Link Source: https://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/ag-ferguson-files-lawsuit-against-20-manufacturers-forever-chemicals
Corporations hid health risks for decades while continuing to market PFAS
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced an environmental lawsuit today against numerous manufacturers of PFAS, commonly referred to as “forever chemicals.” The lawsuit asserts these companies knew for decades about the serious risks these chemicals posed to humans and the environment. The companies likely made many millions in profit while actively deceiving the public.
Per- and polyfluoralkyl substances, known as PFAS, have been used for decades to create water-resistant substances. In recent years, state and federal regulators have begun to impose more stringent restrictions on PFAS and expand testing requirements. Exposure to PFAS has been linked to several types of cancer, infertility, and developmental issues in children, among other health concerns.
The lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court, relates to PFAS used in aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), a type of chemical foam used for firefighting and emergency response, particularly around airports and military sites. In hiding the risks of PFAS and deceptively marketing it as safe, the lawsuit argues the companies violated numerous state laws, including Washington’s law against public nuisances, Products Liability Act and Consumer Protection Act. Defendants include 3M, DuPont and 18 other manufacturers.
“These corporations knew for decades about the serious risks these forever chemicals pose to human health and our environment,” Ferguson said. “Their corporate greed caused significant damage, and they need to be held accountable.”
Evidence shows the companies knew about the risks. For example, a 1999 resignation letter by an environmental scientist at 3M states: “3M waited too long to tell customers about the widespread dispersal of PFOS [a type of PFAS] in people and the environment. … 3M continues to make and sell these chemicals, though the company knows of an ecological risk assessment I did that indicates there is a better than 100% probability that [PFOS] is biomagnifying in the food chain and harming sea mammals.”
The scientist told 3M that, in the worst case scenario, “the probability of harm exceeds 100,000%.”
PFAS from firefighting foam has contaminated groundwater used for drinking in multiple Washington communities, rendering some undrinkable and requiring significant treatment measures at others.
For example, 2021 groundwater testing near the Yakima Training Center shows PFAS contamination more than 1,300 times the new restrictions proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency, which could go into effect by the end of this year.
National blood sampling by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found PFAS in the blood of nearly every person tested since 1999. In Washington, a 2019 survey tested the blood of several hundred residents of Airway Heights, near Fairchild Air Force Base, where AFFF has been in use since the 1970s. That survey found 100% of participants had at least one type of PFAS in their blood. The City of Airway Heights has been purchasing drinking water from Spokane since 2017 due to PFAS contamination.
Cleaning up PFAS contamination is complex and costly. The exact cost of cleaning up PFAS across Washington is not yet known, in part because contamination is still being discovered. To clean up a single contaminated site, the Washington Department of Ecology estimates costs ranging from $5.3 million to $62.8 million.
Ferguson’s lawsuit asks the court to order the companies to pay past and future costs to investigate, remediate, restore, treat, monitor and otherwise respond to PFAS contamination; and pay for all damages caused to the state, including natural resource damages.
PFAS contamination in Washington
PFAS attributable to AFFF products have been found in Washington’s groundwater, surface water, fresh water and marine sediments, wastewater treatment plant effluent, soils, freshwater and marine fish tissue, and osprey eggs.
Nearly 200 water sources in Washington have tested positive for PFAS. Impacted areas include San Juan Island, Moses Lake, Issaquah, and areas near Fairchild Air Force Base, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Naval Base Kitsap Bangor, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island and the Yakima Training Center.
More than 60 percent of Washingtonians rely on groundwater for at least a portion of their drinking water. Groundwater also serves essential ecological functions, such as influencing surface water quality, supporting wetlands and providing important instream flows for salmon and other fish species.
Once PFAS are used, they migrate through the environment, resist natural degradation, contaminate groundwater and drinking water, and are difficult and costly to remove. The toxic and hazardous effects of PFAS will impact Washington for decades, if not longer.
PFAS build up in animals and are not expelled over time. They also can biomagnify, meaning their concentration in organic tissue increases as they are consumed up the food chain.
In December 2022, the Washington Department of Health issued a fish consumption advisory warning against eating certain types of fish in three King County lakes, including Lake Washington, because they contain a type of PFAS found in AFFF and other products. The Department of Health made this recommendation based on a 2018 study of fish tissue data collected from these lakes, which found PFAS in all 76 samples analyzed.
PFAS manufacturers knew about risks for decades
Internal memos and reports from manufacturers show they were aware of health and environmental concerns going back decades.
