News
Residents, state file suits against manufacturing company over 'forever chemicals'
Cecil Whig
December 20, 2024
The State of Maryland has filed a complaint against W. L Gore, an international textile manufacturing company with five Cecil County campuses of more than a dozen sites claiming Gore “(put) residents’ health at risk with contamination from toxic Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals.”
The suit charges Gore with public nuisance, trespass, negligence, unauthorized discharge of a controlled hazardous substance, unauthorized discharge of pollutants and wastes, injunctive relief, and two counts of violation of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA).
Maryland sues W.L. Gore over decades of forever chemicals contamination
The Baltimore Banner
December 18, 2024
Maryland is suing W.L. Gore & Associates, the manufacturing giant known for its waterproof GORE-TEX lining for clothes, over claims that it knowingly polluting the air and waters around its Cecil County facilities for decades with toxic forever chemicals.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, calls on the Delaware-based company to pay for the state’s investigation and cleanup of widespread contamination of hazardous perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, around 13 Elkton-area manufacturing facilities.
Maryland sues W.L. Gore, citing decades of PFAS pollution from 13 Elkton-area sites
The Baltimore Sun
December 18, 2024
Maryland officials have filed suit against W.L. Gore & Associates, the manufacturer of Gore-Tex, alleging that at least 13 of the company’s 14 facilities in Cecil County have contaminated the environment, including soil, air and groundwater, with “forever chemicals” for some 50 years.
Maryland’s lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court of Maryland, also alleges that the Delaware-based company knew for decades of the danger posed by the chemicals, called PFAS, but “concealed that information from the State and the public.”
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.