Attorney General Chris Mays is suing several major companies for making and selling “permanent chemicals” they knew or should have known were dangerous.

The lawsuit, filed in Maricopa County Superior Court on Friday, alleges that 3M, DuPont, and Chemours (the last DuPont spin-off company) have used perfluoroalkyl substances and polyfluorocarbons that have been used in everything for decades. It alleges negligence in designing, manufacturing, marketing and selling alkyl substances. From non-stick utensils and stain-resistant fabrics to fire-fighting foam.

Mays said 3M began publishing peer-reviewed literature in 1980 that showed humans had a form of these PFASs in their bodies for years.

And DuPont has been studying the potential toxicity of these chemicals since at least the 1960s and knew they were contaminating drinking water pumped from the Ohio River, she said.

“Nevertheless, DuPont has failed to disclose to the public and governmental regulators what it knew about the potential effects of this substance on humans, animals, or the environment,” the complaint reads. . And in 2005, the company was fined $16.5 million by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for violating legal requirements to report significant risk information about the chemicals it manufactures, processes and distributes to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Nonetheless, Mays said both companies have been making, selling, and selling their products in Arizona and other states for years, and in some cases, they appear to still be doing so. Forbes magazine reported that 3M has promised to stop using chemicals by 2025.

And it has damaged the state and its residents, she said.

“It’s had a very detrimental and sometimes devastating impact on Arizona,” Mays told Capitol Media Services on Monday. “There are multiple facilities in the state where water is contaminated with PFAS.”

According to the complaint, the State Department of Environmental Quality said it detected these compounds in both groundwater near Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and several groundwater and drinking water sources throughout the state, including Luke. Including those that DEQ said were notified by public utilities around the air base. Problem occurrence in early 2021.

“It’s time for chemical companies like Dow (which later merged with DuPont) and DuPont (and) 3M to be held accountable,” Mays said.

“And we will make them pay for the removal of these chemicals,” she continued. “These are carcinogens.”

Chemicals are often found in firefighting foam, Mays said.

“As such, sites tend to be concentrated around airports and areas where foam is used, but are not limited to that,” she explained. “And clearly, PFAS is having a huge impact on firefighters in Arizona and beyond.”

What makes PFAS so dangerous, according to the complaint, is its chemical nature.

According to legal documents, they are highly soluble in water, increasing diffusion rates and contaminating soil, groundwater and surface water. And it is made even more complicated by the fact that they are indestructible.

In addition, there is also the argument that these chemicals are readily absorbed by animal and human tissues after oral exposure and accumulate in organs such as the kidneys and liver and in “human serum”, the liquid portion of the blood. And according to the lawsuit, these substances have been found in human food, breast milk, and cord blood around the world.

More to the point, they are persistent.

“Short-term exposures can result in physical strain that can persist for years and increase with additional exposures,” the lawsuit asserts. And according to the state, this is backed up by 3M’s own data that it can take up to 18 months to clear even half the chemicals from your body after all exposure is over.

“The effects of contamination are far-reaching,” the complaint states.

According to the state, “citizens do not obtain public drinking water, rely on private drinking water wells, use water resources for agriculture or livestock, or participate in water-based recreational activities such as fishing and swimming. There is a possibility that it will not be possible to do so.” “People exposed to PFAS may face serious health risks, including cancer.”

Then there is the issue of depreciation of contaminated real estate.

Strictly speaking, Arizona does not sue over damages suffered by individual residents.

Those who are believed to have been injured should take separate legal action. And they actually exist.

Last December, for example, a federal appeals court upheld a $40 million judgment against DuPont on behalf of a cancer survivor who argued that two testicular cancers were caused by long-term exposure to one type of PFAS. .

Instead, the lawsuit seeks the companies to pay state costs for surveying, monitoring, testing, removal and disposal of soil and water contaminants.

And there are already costs.

According to legal documents, DEQ is helping fire departments statewide to remove, dispose of, and replace film-forming foam with PFAS-free foam. To date, the state has paid to replace 6,200 gallons of PFAS-containing companies with 4,010 gallons of PFAS-free foam, according to the report.

The company did not immediately respond.

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