A few examples:
A 1984 memo from DuPont noted that as early as 1981, manufacturers knew that PFAS could cause birth defects. “All female employees with potential [PFAS] exposure were promptly transferred to other plant areas,” the memo reads.
The same memo goes on to discuss concerns about the company’s liability and “corporate image.”
Two decades later, a consulting company was still advocating this approach with DuPont: “DUPONT MUST SHAPE THE DEBATE AT ALL LEVELS. We must implement a strategy at the outset which discourages governmental agencies, the plaintiff’s bar, and misguided environmental groups from pursuing this matter any further than the current risk assessment contemplated by [EPA]. … We strive to end this now.”
A 1998 risk assessment produced by a 3M scientist calculates the likely levels of PFOS, a type of PFAS, in the bodies of marine animals, including orcas. The report indicates these levels were approximately the same as the levels shown to cause reproductive harm in lab testing. At the same time, the assessment notes, “natural populations of sea lions are experiencing significant reproductive dysfunction. … Also 70% of a ringed seal population was not reproducing. This is higher than the norm.”
“I believe all this taken together constitutes a significant risk that should be reported to EPA.”
A year later, the 3M report author, Richard Purdy, resigned. “3M told those of us working on the fluorochemical project not to write down our thoughts or have email discussions on issues because of how our speculations could be viewed in a legal discovery process,” he wrote in his resignation letter.
Purdy continues: “At almost every step, I have been assured that action will be taken—yet I see slow or no results. I am told the company is concerned, but their actions speak to different concerns than mine. … [I]t is unethical to be concerned with markets, legal defensibility and image over environmental safety.”
The full list of defendants: 3M Company, AGC Chemicals Americas Inc., Amerex Corporation, Archroma U.S. Inc., Arkema Inc., BASF Corporation, Buckeye Fire Equipment Company, Carrier Fire & Security Americas Corporation, Carrier Global Corporation, ChemDesign Products Inc., Chemguard Inc., Clariant Corporation, Dynax Corporation, EIDP Inc. f/k/a E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Kidde PLC Inc., National Foam Inc., The Chemours Company, Tyco Fire Products LP, Corteva Inc., DuPont de Nemours Inc.
Managing Assistant Attorney General Aurora Janke, Assistant Attorneys General Junine So and Lisa Kelley Christensen, Senior Counsel Tad Robinson O’Neill and Ivy Anderson, Paralegal Virginia Castro, and Legal Assistants Julie Dolloff and Sydney Stern are handling the case for Washington.
IN OTHER STATE NEWS...
Watch a wasp nest to help detect northern giant hornets.
Over the last few years, residents of Whatcom County and WSDA staff have noticed hornets attacking paper wasp nests. In 2021, WSDA tracked a hornet and observed it repeatedly visiting the same paper wasp nest. Each visit lasted five to ten minutes and the hornet removed paper wasp larvae.(WSDA)
Ecology adopts regulations on toxic chemicals in consumer products.
Manufacturers to restrict or report use in electronics, laundry detergent and other common items
OLYMPIA –
The Washington Department of Ecology issued new regulations to reduce pollution from toxic chemicals in consumer products. Under the regulations, manufacturers will be required to restrict or report the use of certain chemicals in specific products. (DOE)
Join our June 21 webinar about toxic tire dust
Learn what state agencies are doing to address 6PPD (DOE)
Over 100,000 more employers could benefit from SharedWork on its 40th anniversary.
OLYMPIA – More than 103,000 Washington employers could benefit from the protections offered by SharedWork, a groundbreaking compensation program that Washington launched 40 years ago, but they have not applied.(ESD)
WDFW announces additional halibut fishing days.
OLYMPIA – Halibut anglers now have extra days to reel in halibut this season, fishery managers with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today.(WDFW)
2) NEWS FROM OUR CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION:
KILMER STATEMENT ON HOUSE PASSAGE OF THE BIPARTISAN BUDGET AGREEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Bipartisan Budget Agreement:
Here’s what we know: A default would raise borrowing costs for every American family and small business. Independent economic analysis suggests that a default would kill millions of American jobs and deliver a huge blow to folks in our neck of the woods. That's not something I'm willing to accept. (details)
Murray Statement on Senate Passage of Debt Ceiling Legislation.
