(Victoria) The British Columbia government has launched a class action against manufacturers of so-called “forever” chemicals involved in what it calls widespread contamination of drinking water systems.
Attorney General Niki Sharma said the province is the first Canadian jurisdiction to prosecute manufacturers of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS chemicals.
British Columbia has brought similar class actions in the past, including against tobacco companies in 1998 and against opioid manufacturers in 2018, to recover health costs associated with these substances.
Mme Sharma said in a statement that the province is taking legal action to “ensure that the companies that created the problem and profited from these chemicals pay their fair share.”
PHOTO DANIEL ROLAND, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
The suit targets twelve companies, including companies associated with German chemical giant BASF.
The suit targets twelve companies, including companies associated with chemical giants 3M, DuPont and BASF.
It says the defendants knew that when their products were used as directed, “toxic PFAS chemicals would be released, contaminate the environment for centuries, and pose significant threats to human health.”
“The defendants failed to warn the Canadian public of the dangers posed by their PFAS-containing products or take any steps to modify or remove their products to avoid these harms – instead, they concealed and contradicted the known dangers in public statements and marketing campaigns intended to enrich himself at the public’s expense,” says the lawsuit filed Friday in British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver.
According to the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, exposure to PFAS products can lead to childhood obesity, a weakened immune system and certain types of cancer.
Madjid Mohseni, a professor of chemical and biological engineering at the University of British Columbia, said PFAS products are “ubiquitous” in daily life and can be found in many consumer products.
These include non-stick cookware and food packaging with waxy coatings, waterproof clothing and stain-resistant carpets, Mohseni said.
He said the chemicals contain a carbon-fluorine bond, the strongest bond in organic chemistry, earning them the nickname “forever chemicals.”
“These carbon-fluorine bonds are extremely resilient and extremely strong, they cannot be broken easily,” he said. Once manufactured, these products are very difficult to degrade and dispose of, so they remain in the environment for years. »
The professor maintains that research has linked the chemicals to health problems, including thyroid disease, kidney disease and cancer.
“They make our lives very easy and convenient. Unfortunately, the downside is that they harm our environment as well as our public health,” lamented Mr. Mohseni.