherry Hill and Fair Hill facilities.
As Maryland investigates PFAS pollution, W.L. Gore transitions outdoor clothing to new material
The Baltimore Sun
February 15, 2024
In 2014, W.L. Gore & Associates stopped using a harmful chemical called PFOA in the technology it makes for waterproofing raincoats, hiking boots and other gear.
The Newark, Delaware-based company’s shift came amid federal government pressure for the industry to phase out by 2015 the use of the cancer-causing compound, which is part of a broad group called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
The Chesapeake Watershed’s growing battle against PFAS
Delaware Online
December 29, 2023
They’re everywhere – in our water, farms, food, clothing, cosmetics, and countless other everyday products. PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” are a group of nearly indestructible compounds used in manufacturing that have infiltrated our soil, water, and air, leading to a host of health problems for everyone exposed to them.
Maryland investigating ‘forever chemicals’ near industrial plant in Cecil County
Chesapeake Bay Journal
July 19, 2023
The Elkton community is among the latest of dozens across the Chesapeake Bay watershed to learn that its public water systems or private wells have been contaminated with PFAS. The chemicals have been found in the drinking water or groundwater of nearly 2,800 communities nationwide, according to the Environmental Working Group. Many of those, especially in the Bay region, are near military bases, airports or firefighting facilities where PFAS-laden firefighting foam was deployed or stored.
Attorneys seek Elkton, Md. residents to join PFAS litigation against Gore
WHYY
May 22, 2023
In February, a lawsuit was filed against the Delaware-based company for allegedly polluting drinking water with PFOA, one type of the toxic chemical PFAS. The so-called “forever chemicals,” which can remain in groundwater for decades, are linked to serious health problems.
This information is provided by co-counsel Philip C. Federico (licensed in MD) and Chase T. Brockstedt (licensed in DE) of Baird Mandalas Brockstedt Federico LLC and John E. Herrick (licensed in MD, SC) and T. David Hoyle (licensed in DC, FL, GA, SC) of Motley Rice LLC.