“But let’s be crystal clear: the only reason we found ourselves just days away from economic catastrophe is that House Republicans decided to take our nation’s credit hostage to try and extract draconian cuts to programs that are a lifeline for struggling families and the lifeblood of our global leadership. Instead of working through the budget and appropriations process like we do every year, House Republicans threatened to tank our economy—openly talking about taking our economy and the American people ‘hostage.’ That is damning. (details)
Senator Murray Calls Out Republicans’ Push to Deny Millions of Borrowers Life-Changing Student Debt Relief. (details)
Federal Grants to Help Pay for Cleanup at Former Industrial Sites in WA
Sites include a former gas station on the Port Orchard waterfront, a former brewery in Tumwater, a former sawmill site in downtown Pasco, a vacant hospital in Colfax, a former log yard on the Colville Reservation, a former car lot in Spokane; Funding for program in WA more than tripled from 2022. (details)
City of Washougal Receives $40M Grant to Eliminate Traffic-Blocking Rail Crossing
Grant from Cantwell-created, Murray-supported program will fund 32nd Street Underpass Project with second-largest award in the country; Seattle and Burlington also receive grants to study eliminating at-grade rail crossings (details)
3) WORLD & NATIONAL
General Assembly Elects Dennis Francis of Trinidad and Tobago President of Seventy-Eighth Session, Selects Main Committee Bureaus
The General Assembly today elected by acclamation Dennis Francis (Trinidad and Tobago) to serve as President of its seventy-eighth session, after which its six Main Committees elected their respective Bureaus.(UN PRESS RELEASE)
Adopting 3 texts, General Assembly Appropriates Extra Funding of $14.59 Million to Maintain Peacekeeping Missions in Abyei, Golan, South Sudan
Speakers Outline Plans to Protect Future Generations as Delegates Resume Review of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (UN PRESS RELEASE)
Remarks by Ambassador Robert Wood on the Appointment of Iran as Rapporteur of the UNGA First Committee. (USUN)
Russia’s Strategic Failure and Ukraine’s Secure Future. (US STATE DEPT.)
U.S., Japanese Defense Leaders Discuss Progress on Closer Alliance
U.S. and Japanese defense leaders are "operationalizing" agreements that are deepening the treaty alliance, said Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada in Tokyo. (DOD)
NATION
Detroit Medical Center, Vanguard Health Systems, and Tenet Healthcare Corporation Agree to Pay Over $29 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations
VHS of Michigan Inc., doing business as, The Detroit Medical Center Inc. (DMC), Vanguard Health Systems Inc. (Vanguard), and Tenet Healthcare Corporation (Tenet), has agreed to pay $29,744,065 to the government to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by providing kickbacks to certain referring physicians.(DOJ)
Two Nigerian Nationals Previously Extradited from the United Kingdom Plead Guilty to International Fraud Scheme that Defrauded Elderly U.S. Victims
Two Nigerian nationals who were extradited to the United States from the United Kingdom pleaded guilty to operating a transnational inheritance fraud scheme. (DOJ)
U.S. Department of Education Announces Additional Project SERV Grants to HBCUs.
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) today announced Project School Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV) grants to four Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) that were disrupted by bomb threats last year: Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas was awarded $191,962; Delaware State University in Dover, Delaware was awarded $217,000; Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina was awarded $440,000 and Howard University in Washington, D.C. was awarded $203,000. (Dept. of Education)
FDA Conducts Retailer Inspection Blitz, Cracks Down on Illegal Sales of Popular Disposable E-cigarettes. (FDA)
DHS Operations Blue Lotus and Four Horsemen Stopped Nearly 10,000 Pounds of Fentanyl, Led to 284 Arrests. (DHS)
4) BUSINESS
Treasury Sanctions Iranian Company Aiding in Internet Censorship. ( US TREAURY)
Foreign National Charged for $1.8M Wire Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme
An indictment was unsealed today in the Central District of California charging a California businessman for allegedly soliciting investments under false pretenses and using investors’ funds to support his own lavish lifestyle. (DOJ)
Financial Stability and the U.S. Economy
Governor Philip N. Jefferson.
At the 22nd Annual International Conference on Policy Challenges for the Financial Sector, Washington, D.C. (THE FED)
IRS provides additional guidance for advanced energy projects.
WASHINGTON — The Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service today issued Notice 2023-44PDF to provide more details for applicants seeking section 48C credit allocations in the qualifying advanced energy project credit allocation program under the Inflation Reduction Act. (IRS)
US DEPARTMENT OF LABOR IMPACT INSPECTIONS AT 20 MINES IN 15 STATES FIND 335 VIOLATIONS IN APRIL 2023, MINERS EXPOSED TO 92 SERIOUS HAZARDS. (Dept. of Labor)
IN FOCUS & LOCAL MEETINGS
IN FOCUS: Spring into vaccines and protect your horse! Posted May 19th.
