Chemours to Pay $450M in First Federal PFAS Settlement

The Trump administration is moving to settle a landmark case with the chemical giant Chemours over its yearslong illegal dumping of PFAS “forever chemicals” across three states.The $480 million settlement would be the first by the federal government to resolve pollution claims against a maker of the chemicals, which have been linked to cancer and other health risks.The proposed deal, released Wednesday, immediately came under attack from North Carolina, which said it did nothing to clean up water contaminated by the chemicals.

Several environmental groups also called the deal inadequate.For decades, Chemours’ facilities in West Virginia, New Jersey and North Carolina illegally released the chemicals into major waterways including the Ohio, Cape Fear and Delaware Rivers.The widespread contamination from Chemours, which was spun off from Dupont in 2015, came to light after the Environmental Protection Agency and independent scientists started to detect high levels of PFAS, particularly in the Cape Fear River.PFAS, a class of synthetic chemicals remarkably resistant to water and grease, are used in everyday items like nonstick pans, water-repellent clothing and stain-resistant carpets, as well as in firefighting foam and cosmetics.But exposure to the chemicals, which do not easily break down in the body, has been linked to serious and adverse health risks.

Those include low birth weight, birth defects and developmental delays as well as increased risk of some kidney and testicular cancers.Under the proposed settlement, Chemours will pay a $22.5 million civil penalty for illegally discharging PFAS from plants in North Carolina, New Jersey and West Virginia.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify acc...