Stocks of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM), DuPont de Nemours Inc. (NYSE:DD), Corteva Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) and The Chemours Company (NYSE:CC) moved slightly lower on Thursday after New York's attorney general lodged a lawsuit alleging widespread contamination of the state by polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as PFAS.
The complaint, filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James, contends that the named companies manufactured, marketed and sold consumer products containing PFAS while aware that these chemicals posed toxic risks. PFAS are described in the suit as "forever chemicals" and are linked in the complaint to serious health problems including cancer, birth defects and pregnancy complications.
According to the filing, company researchers and internal monitoring revealed early evidence of exposure. The attorney general's complaint states that 3M researchers detected PFAS in both employees and members of the public as far back as the 1970s. The document also alleges that in 1981 DuPont monitored 50 female employees exposed to one of its PFAS products and found that two of seven pregnant workers had babies with birth defects, yet did not inform employees or regulators and continued producing the product.
Among the remedies sought, the suit requests a court order requiring the companies to finance environmental cleanup efforts across New York. It also asks the court to stop the sale of products containing harmful PFAS without sufficient warnings, to put an end to allegedly misleading advertising, and to impose damages, disgorgement of profits, restitution and other monetary penalties.
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York Department of Health provided assistance in the preparation of the case, the attorney general's office said.
The legal action frames allegations of long-standing corporate knowledge and inadequate disclosure against several major chemical and consumer product makers. Market reaction to the filing was limited to an initial pullback in share prices for the companies named in the complaint.
At this stage the complaint sets out the attorney general's claims and the relief sought; the court process will determine whether the allegations are proven and what remedies, if any, will be ordered.