Link Source: https://wastatedeptag.blogspot.com/2023/05/spring-into-vaccines-and-protect-your.html
Rodeos, events and shows are in full swing this spring! Horses are on the move and so are equine diseases. Since the first of the year, 19 States have reported contagious disease outbreaks in horses nationally. Washington is also seeing an uptick in reports. The most commonly reported diseases in the State are Strangles, Equine Influenza Virus, Pigeon Fever, Equine Herpes Virus and West Nile Disease.
Now is the time to update your horse’s vaccinations to mitigate disease severity and allow for continuity of business. Talk to your veterinarian about the right protocol and cadence for you depending on your risk to include Flu/Rhino (equine influenza and herpes), West Nile and maybe even Strep equi (strangles) in addition to the core vaccines recommended by AAEP. This is especially critical in boarding facilities where horses come and go to shows, events and even trail rides. Any commingling event is an opportunity for disease spread. Although horses that are vaccinated can still contract the virus or bacterial infection and spread it, but the course of disease should be less severe.
As soon as the attending veterinarian gets positive laboratory results for any of these diseases, they must be reported through the Reportable Animal Disease database. WSDA also reports to the Equine Disease Communication Center and they distribute minimal information that protects personally identifying information through an alert to subscribers. Usually private practitioners manage individual cases of equine diseases by performing diagnostics, addressing individual horse treatment, implementing on farm biosecurity practices, and helping the barn manager institute a self-quarantine of infected or exposed horses.
In some cases, when there are lots of sick horses and/or stable compliance is a problem with horse movement, the State Veterinarian can be requested to assist. WSDA field veterinarians can issue quarantines in order to mitigate the spread of disease by not allowing any movement of horses on or off the premises. A quarantine will be in place until 14-21 days after the last “new” case, allowing for a full incubation period to pass by without clinical signs. Horses can remain contagious for 10 days after clinical signs or fever starts. The quarantine will require that rectal temperatures be recorded daily whenever possible so that febrile horses can be rapidly isolated, tested and monitored for clinical signs. Often viral infections can be “dose dependent” so rapid removal of sick horses can reduce viral load and transmission.
Airborne transmission or direct contact is the most common way horses become infected with respiratory disease. Infected horses release infective droplets into the air by coughing or snorting which are then inhaled by horses in close proximity. Horses can also be exposed to the organism by coming into contact with contaminated surfaces such as stalls, wash racks, stocks, water sources, feed, tack, grooming equipment such as wipe rags, and transport vehicles. Humans can spread microorganisms from horse to horse by contaminated hands and clothing, so the adoption of biosecurity measures is paramount.
WSDA Field veterinarians can also assist with on-farm biosecurity plans to help mitigate viral spread. Here are some biosecurity tips you can customize for your ranch during a quarantine period to help ensure the health and welfare of your horse. Horse owners can find this biosecurity poster on our website to be printed and posted in your barn.
Observe Strict Biosecurity
Limit Stress to horses
Control flies, vermin, vectors
Monitor all horses on the premises with twice-a-day temperature recording
Keep hoses out of free-standing water such as ponds or creeks
Remove compost and manure promptly
Wash hands frequently
Prevent direct contact with infected horses
Do not share equipment, buckets or tack
Tape off an “off limits” perimeter outside any symptomatic horse stall approximately 3 feet by six feet. Only people that need to enter the stall are permitted into this area.
Place a foot bath outside the stall with disinfectant, to dip feet into prior to entering and again after exiting the stall. Be sure to clean your boots before you disinfect.
Clean and disinfect the stall frequently
Designate one person to care for your horse and limit contact of personnel with exposed horses
Notify your veterinarian immediately if you notice any clinical signs or changes in behavior. Horses with viral infections are prone to secondary bacterial infections.
Coughing horses aerosolize the organism and can spread the organism as far as 150 feet
Horse Management
Do not move any horses on or off the farm
Designate an isolation stall or quarantine barn for sick horses.
Supportive care and treatment as prescribed by your veterinarian
Keep in well-ventilated stall and or paddocks to reduce inhalation of dust
Consider staggering outdoor paddock access to avoid nose-to-nose contact
i. Spray any common contact areas with 10% bleach.
Consider physical barriers between outdoor runs to avoid nose-to-nose contact
Keep dust down in the stall and hay (by wetting if needed)
Exercise- No sick horses should be allowed in the main arena or in shared wash racks.
Symptomatic horses (fever, lethargy, nasal discharge, coughing, etc)
i.Febrile horses should remain in their stalls and allowed to rest.
ii. Avoid strenuous exercise and hand walk or exercise lightly for short periods of time.
· Remember, your horse is not feeling well and may be lethargic, have painful muscles or a cough that can be exasperated by exercise. The idea is to stretch the horses legs and provide some stress relief from being stalled.
iii. Lightly exercise horses in the designated round pen area away from other horses
iv. When moving horses down the alleyway, use the closest exit and be cautious to avoid direct nose-to-nose contact with other horses.
v. Only one horse should be exercised at a time and a schedule should be posted if needed.
Exposed, non-clinical horses (No fever, no nasal discharge, rare or occasional cough)
i.Avoid strenuous exercise, but light riding or exercise is acceptable.
· Remember that your horse’s immune system may be under stress from recent exposure and fighting off potential infection. Too much exercise may exasperate clinical signs or illness.
ii.All horses should exit the barn in a way that avoids clinical horses if possible.
iii.Exercise horses in the designated outdoor arena space
iv.Only one horse should be exercised at a time and a schedule should be posted if needed.
Mapping the farm can also be helpful when thinking about horse movement patterns on the farm as well as identifying access points, parking, cleaning and disinfection stations and carcass pick-up areas.
CLALLAM COUNTY MEETINGS.
Clallam County work session for 6/5/23
https://www.clallamcountywa.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_06052023-843
Clallam County Commission meeting for 6/6/23
https://www.clallamcountywa.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_06062023-844
Port Angeles City Council meeting for 6/6/23
https://www.cityofpa.us/DocumentCenter/View/13174/CC-Agenda-Packet-06062023
JEFFERSON COUNTY MEETINGS
Jefferson County Commission meeting for 6/5/23
https://media.avcaptureall.cloud/meeting/ec11b494-cfab-44ff-acab-5dcf41657b7e
Weekly devotional
BIBLE VERSE: Proverbs 15:1 (New King James Version)
A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.
Weekly Bible Study
Was Katrina a Judgment from God?, by George Hutto
The question of God's involvement with the recent hurricane which devastated New Orleans may not be popular, but it is fair to ask. After all, the activities on Bourbon Street are not akin to Sunday School classes, and Mardi Gras is notorious for the kind of behavior that would evoke the wrath of God.
http://lavistachurchofchrist.org/LVarticles/KatrinaAJudgmentFromGod.htm
Free bible studies (WBS)
https://www.worldbibleschool.org/
Learn English using the bible as text (WEI)
http://www.worldenglishinstitute.org/
(Join us in worship every Sunday starting at 10:30AM Church of Christ)
1233 E Front St, Port Angeles, WA 98362
The Chosen: About the life of Christ
https://watch.angelstudios.com/thechosen
THIS WEEK'S VIDEOS
The REAL Reason Democrats Are ALL IN on the Ukraine War.
Why has the Biden administration been doing everything in its power to ESCALATE the war between Russia and Ukraine rather than seek peace? A couple of months ago, the Pentagon announced its largest budget ever — $842 BILLION. Half of that will all go to military defense contractors. The military-industrial complex is one of the largest businesses in the world, and it has penetrated nearly every branch of government, including the office of the president. Glenn follows the money trail to reveal who is making money from the war and asks: Who’s REALLY directing United States foreign policy? Florida congresswoman and Air Force veteran Anna Paulina Luna is one of only nine Republicans calling to end funding to Ukraine. She tells Glenn that behind the scenes in Washington, there seems to be a larger political motivation than to just “stop Putin.” And she reveals what Ukraine representatives have demanded in meetings with her: “They’re telling us we must continue to fund the war, they want F-35s, and it’s the obligation of Congress to do so.” Investigative journalist and “Just the News” CEO John Solomon tells Glenn why he thinks Biden is so obsessed with Ukraine and why the FBI is “playing a game of keep-away” with House Republicans who seek a document to prove allegations that then-Vice President Biden was engaged in a pay-to-play scheme with a foreign national. Plus, he gives Glenn a sneak peek at what a “Just the News” investigation found after receiving access to January 6 tapes from the Capitol. “There are security vulnerabilities, details on the pipe bomber suspect, and footage of Nancy Pelosi exiting the building.” “This is footage Democrats would NEVER want released,” Solomon says, and it’s all coming soon …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDi7ZJco0wU
Sunday Worship - 5/28/2023
Four lakes church of Christ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m0pzRCimUE
The Port Angeles Globe is a weekly Publication, every Saturday-- Publisher, Peter Ripley
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